What a Letting Agent does

For the tenant, it is much simpler to rent than to buy, a contributory factor to the steady growth in the Private Rented Sector; and the agent does most of the work for the landlord too. That is why the letting agent's job is so complex. It is not just a matter of finding a property that appeals to the personal taste of one buyer.

For the tenant, the agent has to find an instant home, usually at short notice, that will be pleasant to live in and in good working order.

For the landlord, the agent is the guard dog, helping to protect an expensive asset by finding suitable tenants who will enjoy and care for the property, by managing the maintenance and repairs and by producing the income stream the owner requires.

To attract good covenant tenants the agent needs to be well-established in the area with a strong local reputation. It is this reputation - for professionalism, membership of ARLA with its requirements for qualified staff, client accounting and indemnity cover leading to fidelity bonding - that brings in the instructions from the property owners - and that is what attracts the tenants.

After a tenant's offer has been accepted, the letting agent is responsible for taking up references and making credit checks before preparing to change the utility accounts and drawing up the Tenancy Agreement.

It all begins with references, credit references from the bank or building society and personal references from the employer and, if applicable, from a previous landlord. These personal references are very important. There's a total stranger about to move into the property. Some clues to character are needed to match with the agent's own experienced assessment of the applicant. For the self-employed, references are expected from an accountant or solicitor.

Then, an inventory and condition report must be made. In this report, the entire contents of the property will be noted down, along with the condition of the carpets, curtains, furniture, wallpaper and paintwork. Both the tenant and the landlord, or their representatives should be present when this inventory report is compiled, and then they should sign each others' copies. It will be the basis for checking that the contents and the condition of the property at the end of the tenancy are the same as they were at the start.

The legal process is fair and equitable to both landlord and tenant, everyone will know where they stand. Virtually every let nowadays is arranged as an Assured Shorthold Tenancy, unless the property has a rental value of more than £25,000 a year. An Assured Shorthold is for a minimum of six months; and, more often than not, these tenancy agreements run for a year. They can contain options to renew but the initial length of the tenancy will have been agreed at the outset. So will the rent payable, with it being stipulated in advance that when the agreement is for more than a year, or if there is an option to renew, the rent will be increased, probably annually and in line with any upward movement in the Retail Prices Index.

So, in short, the landlord and the tenant can be confident of the precise rental term and cost; and, with a properly drawn-up Tenancy Agreement, of the Dos and Don'ts.

These Dos and Don'ts will be included in a Tenancy Agreement produced by the experienced agent; but the first Don't is don't expect to find them catered for in an off-the shelf agreement form bought from HMSO or from law stationers. The agent's own Tenancy Agreement will be the product of experience, local market conditions and the constantly revised and up-dated advice of specialist lawyers, selected for being properly versed in residential property law.

As well as including the length and cost of the tenancy the deposit and the responsibilities of the tenant, an agent's own Agreement will certainly detail many other matters important to each individual property. The Agreement will cover pets (and the agent may well have demanded pet references), children and specific responsibilities like looking after common parts or the garden, even down to feeding the goldfish in the pond. It's all there in black and white and both parties must read it carefully before signing.

The agent will notify the mortgage lender of the new let and its terms and change the utility accounts as bills from the electricity, gas, water and telephone companies and for Council Tax become the responsibility of the tenant. Then, once the cheque for the deposit (usually the equivalent of a month to six weeks rent) together with the amount for the first rental period has been cleared - AND NOT BEFORE, the keys are handed over and the tenant can move in.

During the term of the tenancy the letting agent will collect the rent, attend to day-to-day maintenance and repair as requested by the tenant and required under the terms of the Tenancy Agreement, alert the owner of major problems needing attention, account to him for costs incurred and pay over all balances due. Periodic but regular inspection visits are made to check that all is well with the property and that the tenant is happy - for a contented tenant is the best tenant.

Finally, at the end of the tenancy, the inventory and condition is checked against the signed report, deposit monies returned, or allocated against missing or damaged items, and the utility accounts returned into the owners name.

Then the whole process starts again, hopefully with the property only vacant for a very short time. In a well drawn-up Tenancy Agreement there is always a clause to allow the agent to start showing the property to prospective new tenants before the existing tenancy has run its course.