Why it's more important than ever to use an Agent

Landlord Fines Average £90 ’ 000

Why it ’ s more important than ever to use an agent

In the EHS data released a year ago (and it’s the most recent survey to ask these questions) 49 per cent of landlords said they did not use an agent; around 46 per cent regularly used an agent. The remaining five per cent used an agent on an ad hoc basis.

But did you know that not using an agent is a false economy ?

Here are the reasons why.

A Blizzard of Regulation

Back in the summer of 2021 the National Residential Landlords Association estimated that over the previous decade there had been a 40 per cent rise in the number of laws applying to the private rental sector, taking the total up to 168 different pieces of legislation.

On top of that there are local regulations exercised though councils.

The PropTech firm Kamma, which monitors council activities, says 52 landlord licensing schemes and consultations were launched in 2022. This is five more than the previous year, and almost 10 more than in 2020, highlighting what Kamma calls “the growing trend of yet more regulation targeting the Private Rented Sector”. And the fines handed out to rogue landlords and letting agents averaged £90,000 per month in 2022.

If you think that’s an eye -watering volume of legislation and regulation for a typical amateur landlord to master, you’re right - and there’s more to come.

Renters Reform Bill

Whatever the rights and wrongs of this Bill - and I know many in the agency industry think it’s a heavy -handed approach that favours tenants - it promises new legislation and new challenges for landlords. As we all know there will be substantial changes to eviction powers under Section 8 and Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988. But on top of that there will be new rules surrounding pets in lets (with an exception on the Tenant Fees Ban to allow renters to pay insurance), plus what promises to be a complex Decent Homes Standard to which private rental accommodation must conform. Then there is a mandatory register for landlords and an Ombudsman scheme - details to be announced - which landlords will be legally obliged to join. Let’s be realistic. How many typic al landlords with just one or two properties will really get across all of these changes? It’s a potential recipe for disaster for the amateur landlord, especially as the Bill pledges beefed up enforcement by local councils and the prospect of more and higher fines for those who break the rules by accident or design.

Everyday Help for Landlords

In addition, there are all the other services agents do for landlords every working day – many of which are done automatically, without necessarily stopping to think just how huge a help they are to their landlord clients. There’s finding and vetting tenants; there’s the check -in process at which specific documentation needs to be handed over and, often, detailed inventories undertaken, in addition to a deposit being taken and secured in line with legal requirements; next up comes rent collection; and possibly there’s full management covering all the health and safety checks, EPC inspections, Gas Inspections, Electrical inspections and management; and finally there’s check out - the final inventory reconciliation, return of deposits or part-deposits, and handling any outstanding issues or disputes. And these are just the everyday responsibilities agents take care of along the path of any and every tenancy. In addition to all this, we ’ ll also handle the unexpected - the leaks, break-ins, emotional calls from stressed tenants, and so on and so forth. And remember, despite all the changes imposed by government, the costs of using an agent remain tax deductible.

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