A recent poll has revealed that most landlords believe they are getting their money’s worth from letting agents, but also found a large dissatisfied minority.

Landlord insurance firm Total Landlord Insurance found that 57% of landlords believe that their letting agents charge a fair amount, and 56% rate the service they receive as above average or excellent compared to just 18% who say it is below average or poor.

But it isn’t all good news for agents: 42% of landlords think they charge too much for their services. Communication over charges can also be an issue: 16% of landlords reported that they had been hit with unexpected fees with no warning from the agent, often for maintenance or meeting legal requirements like gas safety inspections.

The same poll also revealed that most agents are getting the fundamentals right. While 39% of landlords had experienced at least one late rent payment, this was usually down to tenant behaviour or technical issues at the bank. According to landlords, letting agents were only at fault in 5% of cases.

In a roundtable discussion on lettings industry transparency hosted by PayProp last year, leading industry figures agreed that agents need to get better at communicating the high-value service they provide. Keeping landlords in the loop could help agents to explain what their commission is being spent on, and also avoid any surprises over fees. 

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