Both landlords and tenants want to move away from lettings agents in the rental market ahead of the fee ban, research claims.
The research, by online agent HomeRenter, found landlords were put off by poor service, while tenants were unhappy about fees being charged by agents.
According to the analysis, 87% of landlords said they would be happier renting directly to their tenants, rather than via a traditional letting agent.
Half of landlords complained about poor agency service or bad tenants, which also suggests another half were satisfied, although this isn’t mentioned in the research.
A third of landlords were also unhappy about general administration and new tax rules, but there is no suggestion in the analysis that this is due to letting agents.
Just 45% of tenants reported being happy renting, with 42% concerned about unreasonable lettings and having to chase for repairs and maintenance. A third were unhappy about having to pay security deposits and there were also complaints about poor service.
Seven in ten tenants said they would prefer to rent directly from a landlord.
HomeRenter – which charges landlords £49.99 to create a three-month listing on Rightmove and Zoopla as well as tenant referencing – claims landlords fear the situation will get worse once the tenant fee ban is introduced as there are fears service could dwindle as profits drop, while charges could also rise.
Will Handley, chief executive of HomeRenter, said: “There is a clear dissatisfaction from both landlords and tenants towards traditional estate agents.
“The majority from both groups feel the service provided is not up to scratch and would rather cut out the middle man and connect privately with their landlord.”
Comments (8)
Tenants want to move away from agents as they are unhappy about fees. Really? I get this 1 in 100 if that. And besides, with the ban coming in, that reason disappears. More BS.
Clearly a shameless plug….however….
An inevitable consequence of the Tenant Fees Ban we be increasing Agent costs; this coupled with the increasing tax burden will push some landlords to rent privately.
What the Government, Generation Rent et al still don’t seem to be grasping is the value of Agents to ensure compliance, both legally, and in respect to Tenant safety.
Coupled with this new legislation, there must be an disincentive for a Landlord to go it alone. Failure by the legislators to engender this will create a slippery slope for the future safety of Tenants.
If you doubt this ask just pick a couple of legislative changes over the past two years and ask your Landlord if they know about them?
Most Landlords think they are up to speed but believe me, …most are not
As a landlord, I totally disagree with these claims. I regard agents as vital to the success of my portfolio. I have used one agent in London for the past 14 years and am completely happy with the service.
With new tax, finance, and regulation regimes coming into play, I actually believe reputable agents and property managers are more vital than ever in supporting landlords through the challenges ahead.
When I spoke at the NALS Conference last November, I talked about agents offering a more “holistic” service to landlords, educating them about the changes, and guiding them to reputable tax and mortgage advisors to structure their property holdings in the most efficient and future-proofed way.
I am grateful to all my lettings agents for their support over many years and will continue to work with them going forwards.
I am a landlord and could not provide a service to my tenants without the help of my high street agent. Very happy to pay for management as it allows me to get on with my life !!
A shameful plug from Homerenter (Home who?) unworthy of further promotion by a respected industry journal. Ros, please take note.
A sweeping statement by Will Handley.
“There is a clear dissatisfaction from both landlords and tenants towards traditional estate agents.”
Is there a clear dissatisfaction? 87% of how many landlords surveyed want to go direct with their tenant?
We can all make statistics work to our advantage….
According to my own research and data, 100% of people surveyed felt that HomeRenters survey was completely made up.
As a landlord I think this is BS