Landlords and Letting Agencies

The term landlord and letting agents are phrases that many students looking for accommodation may come across. Many are not aware of the difference between the two and what the pros and cons may be. Understanding the differences between the two will enable you to focus your search to ensure you find an ideal property. Here we will begin to explain the differences between the two and what we at Unihousing can do.

Landlords

A landlord is the owner of a rental property. By law there are several things that a landlord must provide in their services, some of these include; ensuring that the property is in good condition and that it will pass any safety checks, providing a contract of tenancy and to keep the property secure and safe. Finally, a landlord is required to give notices for a number of things including 1 months’ notice before they can evict you from a property and even when entering a property.

It is important however that you respect and maintain a good relationship with your landlord as they have the power to remove you from a property as long as they are within the law. Paying your rent on time is essential if you would like to stay in your rented accommodation. All issues should be directed to the landlord and no-one else as both you and your landlord have a duty to stick to the contract. Failure to do this will result in being evicted from the property.

Letting Agents

Landlords will use letting agencies to help promote, maintain and manage property. You will normally find that landlords using a letting agency tend to own several property’s and too many for just one person to handle. Letting agency will also have multiple landlords in their books. Finally letting agency’s will have an online site where you can find a large list of property, they will also have the same property’s in their shop.

A letting agent acts as a middle man in all of this, for example rent will be paid to the letting agent and the letting agent to the landlord. This is the same for any form of communication whether this be maintenance and repairs or just for general questions. In some cases, the letting agents themselves will deal with maintenance issues depending on their agreements with the landlord.

Which is Better?

There are a number of advantages to both landlords and letting agents. Some of these are similar for example both, by law, must abide by the contract that has been signed and must take care of your safety and the maintenance of the property. On the other hand, you may say that landlords can be cheaper than letting agents, this is because landlords will pay an admin fee when using a letting agency. A second argument may be that letting agents are generally much easier to get ahold of when there are any problems.

A final factor that should be considered may be that when dealing with a letting agency, don’t forget they are a company meaning they probably deal with several different landlords. This means that where as a landlord may be more thoughtful about their decision, such as a few days’ flexibility on rent or other such things, an agency may not.  For the most part though there is not much between the two and because of this we would not say one is better than another.

Why Unihousing is Unique

Unihousing different to many other companies. This is due to the fact that we do not fit into either category. This is because all the properties offered by Unihousing are owned by Unihousing, unlike a letting agency that do not own the property’s they have to let. This means that there is an opportunity to have to benefits from both Landlord and letting agencies. Unihousing is quick, reliable and affordable offering accommodation across Birmingham. A range of property types are available such as apartments and studios to suit anyone and everyone looking for a place of their own.

If you interested in accommodation starting in July 2017 ready for the start of the University calendar, check out our student studios in Birmingham on our website. Or, follow us on Twitter or Facebook for more details and news about our properties.