UK Letting Agencies - What a Nightmare!

OK, let me introduce myself. I'm Brett and I've been renting property for around 20 years now. I've lived in around a dozen properties, all rented in the private sector.

My Rental Tales of Woe

During this time I've lived in a number of cities and had all kinds of problems with landlords and (worse still), their managing agents.

Really letting agents are a complete nightmare, and I've had very few positive experiences. Thankfully it's easier to get your deposit back these days, but other problems are often legion!

Problems I've encountered as a tenant include:

Landlords not keeping up with rental payments, and the property being the subject of a possession order. I've had this happen to me not once, but twice!
Landlord turning up and inspecting the property without giving me 24 hours notice.
Being libelled on account of flooding the bathroom, when it turns out the washing machine is leaking instead.
Letting agent office staff giving very dubious legal advice to landlords.
Hugely expensive tenancy referencing fees (including a record £280 from Saxons in Colchester, Essex). These fees are often outrageous when most of the paperwork involved is just a credit reference check (which you can get yourself from Experian for around £10), and a phonecall to your employer to confirm you actually work there.
Expensive tenancy renewal fees, even when there was minimal paperwork involved.
Stupid quibbles over the deposit repayment. These cause no end of stress and anguish.

Yes it's annoying that when you want to rent a property you have to give the landlord or letting agent all kinds of documentation. Yet landlords rarely have to prove they can afford their buy to let mortgage, or that they are even legally allowed to let the property in the first place. And anyone can call themselves a letting agency. Some agencies have grouped together and called themselves members of national federations like ARLA. To be frank this isn't worth the paper it's written on - it's my experience that agencies who are members of ARLA are no better than those who are not. In fact ARLA registered agencies are usually the biggest rogues when it comes to outrageous tenancy fees.

Brett - The Accidental Landlord

The UK housing boom has also made me a landlord of a small 2 bedroom apartment. I bought it at the height of the boom and it's been a hassle ever since.

It's not at all tax efficient to rent out your property instead of living in it. If I had less stuff I would move in, but I don't think that will happen any time soon. Besides, my current tenants have a kid and not a lot of cash, and the chance of evicting them is remote given that there are apparently 5000 people on the council waiting list in Colchester alone!

Still, in some ways I'm glad I bought the place. It's nice to get some monthly rent, and it was probably a better use of my money than leaving it on deposit at 0.1% interest. And given how few houses are being built in England these days, I'm glad I got on the housing ladder. The UK's housing crisis should surely only intensify, especially once the Victorian and Edwardian housing stock gets well beyond liveable in.

My way of handling my tenants is very much a hands-off approach. I use a local letting agent to find tenants and manage the property. I don't even know my tenants. Personally I think that this is the best approach. If you're worried about the state of your property, get insurance cover. And remember that tenants don't always demand the same standard of cleanliness that you might be used to in your own home.

Out of sight, out of mind is the best approach in my opinion.

Where to Get Help With Property Lettings

If you're a tenant and you're in need of legal advice, then I can highly recommend Shelter. They provide free legal advice by email service, as well as having a lot of plain English questions and answers sections on their website.

The Citizen's Advice Bureau has offices in many UK towns and cities, and these can be well worth consulting.

Some local councils have officers that can help with private rental issues. Ask to speak to your local council housing department's Private Sector Liaison Officer. Sadly not all councils have one. And they're often snowed under with work, and can often only assist if you're facing imminent eviction.

If you're a landlord and want help then ask your letting agent. Remember that if you have a mortgage on the property then most lenders will require your property to be professionally managed.

Of course if your problem is with your letting agency then this can be a real nuisance. Check out the Landlord Zone for some useful forums and links.

Happy renting!