A genuinely practical checklist any landlord can use when comparing agents, including us. The answers matter considerably more than how polished the brochure is.
What’s your guaranteed response time, and what actually happens if you miss it? As covered elsewhere, response time is the single biggest factor in landlord satisfaction and the primary reason landlords leave agents — a specific, measurable answer here matters more than almost anything else on this list.
What’s the full fee schedule — every charge, stated clearly as inclusive or exclusive of VAT? Not just the headline management percentage, but every additional charge that could apply over a normal year, in writing, on one page.
How many Section 8 notices have you actually served since May 2026? A specific number, not a vague reassurance. An agent with genuine, recent experience of the new possession process should be able to answer this precisely.
Can you show proof the Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet went to every existing tenant by 31 May 2026? This is checkable, and an agent who handled it properly should have the evidence readily available.
Who specifically manages my property day to day, and what happens when they’re on leave? A named individual, with a clear answer about cover arrangements, rather than a vague reference to “the team.”
What’s your process for arrears, from the very first missed payment? Listen for a clear, structured process rather than a general description — the detail here reveals how seriously arrears management is actually taken.
How do you handle maintenance — is there any markup on contractor invoices? A direct, honest answer to a question some agents are reluctant to address specifically.
What’s your average time-to-let for a property comparable to mine? A specific figure, ideally with some evidence behind it, rather than a general impression.
How many landlords have left you in the last year, and do you know why? A genuinely revealing question — an agent confident in their retention, and honest about any patterns in why landlords have left, is telling you something meaningful about the actual client experience.
Can I speak to an existing landlord client as a reference? The final, practical test — an agent confident in the quality of their service should have no hesitation connecting a prospective landlord with an existing one.
Any agent genuinely confident in what they do should be able to answer all ten of these without hesitation or evasion. How comfortably — or uncomfortably — an agent handles this list often reveals more about what it would actually be like to work with them than anything in their marketing materials.
General information for landlords. Property Lounge, Guildford.
Need a second opinion?
We’re Property Lounge, an ARLA Propertymark accredited lettings agency in Guildford. If anything above raised a question about your own property, we’re happy to talk it through — whether or not you’re a client, and whether or not you ever become one. No charge, no obligation, and we won’t chase you afterwards.
If you’re weighing up agents, ours is easy to check: our landlord fees are published in full — 12% inclusive of VAT for fully managed, and no surprises after that.
You can see how our fully managed lettings service works, what it costs, or book a free rental valuation.
Call 01483 369209 or email lettings@propertylounge.co.uk.
