A few years ago, one of our larger portfolio landlords bought a couple of properties in Oxford. He asked whether we'd manage them for him, and we politely declined, explaining that we were a London agency and Oxford was rather outside our patch. A couple of weeks later, he called me, sounding extremely pleased with himself, because he'd managed to let both properties without any help from us.
Excellent, I thought. Good for him. Then I started asking a few questions about what he'd done beyond finding the tenants, and the conversation took a rather unexpected turn.
Had he done this? Had he checked that? What about the documentation? Had he dealt with the various requirements associated with the tenancy? And when he'd completed one particular step, had he remembered the related obligation that went alongside it? We worked our way through the list, and about a third of the way in, he interrupted me.
"You do this on every single one of my properties?"
Yes, I explained, and we hadn't finished the list yet. It was a rather revealing conversation, because this was an experienced landlord with a substantial portfolio, not somebody who had wandered into property investment without any understanding of what was involved.
He simply hadn't appreciated how much work happened behind the scenes when we let and managed his London properties. And in a funny sort of way, that was partly our fault, because we'd made it look too easy.
When Everything Works, Nobody Notices
There's a strange contradiction at the heart of good property management. If you're doing your job properly, an awful lot of the work you undertake is designed to prevent things from becoming problems. You check that documents are correct, keep track of important dates, identify maintenance issues before they become serious, communicate with tenants, advise landlords and make sure the various obligations associated with renting out a property are being addressed.
When it all works, the landlord receives their rent, the tenant enjoys their home and there isn't much drama. That's precisely what everyone wants, but the absence of drama can create the impression that very little is happening. From a landlord's perspective, it can sometimes look as though the agent collects the rent, forwards a statement, occasionally organises a repair and takes a percentage of the income for the privilege.
I can understand why that might lead someone to question the value of the service. If you don't see the work, it's difficult to appreciate what you're paying for, and I think this is something our industry has been remarkably poor at explaining. We've spent so much time promising landlords a hassle-free experience that we sometimes forget to communicate what actually goes into delivering one.
Letting a Property Is the Easy Bit to Understand
Most landlords have a reasonable idea of what happens when a property goes on the market. The agent arranges photographs, prepares the listing, advertises the property, handles enquiries, conducts viewings, negotiates terms and finds a tenant. It's visible work with an obvious result, because the property was empty and now somebody is paying rent.
There's a clear connection between what the agent did and what the landlord received, which makes it relatively straightforward to understand the value of the service. Property management is much harder to demonstrate, because its value is spread across hundreds of smaller actions, decisions and interventions, many of which never develop into anything interesting enough to warrant a phone call.
A tenancy document is checked properly, a maintenance issue is identified early, a contractor is challenged over an inappropriate recommendation or a tenant receives a timely response. A licensing requirement is reviewed, or a landlord is advised against taking a course of action that might create unnecessary risk. Individually, these things can seem fairly mundane, but collectively they're a substantial part of what separates competent property management from simply administering a tenancy.
And they require experience, organisation, judgement and time. The difficulty is that landlords rarely see the full picture unless something goes wrong, which creates a rather peculiar situation where the people delivering the best service can sometimes struggle to demonstrate how much they're actually doing.
The Compliance Work Nobody Asked About
One of the reasons this has been on my mind recently is a conversation I had with Paul Conway of Yuno, whose business specialises in property compliance. We were discussing the growing complexity of the obligations associated with residential lettings, particularly in London, where different local authorities operate different property licensing schemes.
At Base, we manage properties across eight London boroughs. That means we're dealing with a variety of local requirements, alongside the national obligations that apply to rented property. A landlord might own a flat in one borough that requires a particular licence and another, apparently similar property elsewhere that falls under a different arrangement.
The requirements can also change over time, as schemes are introduced, renewed or altered. A property that didn't previously fall within a particular licensing regime may subsequently be affected, and licensing itself is only one part of the picture. There are obligations relating to safety, property condition, tenancy documentation and a host of other matters that need attention throughout the life of a tenancy.
For a landlord with one property, keeping track of everything can be challenging enough. For somebody with several properties in different locations, it becomes a much more substantial responsibility, particularly when the consequences of overlooking something can be serious.
A good managing agent should help navigate that complexity, but if the agent does it effectively, the landlord may never realise how much knowledge and administrative work has been required. They simply know that the property is being looked after, which is a lovely outcome but creates a problem when the conversation turns to fees.
Why Good Agents Sometimes Look Expensive
I've seen a similar phenomenon on the sales side of estate agency. An agent takes on a property that two previous agents have struggled to sell, launches it properly, generates substantial interest and secures an excellent offer within days. Then the seller starts wondering why they should pay the agreed fee when the whole thing appeared to happen so quickly.
It's an understandable reaction, but it overlooks the reason the successful agent achieved what the others couldn't. You're not necessarily paying for the number of hours somebody spends visibly working on your property. You're paying for the experience, expertise, preparation, relationships and judgement that allow them to produce the result.
The same principle applies to lettings and management, although the value is often less immediately obvious. A cheaper agent might be perfectly capable of advertising a property and finding a tenant, but what happens over the following twelve months, three years or five years? How effectively do they deal with maintenance, how knowledgeable are they about the obligations affecting your property, and do they identify problems early enough to prevent them becoming significantly more expensive?
These questions matter considerably more than whether one agency charges a percentage point less than another. I'm not suggesting that higher fees automatically mean better service, because they absolutely don't. I've seen expensive agencies deliver thoroughly disappointing experiences, and smaller, competitively priced businesses do an exceptional job.
But management fees need to be judged against the quality and scope of the service being delivered. A cheap service that leaves you exposed to avoidable problems can become extraordinarily expensive, particularly when those problems involve significant repairs, prolonged disputes or failures to meet legal obligations.
The Real Value Often Lies in What Doesn't Happen
Imagine a tenant reports a small leak. A good property manager responds promptly, asks the right questions, arranges an appropriate contractor and keeps the landlord informed. The issue is resolved before it causes significant damage, and from the landlord's perspective they've paid for a relatively minor repair.
What they may not appreciate is that the same issue, handled badly or left unattended, could have become considerably more disruptive and expensive. Water damage can spread, tenants can become understandably frustrated and what began as a straightforward repair can develop into a much bigger problem involving additional work, lost time and unnecessary expense.
Or consider a tenancy nearing its end. There are conversations to manage, expectations to establish, arrangements to coordinate and decisions to make about the property's condition and any proposed deductions. Handle those things properly and the tenancy can conclude with relatively little friction, while poor communication or inadequate preparation can turn an otherwise straightforward departure into a drawn-out disagreement.
Not every problem can be prevented, of course. Properties develop faults, tenants and landlords sometimes disagree, and even excellent agents encounter situations that are difficult to resolve. But the quality of the management can have a significant influence on how those situations develop, particularly when the people involved have the experience to recognise what needs attention and the confidence to deal with it promptly.
Good property management doesn't guarantee a problem-free investment. It improves the likelihood that problems are identified, understood and dealt with appropriately, and that distinction matters enormously when you're trusting somebody else with an asset worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Landlords Don't Know What They Don't Know
I often think back to that conversation with our landlord about his Oxford properties. He wasn't being careless or deliberately ignoring his responsibilities, and he'd successfully found tenants and was understandably pleased with the outcome. What surprised him was the number of additional considerations that sat behind an apparently straightforward transaction.
And that's entirely understandable, because unless you work in residential lettings every day, why would you be familiar with every procedural requirement, licensing variation or technical obligation? Most landlords have other careers and responsibilities, and even professional investors may not have the time or specialist knowledge to follow every change affecting their properties.
That's one of the reasons they appoint an agent, but appointing an agent doesn't mean a landlord should stop asking questions or taking an interest. Quite the opposite, because a good agent should be able to explain what they're doing, why they're doing it and how it benefits the property, the tenancy or the landlord's position.
If an agent recommends a particular assessment, improvement or piece of maintenance, the landlord should understand the reasoning. If there's a new licensing requirement, they should know what it involves, and if management fees are increasing because the scope of work has genuinely expanded, that should be an informed conversation rather than an unpleasant surprise.
The more landlords understand about what good management involves, the better equipped they are to distinguish genuine expertise from a polished sales pitch. They can also make better decisions about their properties, because they're working with an agent who explains the issues rather than simply asking them to approve expenditure without context.
We Need to Get Better at Showing Our Work
During my conversation with Paul, we were looking at the sort of detailed compliance reporting that specialist technology can produce. He suggested that some agents might prefer not to share particularly technical reports with their managed landlords, and I disagreed because I think sharing that information, with appropriate explanation, can be enormously valuable.
Why wouldn't we want our landlords to understand the work involved in keeping their properties properly managed? If a report identifies the obligations affecting a particular property, the requirements that have been satisfied and the issues needing attention, that information helps the landlord understand the responsibilities attached to their investment.
It also gives the agent an opportunity to demonstrate the value of the service being provided, although that doesn't mean bombarding clients with technical documents and expecting them to decipher everything themselves. A good agent should translate complicated information into clear, practical advice that allows the landlord to understand what matters and make informed decisions.
Here's what applies to your property, here's what we've already taken care of, and here's what needs attention next, why it matters and what we recommend doing about it. That's a much more useful conversation than simply telling a landlord that everything is under control, particularly when there are decisions to make about expenditure, timescales or potential risks.
It builds a healthier relationship, too. Landlords can make informed decisions, understand their responsibilities and appreciate the work involved in managing their investment properly, while the agent has a much stronger foundation for explaining their fees.
Property Management Is Becoming More Demanding
There's another reason this matters now. The responsibilities associated with renting out residential property are evolving, and the direction of travel is towards greater scrutiny of property standards and management practices. Some changes are already in force, while others are being introduced in stages or remain subject to further detail, so landlords and agents need to understand which obligations apply now and which are still approaching.
For landlords, that means the cost and complexity of responsible property ownership need to be reviewed regularly. For agents, it means more monitoring, more specialist knowledge, more communication, more documentation and potentially more intervention when properties need attention. Those additional responsibilities have to be delivered by somebody, and they have a cost.
I don't think agents should be embarrassed about discussing that. If the work required to manage a property properly increases, it's reasonable to review whether the existing fee still reflects the service, just as landlords are entitled to ask what additional value they're receiving.
The answer shouldn't be vague references to changing legislation or rising overheads. It should be a clear explanation of the actual work involved, because greater transparency around property management helps landlords understand the reality of owning and operating a rental property.
A Good Agent Should Make Your Life Easier, Not Keep You in the Dark
There's a balance to strike here. Nobody appoints a managing agent because they want to spend their evenings reading compliance reports, discussing contractor qualifications and monitoring renewal dates. They appoint one because they want somebody competent to take care of those things, and quite rightly.
A good agent should remove unnecessary work and worry from the landlord's life, but that doesn't mean the landlord should be completely unaware of what's happening. They should have confidence that the right processes are in place, understand significant decisions and receive clear information about anything that affects their property or investment.
They should also know that their agent has the experience to recognise when specialist advice is needed. No individual property manager can reasonably be expected to be an expert in every technical discipline, but a good one should understand the limits of their knowledge and know how to obtain reliable advice when the situation demands it.
For me, that combination of competence, transparency and judgement is what professional property management ought to look like. The work happens efficiently in the background, but the landlord isn't left guessing about what they're paying for, and when something important needs their attention, they receive advice they can actually understand and act upon.
Making It Look Easy Is a Skill
I sometimes wonder whether we've done ourselves a disservice as an industry by becoming too good at hiding the complicated parts of our work. We want clients to feel that everything is effortless, we want to absorb the hassle, manage the problems and present a calm, straightforward experience. Those are good instincts, but if we're not careful, we create the impression that property management is itself straightforward.
It isn't, and pretending otherwise doesn't help landlords appreciate what they're buying. It involves a considerable amount of knowledge, coordination, administration and professional judgement, much of which is invisible when everything is running smoothly.
That doesn't mean we should manufacture complexity to make ourselves look important, nor should we inundate landlords with every email, reminder and minor decision. It means we should communicate more intelligently about the responsibilities we're taking on and the work we're doing, while continuing to deliver the straightforward experience that clients rightly expect.
Because ultimately, the value of a good letting agent isn't measured simply by how many problems they bring to your attention. It's measured partly by how effectively they deal with the problems that arise, and partly by how many avoidable problems never develop in the first place.
Our landlord in Oxford discovered that there's rather more to letting a property than finding somebody willing to pay the rent. For those of us who do this every day, that might seem obvious, but perhaps we shouldn't assume our clients know it.
If we're doing our jobs exceptionally well, there's a very good chance they don't realise just how much we're doing. And I think it's about time we got better at telling them.
