Another point of view

The interaction between business owners and letting agents can often lead to the former asking what exactly what the latter do for their money. Though it may be considered otherwise, the answer is in fact rather a lot. Though most commercial agents would much rather be focusing on renting out their properties, much of their time and effort is spent appeasing existing tenants and landlords.

Among the tasks that agents take on, rent collecting appears to be the number one gripe. Agents are paid to do the dirty work on behalf of landlords, and getting the rent to that landlord often poses a challenge more than worth their pay. Slow payment from the tenant often results in the letting agent taking the blame from the landlord. As expressed by some in the profession, the role of letting agents has more in common to that of a debt collector.

Chasing for payment from tenants struggling to cough up often involves countless calls and letters, landlords pay for the inconvenience of not having to deal with these late-payers and tracking down the tenants that seem to disappear off the radar.

Rock and a hard place
On the flipside of this, some tenants simply don’t know when to leave the agent alone. The most amicable tenant, may down the line, become a considerable headache at the most inopportune time. While the landlord is sound asleep or at leisure, the agent will be taking a call about a faulty toilet in an office block. Even if the agent acts straight away, they then have to trust a plumber to arrive promptly and do a good job. If this doesn’t happen, once again the agent is left facing the wrath of the angry tenant.

The key for agents is to establish good relationships with the people that carry out the work for them: plumbers, cleaners and assessors. Letting agents have to put a great deal of trust in their service providers, so if possible a strong link should be established with a reputable source.

Agents also need to place trust with their tenants. A well kept property helps set the standard for the tenant. It encourages them to take pride in the property they rent, resulting in them taking better care of it which ultimately benefits the agent. A well kept property is not only an easier property to manage yet retains its rental value and will help attract the right kind of clientele in the future.

Any letting agent will tell you a large portion of their job is spent chasing other people, credit checks, references, collecting rent and so on. This coupled with the broken toilets and lost car park keys can often get in the way of agents arranging mandatory certificates.

As safe as houses
One of the most important areas agents have to consider is safety and the ongoing regulation that surrounds this. Any property with any sort of gas appliance must have a Gas Safety Certificate. The certificate is only valid for a year so it must be recorded when it is up for renewal. Fire risk assessments should also be carried out, so that buildings conform to the safety checks laid out in legislation contained in the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Anyone who has control over premises must take reasonable steps to reduce the risk from fire and make sure people can safely escape. This is particularly important for commercial properties where there are likely to be lots of people all under one roof. This therefore requires fire procedure plans both for the whole building and for individual tenants.

There are also other legislation concerns for the agent to consider. Everyone selling, renting or building a commercial property also needs a commercial EPC. Although this is technically the responsibility of the landlord, letting agents should never knowingly try to rent out a property that doesn’t meet government requirements.

Although the commercial EPC requirement has been mandatory since 2008, many private landlords have chosen to ignore it. As such, it’s currently estimated that there is only a 20 percent uptake meaning four out of five commercial properties are not being assessed as per legislation. Primarily this is largely due to lack of awareness and a good agent should ensure that the landlord is fully aware of this.

The penalty for failing to make an EPC available to a prospective buyer or tenant when selling or letting non-dwellings is fixed, in most cases, at 12.5 percent of the rateable value of the building. Letting agents need to make sure an EPC assessment has been carried out before they market the property.

Agents need to keep on top of upcoming changes in legislation in both safety and energy efficiency too. A good, organised letting agent can see a certificate renewal date a mile off and if they don’t you may be forgiven for asking: “What on earth do they do for their money?”

Depending on the skills set and the comparative size of the agency, an increasing number of letting agencies are looking at outsourcing some, if not all, of their property management and services. Every business wants to lower costs, expand and ensure that their productivity is not compromised. In accordance, outsourcing can work alongside existing staff practices and increase the collective strength of the company.

Outsourcing therefore can help deliver customer service efficiently on a day-to-day basis from professionals committed to a round the clock service, leaving letting agents to focus on the core activity of their job – letting property.