Letting Agents A Brief

A letting agent is an expression used in United Kingdom to refer to a person who mediates the undertaking of an agreement between a tenant and a landlord in cases of residential properties. The letting agent is known to charge a certain commission for his/her services which is normally a fixed percent of the twelve-monthly rent.

These agents generally work along side with Real Estate Agents owing to the similarities in their line of work, but several letting agents are also known to work independently and deal only in lettings.

The services that letting agents generally offer can be divided into three (3) parts:
Their primary service is introducing the landlord and the tenant. The landlord is usually charged a fixed percent of the agreement’s total tenancy term and this is charged up front. This is generally in between seven (7) and eleven (11) percent.
The tenant is asked to pay, what is referred to as, the administration fee, and this is also charged up front. This is to take care of the application being processed, and also normally takes care of possible tenants wishing to undergo credit searches. These fees can be varied, and are generally in between ?50.00 and ?300.00. Also, these are generally non refundable with the exception of the landlord withdrawing from the process.
Several of these agents are also known to offer their services in collecting rent over the tenancy’s duration and charge an extra commission for the same.
Letting agents also offer a service referred to as ‘full management’ which incorporates the everyday management of the property in question. This service is also charged for and the commission for this service is also generally in between seven (7) and eleven (11) percent; to be charged every month.

If the tenant wants to extend the tenancy, a renewal fee is generally charged, and this is generally lesser than the fee that was charged originally. The renewal fee can also vary from scenario to scenario and generally starts from ?30 and can exceed ?100.

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