For years, landlords have been encouraged to focus on one thing when choosing a letting agent: fees.
Who’s cheapest?
Who will manage the property for less?
Who promises the highest rent with the lowest management cost?
And while that approach can seem sensible initially, it often creates the exact problems landlords later become frustrated by.
Because the uncomfortable reality is this: bargain-basement fees usually lead to bargain-basement service.
Good letting agency work is far more involved than many people realise.
Proper property management requires experienced staff, robust systems, ongoing legal training, regular inspections, proactive communication, strong tenant management and careful compliance oversight. It takes time. It takes investment. And it takes people who genuinely care about protecting both landlords and tenants.
None of that is cheap to deliver properly.
Yet some landlords still expect a premium service while paying fees that barely cover the basics.
Then come the complaints.
Poor communication.
Maintenance delays.
Missed inspections.
Weak tenant referencing.
Compliance oversights.
Problems escalating because nobody dealt with them early enough.
Often, there’s a direct link between the race to the bottom on fees and the quality of service that follows.
The strongest letting agents rarely position themselves as the cheapest. In fact, many ethical agencies deliberately avoid competing solely on price because they understand what proper management actually involves.
A good letting agent won’t simply tell landlords what they want to hear.
They’ll challenge unrealistic rental expectations.
They’ll encourage preventative maintenance before issues become expensive.
They’ll prioritise compliance.
They’ll handle tenant relationships professionally and fairly because stable, well-managed tenancies tend to perform far better over time.
And importantly, they’ll understand that good property management isn’t about squeezing every possible pound out of tenants or cutting every possible corner.
It’s about protecting a valuable long-term asset.
Some landlords understandably dislike hearing this.
They’d prefer an agent who agrees with everything. An inflated rental valuation. Minimal maintenance spending. Maximum pressure on tenants. The lowest fee possible.
But those arrangements often create exactly the instability, disputes and stress landlords later blame the agent for.
In reality, the most successful landlords usually approach things differently.
They see letting as a long-term business, not a short-term numbers game. They value professionalism, consistency and proper standards. They understand that quality tenants stay longer when properties are well managed and communication is strong.
And over time, those landlords often achieve better results quietly and consistently.
Lower void periods.
Better tenant retention.
Fewer disputes.
Fewer expensive surprises.
More stable long-term returns.
That’s one of the reasons we became founding members of the Ethical Agent Network and now sit on its advisory panel. The network exists to raise standards within estate and letting agency and recognise businesses committed to honesty, professionalism and genuinely client-focused service.
Because ethical letting isn’t about charging the least.
It’s about delivering the most value over the long term.
So perhaps the better question for landlords isn’t: “Who’s the cheapest?”
It’s: “Who’s most likely to protect my property, my tenants and my investment properly over the next five years?”
Those are usually very different conversations.
Article by Andrew Overman | Partner | Location Location East
