What should a tenant look for in a letting agent?

The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors recently told the Commons Local Government Select Committee that some letting agents are part of “the property industry’s wild west”. To help you to avoid any unscrupulous operators in the market, we have compiled a list of things you should look for in a letting agent using the UK Association of Letting Agents guidelines.  

It's important to us that tenants know the vital role letting agents can play in ensuring that they benefit from a wide choice of quality property and that properly trained, professional letting agents are poised to deliver this service.

With this in mind, here are the top 8 things you should look for:

1. Are they reputable? Look for agents that are members of a registered trade body such as the UK Association of Letting Agents (UKALA). Membership of a professional association confirms that they are professionally approved and must adhere to a Code of Practice. UKALA agents also utilise Client Money Protection Insurance, which protects your money for the duration of the tenancy.
2. Where are they based? Make sure that the agency you’re letting from are in your local area, if they are far away it won’t be particularly convenient when it comes to maintenance or repairs.
3. What does the agency specialise in? Check on their website to see who they are aimed at, if they specialise in the type of property you’re seeking and whether it suites your needs.
4. What are their fee’s? Fee’s will always vary, but if they are a member of a professional association they should always be transparent about their fee’s - if they aren't, this should be an alarm bell!
5. Do they do out-of-hours call outs? If the agency doesn't have an out-of-hours service, then you may want to look further afield.
6. Do they protect deposits in a tenancy deposit protection scheme? An agent must protect your deposit in one of three government-authorised schemes and provide you with relevant prescribed documentation. If they don’t they are breaking the law.
7. Do they do regular maintenance and safety checks? When managing a property on behalf of a landlord, it is essential that the letting agent visits the property at least every six months to check for any maintenance issues. It is also important that they carry out various safety checks regularly.
8. Are the the staff knowledgeable? The more knowledgeable and highly trained the letting agents are the better. Look to see what training each agency undertakes; if the staff are knowledgeable, they will be able to help with the various hurdles you may experience with your rental arrangements.

For the first time there is a new scheme to make CMP accessible for all letting agents

All letting agents will be able to get Client Money Protection for the first time, whether they are a member of a recognised trade body of association or not.

Hence, landlords and tenants will not compulsorily have to look for a member of, for instance, ARLA, NALS or RICS, to make certain that their money will be secure.

This week, a new company named CM Protect was launched. While they have a status of a company, this is simply to be able to offer the insurance at all, individual agents aren’t allowed to take out their own insurance against the possibility that they might go bankrupt, misuse or run off with the clients’ money.

The company has been created by the very same management team behind insurers Total Landlord Insurance and tenancy deposit scheme Mydeposits.

The single reason is to provide Client Money Protection insurance to letting agents who aren’t members of a recognised trade body or association but wish to act responsibly.

Previously, belonging to one of these bodies was the only way for clients of letting agents to gain from such protection.

CMP insurance protects the money of landlords and tenants against theft or embezzlement by the owners of a letting agent whilst it is in their custody or control. This could involve tenants’ deposits and landlords’ rental payments, or funds held for repairs and maintenance to a property.

Reports of lettings agents starting up on the back of a badly functioning sales sector and then folding, taking all of their clients’ money with them, has had a harmful effect on responsible independent and smaller letting agents.

Eddie Hooker, chief executive of CM Protect Ltd, said, “There are many reasons why a letting agent does not feel it should be a member of an industry trade body, such as educational obligations, but they should not be prevented from accessing this valuable protection which demonstrates an upholding of responsibility to clients and provides the reassurance of a well-run professional agency.”

Ian Langley, pictured, director of operations for CM Protect, said, “We do not wish to compete with the industry trade bodies as we recognise the importance and value of these in raising standards and would always encourage larger agents in particular to uphold this.

“However, we feel that there is a void in the market and we want to encourage those smaller agents, who are currently not protected by CMP, to act responsibly without having to take on the commitment of a trade body.”

CMP insurance must be provided by a body or organisation that is independent from the letting agent.

For this reason, CM Protect is setting up itself as a ‘membership’ body, yet without ‘codes of conduct’ or other requirements. The benefit of CMP is only available to letting agents whilst they remain a member.

For more information please feel free to contact us at:

http://www.anthonyco.co.uk/