Letting Agents Must Get Better at Repairs

Letting agents are generally getting better at dealing with repairs in rental properties, but some could be at risk of losing clients.

Some landlords could leave their letting agent for a competitor firm if the agent has poor repair management processes.

Letting Agents Must Get Better at Repairs

Repair reporting software company, Fixflo, has compiled a report with the support of the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA). The firm surveyed 250 letting agents, who manage 750 branches between them.

The report also includes data from over 70,000 repairs that Fixflo has dealt with.

The results are both positive and negative regarding agents:

• 85% of repairs are completed within a week.
• 46% of property managers are aware of a landlord that has changed agency due to a repair related issue.
• On average, each property requires three repairs per year.
• Each repair takes an average of 90 minutes of staff time to resolve.
• One third of repairs are reported out of hours.
• The amount of repair requests in Polish outnumbers those from the next four languages combined.

Managing Director of Fixflo, Rajeev Nayyar, warns of forthcoming changes to the law, which will make it compulsory for landlords and agents to respond quickly to tenants who complain about repair issues, or risk losing the right to reclaim the property.

He explains: “With fundamental changes to the repairs process taking effect for new tenancies in England from October 1^st, time is running out for agencies and landlords to get robust repairs processes in place.

“Agencies that fail to comply with the requirements could face both financial and reputational damage.”¹

¹ http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/letting-agents-urged-to-get-to-grips-with-repairs-before-october-deadline/