Sales occupation
A letting agent is a facilitator through which an agreement is made between a landlord and tenant to rent a residential property. This is commonly used in countries using British English, including countries of the Commonwealth. In the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, the agreement between landlord and tenant is normally formalised by the signing of a tenancy agreement. A letting agency normally charges a commission for their services, usually a percentage of the monthly rent.
Letting agents will often operate under the umbrella of an Estate Agent due to the synergies that exists between the two professions. Still, there are many agents that deal exclusively with lettings.
Although there are two main types of renting, letting agents deal primarily with tenancies between private tenants and landlords.
Services and fees.
There are a number of services offered by lettings agents, including:
Typical letting agent fees to tenants in England and Wales may include:
The chancellor, Philip Hammond, promised to ban letting agent fees in England and Wales in his autumn statement of November 2016. Such fees have been made illegal in Scotland and tenants may reclaim any fees paid through the courts. The majority of lettings agents in England do not charge tenants fees.
To maximise the service that a letting agent provides it is important prospective tenants to make letting agents aware of their requirements before they arrange viewings so that properties are better matched to tenant's needs. Since letting agents act as a matchmaker between property, landlord and tenant it is important for them to gain an understanding of customer requirements including; location, property size, budget, pets, etc.
Regulation.
There are currently no statutory arrangements regarding the regulation of letting agents. Around half of UK lettings agents are currently self-regulated. The principal organisations for lettings agents are the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). These have codes of practice and compliance controls which govern the activities of their members.
The English government also provides its own accrediting body for letting agents. This body is called NALS (National Assured Letting Scheme).
In Scotland all landlords must be registered with the local authority. Whilst agents are not required to register, they are actively encouraged to do so. Scotland's rental market is more tightly regulated than anywhere else in the UK. New rules came into force in December 2017 that introduced a raft of changes designed to protect both landlords and tenants, but negotiating the regulations has caused a headache for some property owners.