Lettings platform, Mashroom, asked both landlords and tenants across the UK whether they used an agent and what issues if any, they encountered when using one.
According to the research, 66% of the landlords and tenants surveyed claimed they have experienced issues when using a letting agent, so it’s no surprise that when looking ahead, 26% of landlords and 22% of tenants would choose to rent privately in the future. To gain more clarity on this, the survey asked what the main problems were with using an intermediary.
The most common issue for both parties, which 54% of tenants and 77% of landlords highlighted, was poor communication with their letting agent. 28% of landlords also stated that they were confused by the jargon the agent used.
59% of landlords and tenants also said that their letting agent failed to keep them up to date with their rights and legal changes.
Glasgow is home to the ‘worst’ letting agents
Landlords and tenants in Glasgow experienced the worst communication with letting agents out of all UK cities. Manchester ranked second, with 31% of respondents experiencing poor communication with their agents, followed by Birmingham (29%).
Nearly half of landlords are not given rent on time
The survey also looked at the most common issues that landlords and tenants experience in general to gain a better understanding of the wider renting relationship and what can be improved to better this.
The main issue which nearly half of landlords (49%) experienced was that money was not received at the correct time from their tenants. On the other hand, the main issue which nearly two-thirds of tenants experienced was a lack of repairs for property issues.
Letting agent failed to let renter know she would be living in a building site
The research also revealed that letting agents failed to repair household fixtures for 40% of the surveyed tenants, and one renter from Bristol has shared her experience of this.
Kathryn, who was renting in Bristol at the time, claims her letting agents failed to notify her of serious work happening to her building: "When we signed the agreements the letting agents failed to mention that another floor was being added to our building - we were the top floor at that point. As a result, we experienced a multitude of issues for the whole year of our tenancy. Our roof was completely taken out at one point, we had no secure WiFi or natural light, water was running down the walls, and there was constant standing water in the kitchen which we had to wade through. Eventually, after filing a complaint we managed to get a quarter of the annual rent back."
