You don’t have to beg landlords to stay

It’s the statistic that no one in property expected but research from the National Landlords Association revealed that 61% of landlords are currently use a letting agent – a 7% increase from the final quarter of 2016. The same report also found the proportion of landlords self-managing their property slipped by nearly 10% during the last year.

The surge in landlords working with letting agents and not following a DIY path comes at a time when many thought investors would be turning their backs on the professionals. The worry is, however, that as buy-to-let taxation changes bite and letting agents potentially increase landlord fees, property investors will head for the door. As desperate as you may feel about retaining business, you don’t have to beg landlords to stay.

The job of a letting agent and property manager is to make a landlord’s life as simple as possible – taking away the hassle, sorting out the problems and transferring the rent into their account with the minimum of fuss. Agents and managers should work hard now to ensure landlords feel they couldn’t possible manage without them – becoming indispensible is a sensible plan for the coming months.

So where to start? Getting landlords to realise the benefits of a full management service will go a long way to plugging gaps that will be left when you can’t charge tenant fees. You might even turn a better profit too! Offering a full management suite may mean increasing the amount of services you offer, refining the level of professionalism your services are delivered with or even offering introductory discounts on full property management for a limited period of time to covert let-only landlords into full service customers.

Lettings has never been more complex and compliance driven, and that in itself should be a strong argument when it comes to getting landlords to stay. The idea of breaking the law scares many buy-to-let owners, as does the thought of having to check up on tenants and possibly evict them. As a property manager, you can provide peace-of-mind.

Dazzle landlords with your industry knowledge and diplomacy skills. Communicate with them more often – maybe through an automated email newsletter – showing them how you’re on top of new regulations. Don’t be frightened to tell landlords what you’re doing to protect their asset– it helps to justify your fee. There’s nothing worse than paying for a service then rarely hearing from the business provider – it leaves people wondering what they’re paying for.

Landlords need to think of you as an ally working on their side at all times. That might mean more regular reporting, a more proactive – rather than reactive – approach to management and a transparent way of working that gives landlords confidence in your abilities. There’s no room for complacency and you should always strive to deliver the best service possible.

Ultimately landlords don’t want the hassle that comes with property investment – they just want the rewards. A full management service people can trust will remain a service in demand – it’s up to you to make sure your business is in the best shape in order to retain landlords and win new business.

Written by Simon Duce – simon.duce@arpm.co.uk

EAN Content

Content shared by this account is either news shared free by third parties or sponsored (paid for) content from third parties. Please be advised that links to third party websites are not endorsed by Estate Agent Networking - Please do your own research before committing to any third party business promoted on our website. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

Rental stock availability in England rises by 19.7%

The latest rental stock analysis from Adiuvo, the UK’s leading provider of 24/7 property management solutions, reveals that tenants in England are benefitting from a 19.7% increase in stock over the 12 months leading up to Q3 2025. In some areas of the country, annual stock growth easily exceeded 50%. Adiuvo has analysed rental listings…
Read More
Breaking News

Tenant demand continues to climb in Q3 as rental market shows no signs of cooling

The latest market analysis by Dwelly, one of the UK’s leading lettings acquisition and success planning experts, has revealed that tenant demand continued to climb across the rental sector during the third quarter of this year, with West Sussex home to the highest demand, whilst Rutland saw the largest quarterly increase. Dwelly’s Rental Demand Index* analyses…
Read More
Breaking News

Halifax House Price Index for September 2025 – Thoughts from the Industry

Halifax House Price Index for September 2025. The latest index shows that: On a monthly basis, house prices fell by -0.3% between August and September 2025. However, house prices were up 1.3% on an annual basis. The new average house price now sits at £298,184. Thoughts from the Industry. Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark, comments:…
Read More
Breaking News

Halifax House Price Index for September 2025

House prices in September 2025 were -0.3% lower than the same month a year earlier. Average house price – £298,184 Monthly change -0.3% Quarterly change +0.4% Annual change +1.3%   Amanda Bryden, Head of Mortgages, Halifax, said: “The average UK house price edged down by -0.3% (£794) in September, following a modest rise in August.…
Read More
New Build for Merseyside
Breaking News

First-time buyer demand falls sharply

First-time buyer demand falls sharply across Britain’s major cities, with Nottingham leading the decline The latest research by Yopa has shown that first-time buyer demand has dropped significantly across a number of major British cities, with Nottingham seeing the sharpest decline since the start of the year. Yopa analysed first-time buyer (FTB) demand based on…
Read More
Breaking News

Families to save hundreds of pounds through major homebuying overhaul

·        Buying or selling a home to be faster, cheaper, and easier under common-sense reforms ·        First-time buyers to save £710 on average, putting money back into people’s pockets ·        Proposals will halve number failed transactions, preventing last minute fall throughs, slashing weeks off the process and driving up standards across the board Hundreds of thousands of first-time…
Read More