One bit of advice I gave the investors at the Luton PIN this week when the host John Kerr invited me to the front to give a Lettings update to the room concerned the coming ban on Letting Agent fees to tenants which is likely to start in 2018. This is likely to result in some letting agents closing their business and some Estate Agents deciding that with all the legislation and administration which continues to increase in Lettings it is no longer a side to their business they wish to continue.
My advice to the experienced and new investors was to choose very carefully the letting/estate agent they decide to work with this year and be sure they agent will still be trading or working with lettings after the tenant fee ban starts as this could be up to 20% of the agents lettings income.
A dedicated well managed letting agent with all the correct procedures in place will continue to offer the best service and value whereas Estate Agents who still have a healthy sales market are likely to focus on the sales part of their business giving less attention to lettings or deciding to leave the lettings market altogether.
The full impact of the tenant fee ban is still to be worked out in detail and there are still discussions ongoing with the government, but 2017 is when you have to prepare yourself for the changes and consider if the agent you are using is your best choice going into 2018.
