A new survey suggests letting agents believe themselves to be far more valuable to landlords now, thanks to the Renters Rights Act.
The survey, by The Letting Partnership, says agents are facing a notable increase in compliance and administrative workloads.
But seven in 10 agents believe the increased complexity of the sector will ultimately make professional agents more important to landlords.
The research shows that: –
- 62.5% of agents have seen the amount of time their teams spend on compliance and administration increase, with 29.2% reporting a significant increase and a further 33.3% seeing workloads increase slightly;
- Increased administration ranks top, cited by 45.5% of agents, while a further 18.2% point specifically to a greater compliance workload;
- Another 22.7% say increased disputes or uncertainty have been the biggest operational consequence, with just 9.1% reporting little or no impact;
- Seven in 10 (70.8%) believe the Renters Rights Act will make professional letting agents more important to landlords, including 25% who believe they will become significantly more important and 45.8% who expect them to become somewhat more important;
- Almost two-thirds (62.5%) say the Renters’ Rights Act has had a negative impact on landlord sentiment, including 45.8% who have seen a somewhat negative impact and 16.7% who describe the impact as very negative;
- Just 16.7% report a positive impact, while 20.8% have seen no noticeable change;
- Half of agents believe the private rented sector will be in a weaker position 12 months from now, compared with 16.6% who expect it to be stronger and 33.3% who anticipate it will remain broadly unchanged;
- Reduced rental supply is the most commonly anticipated long-term consequence of the reforms, cited by 38.1% of agents, followed by fewer landlords at 33.3% and higher rents at 14.3%;
- A further 9.5% believe the biggest long-term consequence will be increased use of managing agents.
