This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
Property Academy’s latest yearly survey has provided concerning findings regarding landlords and their knowledge of their letting agent.
Of the 2,948 landlords questioned, 55% of those using agencies conceded that they were unsure whether their letting agent was affiliated with any professional body.[1]
Landlords Unaware of Agent Credentials
Around 37% of landlords questioned said that they knew their agent was part of The Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA). However, only 11% knew if they were a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and just 9% if they were part of The Property Ombudsman scheme. [1]
More disappointingly, only 8% knew whether if their agent was in the National Approved Letting Scheme (NALS).[1]
Void Periods
More interesting results from the survey included the fact that a potential void period was the biggest concern for landlords about their portfolio. Somewhat surprisingly, this was far more concerning than property damage or rent arrears.
In the event of a void period, 10% of landlords said that they would expect daily updates from their agent, whereas 43% would expect updates two or three times per week.[1]
Another intriguing statistic in the findings was that 7% of landlords would use an online agent, in preference to one on the high street. Somewhat unsurprisingly, a majority of 56% said that they would only use a high street agent. 37% of landlords were non-committal.[1]
[1] http://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/news_features/Landlords-dont-know-of-agents-credentials
