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A letting agent’s main focus of work is to ensure that the properties of their landlord clients are well managed. This could include a wide range of services, from finding tenants, to collecting rent and managing the tenancy aspects. 

However, many people still have some misconceptions as to what a letting agent is and isn’t responsible for. Landlords need to get into the details of this question since they are the ones who most commonly work with a letting agent, or find themselves in a dispute with one. In this guide, we will explain much of the details surrounding the work of a letting agent and what they are responsible for. 

To start, what a letting is not responsible for 

Knowing what a letting won’t do for their client – the landlord – is equally important as knowing what they will do. 

• They aren’t responsible for legal obligations – every good letting agent will provide some advice on their client being legally compliant. However, in the case of any shortcomings, it is the landlord who will be responsible. In reality, many agents will say things like they will make sure the landlord is ticking all of the legal boxes, which could lead some to believe that they will be the ones bearing the legal burden. However, it is always the landlord bearing legal responsibility. The landlord is always viable for what the agent does when it comes to the ambit of their authority. 
  
  
• Problems with tenants and rent arrears – an agent will always do their best to find good tenants, who pay on time and look after the property. However, if any tenant ever goes rogue, it is not the responsibility of the agent. They will try to resolve the situation, but the burden falls on the landlord. 
  
  

Kinds of letting agents and their services 

Many people believe letting agents are all the same, but that is not true. Every agent tailors their service differently. One agent may provide a fully managed service + property inventory, while the next will do just the fully managed service, without an inventory. 

Online letting agent service 

Many landlords opt not for the traditional high-street letting agent, but the online letting agents. It is cheaper, but the service also creates a little bit of confusion as to what the responsibilities of the letting agent are. The main difference is that they operate through phone and email. 

Responsibilities all agents share 

Regardless if they are an online agent or a high-street one, all letting agents share some responsibilities. 

• They must be a member of a government-approved letting agency redress scheme 
• They must be able to guide tenancy agreements 
• They must guide the landlord on their legal responsibilities 
• They offer general knowledge on tenancies and best practices 
  
  

Tenant find service 

Another major aspect of a letting agent’s responsibilities is the tenant-find service. There are some differences between the way it works for a high-street agent and an online agent. 

• For high-street agents – they focus on marketing and advertising. They arrange photography and floor plans, organise tenant viewings and do all of the workaround tenant referencing and credit checks. 
• Online agents – they also do advertising and marketing, although on a lower scale than high-street agents. They send the landlords leads from any prospective tenant and it is the landlord who organises viewings. The landlord needs to address much more legal work when they are working with an online agent, which is also reflected by the price of the service. 
  
  

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