Most of the UK’s 15,000 or so letting agencies are staffed by honest and hard-working people. But every year a handful of them turn out to be ‘rogue’.
This is a polite term used to describe criminal behaviour whether it's incompetence or people who set out to defraud both tenants and landlords.
The trouble is, a dodgy one can look the same as a legit one. Therefore, how do you tell the difference between the two?
Here’s some help to spot the wrong ‘uns from the good ones. Remember the examples below could equally apply to landlords.
They rush you
Letting agents shouldn’t rush you. Although some may do it for legitimate reasons, it’s not ideal and the rogue ones are hoping that the harder they rush you, the less you will think about how legitimate they are or check their background and credentials. Be suspicious of agents who urge you to get the paperwork completed at breakneck speed.
What should a good one do?
A good letting agent will make you aware of the target move-in date and should give you some leeway to acccommodate your schedue.
Their properties are too good to be true
In a competitive and busy rental market, occasionally properties pop up on classified advertising websites like Gumtree and Facebook that appear to be highly desirable but priced at below-market rents. It’s a wish come true for many renters, but too often they are fake ads by pretend letting agents. The person advertising the properties then asks for a holding deposit and subsequently disappears with your money.
Read our guide on how to avoid being scammed when renting.
Their website doesn’t have any contact details
Some rogue letting agents have slick websites packed with properties for rent, but don't publish any concrete contact or location details on it. Be wary of this; ask to speak to someone or pay a visit to their office.
They insist on being paid in cash
Legitimate letting agents will ask you to pay your deposit and rent via an online bank payment or BACS. Paying with cash puts you at significant risk of illegal or unethical behaviour and is unusual to say the least. But if it’s the only way you can pay, get a receipt detailing what, when and how much has been paid.
They are not a member of any industry association
If a letting agency is not a member of one of the industry associations then be careful, as it can be a sign that they are a fly-by-night operator. Organisations that ideally they should be members of include the Association of Residential Letting Agents, SafeAgent or the UK Association of Letting Agents.
They're not signed up to the mandatory regulatory schemes
The law requires letting agencies to be a member of a redress scheme and also place your rental deposit in a government-approved approved protection scheme. They would also be a member of a Client Money Protection scheme, which ensures they don’t run off with your cash. If they are not, then they’re breaking the law and are likely to be up to something fishy. Here’s what they should be members of:
Client Money Protection
What is it?
A scheme that ensures a letting agent keeps your money in a protected and ring-fenced bank account and that they have taken out indemnity insurance that pays you back if they go bust or disappear to the Costa del Sol.
The schemes to look out for are:
A redress Scheme
What is it?
It's an arbitration services that, if you and a letting agency fall out over money or bad service and you can’t get them to do anything about it, will look at the case independently and then judge whether you’re due any cash. Letting agents are required to be a member of one by law.
These are:
They claim they don’t have the keys to a property.
This is one of the classic tricks of a scammer, who will pretend to be a letting agent and take you to an address, but ‘forget’ to bring the keys and show you the outside. They will then ask for a holding fee, or the deposit and first month’s rent in advance, and then disappear with your money.
They don’t protect your deposit
Letting agents and landlords are required by law to place or protect your rental deposit with one of the UK’s three government-approved protection schemes and send you evidence within 30 days of moving in that this has been completed. If they don’t, they are both breaking the law and likely to be ‘rogue’ agents.
The three deposit protection services that letting agents must use by law:
They're not on any property portals
It's normal for a letting agent to list their properties for rent on at least one of the UK's key property portals including Rightmove, Zoopla or OnTheMarket. If they don't then it's unusual, to say the least, so be careful.
CreditLadder can help you improve your credit score
If you want to improve your credit position by reporting your rent payments, CreditLadder is the only way to improve your credit score and position across all four of the main Credit Reference Agencies in the UK, namely Experian, Equifax, TransUnion and Crediva. Building up a high credit score has a lot of benefits, including helping you access finance at better rates - this can also help save you money.
CreditLadder also runs a free mortgage application service in partnership with Tembo which will tell you how much you could borrow.
Remember the information provided in this article is for information purposes only and should not be considered as advice.
