Landlords have expectations and the question is, are those expectations too high?

Well, let’s look at the things landlords expect…firstly, they expect the letting agent to be a private investigator and know everything about the proposed tenant! Of course, landlords know that tenants don’t disclose everything about their personal history to the agent, but still the landlords think the agent should have those details, especially in the event they have to evict a tenant.

This is where I get frustrated, because landlords (generally, not all of them) believe they don’t need to know about evicting tenants, the Housing Acts or the tenant finding process. No, in fact, the landlord thinks his job is simply to give the property to the agent to rent out!

Well, here’s something earth-shattering for landlords: the tenancy agreement is between you and the tenants, not the agent and the tenant. That means you’re legally responsible for everything, including the deposit, which the Agent may not have given you!

When things go wrong and we get a very worried call to our landlords lawyer, the conversation usually starts with “the agent didn’t tell me I had to do that!”

Look, this isn’t rocket science. You rent out the property, you’re responsible for the well-being of the tenancy, plain and simple. You must ask the relevant questions.

We can help you with a breakdown of the questions you need answering and we can advise you on how to rent your property out, what to look for and how to avoid the pitfalls.

Our website is stuffed full of information, including advice on how to evict a tenant, and the 15 steps to being a successful landlord.

The expectations you should have for your letting agent are:

As a general guideline, tenancy agreements should include the following information:

• How good is their advertising? – After all, they are really marketing people.
• How good is their presence in the local area?
• What services do they offer to the Landlord? Will they collect the rent, inspect the property every three months, do they understand the Housing Acts?
• Where will the deposit be registered?
• How available are they to talk to?
• How good are they at negotiating?
• Do they have good terms of business?
• Do they have a high turnover of staff?
• How good is their Management Service?
• Who do they use for standard repairs?