Landlords use letting agents to give them ‘peace of mind’

The relationship that exists between letting agents and landlords is a tried and tested one that has stood the test of time, and a new study has shown the most common reasons why landlords choose to work with letting agents.

According to a study by insurance company Endsleigh, one of the most common reasons that landlords will employ a letting agent is simply that they want the peace of mind that comes from the relationship.

Letting agents have industry expertise and take away many of the stresses of letting properties from landlords, which is why 41 per cent of people said they feel they get peace of mind from their relationship with an agent. In fact, 25 per cent even said that they contact their letting agent at least once a week just to make sure that everything is going well.

Other reasons that landlords choose to use a letting agent include the fact that agents have local knowledge they perhaps don’t have themselves, which 50 per cent cited as a reason, and 76 per cent said they enjoy the fact that agents are proactive in helping them to find new tenants for their properties.

One of the main reasons that some people said they choose not to use a letting agent is because they believe it can be too costly, but interestingly, the research found that agents actually save landlords money in the long run.

It said that void periods for owners who use an agent are far shorter and fewer than for those who go it alone, and a survey suggests that in these cases letting agents can in fact save their clients an average of almost £ 2000.