How to Change Letting

Agent in One Easy Step

Changing letting agent can seem like a daunting task, and is something that many landlords put off, regardless of receiving substandard service or no longer feeling that their current agent is a good fit. In reality, changing letting agent is a quick and straightforward process, requiring just one action from the landlord. Your new letting agent will take care of the rest.

Changing letting agent – Landlord action

1. Give notice to your current letting agent

As a landlord, the only step that you must take when changing letting agent is to give notice to your current agent. How you do this, and how much notice you have to give, will be stipulated in the terms of business that you signed when you first appointed your agent. In most cases, the requirement is three months’ notice in writing, but this can vary from agent to agent, so it is best to check in advance.

Once notice has been given, the new letting agent will step in and liaise directly with the tenants and current agent to ensure a straightforward transition. It is as easy as that!

Read our tips on how to choose the best letting agent for you and your property.

Changing letting agent – New agent actions

At Clan Gordon, over 20% of the properties we have taken on in the last 12 months have switched to us from other local letting agents, so we have a tried and tested process to ensure the transition is as smooth as possible for both landlords and tenants. Below are some of the key steps that we take when taking over the management of a lettings property.

1. Contact the current letting agent to request information

As soon as we have the go-ahead from the landlord, we contact the current letting agent to confirm that we will be taking over the property on the agreed date. Ahead of the changeover date, we request copies of:

• Safety certificates
• Tenant name and contact details
• Inventory
• Any property specific information e.g. warranties, factor details

On the agreed change over date we will go to the previous agent’s office to collect:

• All sets of keys held
• The original tenancy documents

2. Contact the tenant

We establish communication with the tenant, to introduce ourselves and let them know that we will be taking over the management of the property, as early in the process as possible. It is important that they are kept updated and know whom to contact if they have any concerns. We ask the tenant to suggest a convenient date and time that we can meet after the management of the property has switched to us.

3. Carry out an initial inspection

After the changeover date, we visit the property to carry out an initial inspection and meet the tenant. The inspection is a good opportunity for the tenant to highlight any concerns or ongoing maintenance issues that may have previously been missed.

The landlord is then sent a full update on the property including:

• Overview photographs of each room
• Details of outstanding maintenance
• Areas that could be improved for future tenancies

The property will then be inspected every 6 months unless there is any cause for concern, in which case inspections would be as often as required until the issue is rectified. Find out more about our property management service.

Contact us to discuss changing the management of your Edinburgh lettings property.