Why Qualifications Matter In The Lettings Industry – Exploring The Credentials Of Letting Agents

Are All Letting Agents Qualified?

As a landlord in Plymouth, you may be seeking a letting agent to manage your property on your behalf. Many people believe that every letting agent must have certain qualifications to be permitted to work in this industry, which is the case in Wales and Scotland.

However, as things currently stand in Northern Ireland and England, anybody can be a letting agent, whether or not they have an appropriate qualification. There are no formal standardised qualification requirements for letting agents; the only requirement is to have Client Money Protection and be a member of one of the Ombudsman schemes.

What Is The Situation In Wales And Scotland?

Every letting agent in Scotland is required to register with the Scottish Letting Agent Register. Also, anyone managing or supervising a letting agency’s operations must be qualified and ensure those qualifications remain current.

In Wales, anybody who lets and manages a rental property has to be licensed. To obtain that license, they must complete and pass a course and undertake ongoing CPD (Continuing Professional Development).

What is The Situation In England?

A requirement for every social housing manager to have professional qualifications is on the horizon in an attempt to improve the sector’s standards and protect residents. However, that won’t affect the private rental sector. It’s possible that change could be in the offing, but at present, there is no legal requirement for any letting agent in England to have qualifications.

Do I Need To Use A Qualified Letting Agent?

There is no legal requirement to use only a letting agent with appropriate qualifications; however, ensuring that you’re choosing a team of professionals to deal with your property makes sense. When a landlord uses a letting agent to manage and let their property, they trust them to carry out the job to a high standard.

As a landlord, you want confidence that your tenancy and property will always comply with the law and that tenants are treated professionally and fairly. You also need to be assured that your agent will know how to resolve any issues that may arise and will know what they’re legally permitted to do and what is outside the scope of their remit.

There are countless laws surrounding the management and letting of property, and those laws are regularly amended, sometimes changing multiple times during a single year! Because of this, you want to be sure that you’re working with an agent who operates to high standards of practice and will always stay within the law.

How Do I Find A Reputable Letting Agent?

A reputable letting agent will usually be a member of a self-regulating industry body. Many of those bodies require letting agents to have suitable qualifications, including Propertymark, which offer specialist, regulated qualifications for residential estate and letting agents, commercial property agents, auctioneers and inventory clerks.

Working with a letting agent who has a membership with one of these bodies will give you the peace of mind you need that your rental property will be in safe and professional hands.

At Plymouth Homes Lettings, you can be confident that our team are fully trained and qualified and have our member organisation’s legal support and backing.

Contact our team on 01752 514500 option 2 and relax, safe in the knowledge that your property will be managed by skilled professionals.