You probably didn’t realise that there are several different types of Landlord that you can rent your London Flat from, and it’s probably very important to have an idea of the type of landlord that you are looking for. Once you understand the type of Landlord you are looking for, you can narrow down how you set about finding that type of property.
The principle types of Landlord are:
- Large Agent.
- Small Agent.
- Professional Landlord.
- Amateur Landlord.
Each has different advantages and disadvantages as a Landlord, and different ways of finding vacant properties rented by that type of Landlord.
It’s quite important that a tenant understands the differences, particularly as the only part of the Property Industry that is regulated are HMO Landlords. In a series of articles we will be exploring each type of Landlord, the pros and cons of renting from them, and how to look for property from that type of Landlord.
Large Agent
Large Agents operate as chains, with many local branches serving a local area. Often they are quoted PLCs and sometimes are International companies. They will typically be a member of one of the trade associations:
- the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA)
- the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA)
- the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
- the National Approved Letting Scheme (NALS)
- the Guild of Letting and Management (GLM)
- Ombudsman for Estate Agents scheme (TPO)
- UK Association of Letting Agents (UKALA)
- The Association of Letting & Management Agents (ALMA)
Small Agent
Anybody can set up as a Letting Agent, and although most have an office in truth it can be done from a home office using the internet. This is not necessarily a bad sign and Pimlico Flats do use 2 companies who fall into the “Small Agent” category to rent certain of our properties, because we know them to be ethical responsible companies.
Professional Landlord
Professional Landlords are not particularly common in the UK, but it is the normal business model for housing on the continent. Landlords build or provide high quality housing and rent it directly to the public according to the national laws and regulations.
Amateur Landlord
A particularly UK phenomenon individuals buy and rent out a small number of properties. Often they do this to Building Regulation standards applicable to owner-occupiers, rather than the Housing Act standards applicable to rented property, which can be different. When an Amateur Landlord rents directly to a tenant, the tenant needs to be an expert renter familiar with all the ways that they may lose their money to scams, and also how to ensure that their legal tenancy rights are upheld. Often Amateur landlords rent through Agents, in which case the situation may become more complicated.
