Agents – Best to stay or run away?

Back in August 2022, I became an accidental landlord and it’s been an interesting learning curve. I’ve been quite lucky that I’ve had good tenants and the property is still in good condition. However, the issue has been the letting agents with which I’ve had consistent issues.

I decided to use agents because we were moving home for work and we weren’t going to be anywhere close to manage the property, so wanted someone to manage it to take some of the stress away.

Unfortunately, it’s been nothing but hassle from them. They ordered work on the property without authorisation. They used their own contractors even though I had expressed instructions to use my own. Along with a couple of other issues, I decided to file a complaint with the Property Ombudsmen who ruled in my favour, all of which occurred over 2022/2023.

Back at the beginning of 2024 they decided to increase the charges. We deliberated leaving at the time but in the end decided to stay, as my partner and I have a busy year planned, and managed to get the fees renegotiated.

Following this, they are allowing us to have a 6-month review so if we want to leave we can do without penalty. We discussed a nominal rent increase (£25) as there hadn’t been an increase since the beginning of the tenancy. Three months on and the increase still hasn’t taken effect, although they have been happy to deduct the fee for the admin for it. We are now back to deciding on whether to stay or leave the estate agents.

I wanted to know what experience people had with agents and without them. Our concern is the distance between us and the property as well as the potential changes that may come from the government. I’m not concerned about the tenants but if I leave the agents we lose the zero deposit scheme the tenants used when they first arrived.

Any past experience or guidance would be appreciated so I can try to make the best decision.

Matthew