Landlords warned to be wary before signing with an agent

Self-managing landlords who are fed-up dealing with new legislation and falling profits are being warned to be wary before signing up with a letting agent who could land them in hot water.

The warning comes from Landlord Licensing & Defence which says landlords must research potential agents before making any commitments.

According to the firm’s compliance expert Phil Turtle, many agents simply don’t know the law when it comes to property licensing and fire regulations.

Council regulations and licensing are becoming a growing worry

He warns that council regulations and licensing are becoming a growing worry for part-time and ‘accidental’ landlords but ‘not every agent is the same’.

Mr Turtle said: “We have lots of experience in dealing with agents who simply do not know the law when it comes to licensing a landlord’s property and other important aspects, including fire regulations.

“In particular, they don’t always know the HMO regulations that apply to letting three- and four-person shared homes.”

‘Danger of a landlord switching to an incompetent agent’

He continued: “There’s a danger of a landlord switching to an incompetent agent who will not be much help because agents don’t always understand the law and regulations.

“Some agents, as a result, get landlords into trouble and face fines.

“That might be hard to believe, but there’s no doubt that half of the landlord clients we deal with have been dropped into trouble with local authorities by their letting agent.”

Mr Turtle says that landlords should contact an agent’s landlord clients and read online testimonials about how good the agent is before signing a contract.

Problems will be for the landlord to resolve

He says: “The bottom line to appreciate is that while a letting agent will be taking a slice of the monthly rent, if there are any problems such as not being properly licensed with the local authority, then it will be for the landlord to resolve – and to pay the fines and, potentially, face a Rent Repayment Order.

“Both the landlord and agent face being fined £30,000 if there is a licensing issue.”

For landlords who are worried about licensing regulations or who want to ensure that their property is legally compliant, then Landlord Licensing & Defence can help with a pre-licensing compliance inspection to highlight all of the potential issues and how these can be resolved.

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