Letting Agent vs Private Landlord?

[JamesM]

I've been in both situations as landlord and tenant. From the tenants perspective you just want someone who gets problems fixed with the least hassle and leaves you alone - what more could you want?

A professional priovate landlord is just as likely to provide this as a lettings agent. But there are unprofessional lettings agents and unprofessional private landlords.

So I guess its a question without an answer which was probably the point.

[donnaphipps49]

Advantages:

For Letting Agents:

-Professional
-Good knowledge of the region in which they run
-Experienced at handling rental issues
-Usually an experienced company having a reputation to support


For Private Landlords:

Rent is usually cheaper than via letting agents
No intermediary if you are dealing immediate with the landlord

Disadvantages:

For Letting Agents

-A lot of businesses are not ARLA registered that will create deceptive contracts as well as charge hidden costs
-Tenancy is often managed "by the actual book" with little or no space for negotiation
-You tend to be dealing with a company instead of an individual

For Private Land lords


-Can end up being less organised than the usual professional company

-May not really adhere to the law
-Maintenance work can take lengthier to be carried out
-Service might be less professional
-No guarantees associated with long term experience in the field

[nick81uk]

At the moment I have a landlord that owns a few properties and so has accounts set up with the utility companies etc etc and everything is really nice and easy to get sorted. I would worry if I had a landlord that wasnt on this scale though, because everything you get repaired is costing them money and they arent going to like whiney tennants.
I do think being with an agent does offer some form of security and peace of mind however as they have to stay within the rules and have in a sense a lot more to lose, but obviously there is a cost to this.
As for the horror stories, these occur for both private landlords and agencies quite equally I'm sure.

[fairviewaaron]

I agree with Donna on this. Positives & Negatives for every situation as well as horror stories for both!

[cmy82]

I think it also boils down to luck as to which would be better. My last landlord was a godsend. When we couldn't find a place to stay in between our last lease and the new lease, he actually let us stay for free at one of his other apartments. Other landlords just don't care and you might have better luck going with an estate agent that also does the property management. Good luck!

[danielo]

Of all the pros and cons given I think at the end of it all it comes down to what points are more important to you.

[ThameswayTransport]

When it comes to property maintenance and things going wrong, I definitely think there are big benefits to having a private Landlord. When I was renting a property a few years back I had quite a few issues with boiler etc, and got dealt with so quickly by my landlord instead of calling that stupid "out of hours" thing that letting agents suggest you do (which in my experience never gets anything dealt with fast)

I guess it really boils down to how professionally your landlord runs his business and how dedicated he is to ensuring that he has a "happy" person living in his home.
Surely landlords must know that if they treat their tenants well they will probably have more respect for them and most importantly their property!