Why Many Tenants Prefer to Rent Through an Agency

We came across a situation recently where a property was being rented via a private landlord. The tenant was an employee of a large local company. The tenancy was in the employee’s name and the employee was moving on from the job. The company was interested in continuing to rent the property for other employees, but expressed to the property owner that they would only do so if the property was going to be under the management of a professional property management firm.

We asked the company their reasoning behind that viewpoint. The answer was as follows

“It’s mainly about legal compliance and mitigating any potential risk around things like Healthy Homes Standards etc. You guys are the experts and the property inspection reports you provide are always very detailed which is helpful for the landlord but for us as a business, also helpful to know our employees are keeping everything in order!”

We know there are other reasons many tenants prefer to rent through an agency:

Objectivity
When complex situations, disagreements or disputes arise, agents are not as emotionally involved as many private landlords can be. Agents don’t take things personally; therefore, that layer of potential conflict and stress is removed. Agents have a more business-like mind set and are better able to set and maintain clear boundaries.

Property Compliance
Agents are much less likely to be offering non-compliant properties to market, either deliberately or through a lack of knowledge. Private landlords and agents operate under all the same rules, but an agent is less likely to risk their reputation or risk fines by evading the rules.

Regulations
Private landlords and agents operate under the same rules – primarily the Residential Tenancies Act. Agents should be more educated than anyone else in the marketplace and will use this knowledge to keep both tenants and landlords protected through the entirety of the tenancy.

Correct Paperwork
No good tenant wants a tenancy agreement written on the back of an envelope. Agents will use detailed and transparent tenancy agreements and will not attempt to include illegal and unenforceable clauses.

Contracting Out
Agents will not make agreements with tenants whereby the tenant is effectively contracting out of the RTA by agreeing to something they really shouldn’t agree to. In a recent Tribunal hearing, a tenant was awarded compensation because although they agreed to the landlord operating CCTV in the living room of the rental, the landlord was clearly breaching their privacy!

Record Keeping
Agents will maintain accurate records at all times. If a tenant rings their agent to ask for a record of their rent payments, it will be sent to them immediately.

Inspections
As mentioned above by our corporate client, regular inspections offer ongoing protection for both landlords and tenants. We know that tenants get very nervous when vacating a property that has not been inspected in years, or where no property condition report was completed before they moved in. What is the very hands-off landlord who has not set foot in the property for some time going to ask for?

Timely Resolutions
Agents handle maintenance requests and emergencies promptly and are available 24/7, ensuring tenants' concerns are addressed quickly and effectively. They have established relationships with tradespeople and can get the right person on the job in a timely manner.

Industry Best Practise
Many agents are members of industry organisations or franchise agreements and are bound by codes of conduct ensuring everyone is treated fairly.

Ongoing Relationships and Opportunities
Once a tenant has established a good reputation and record with an agent, they will often be offered new properties first when they need to move into a new rental.

Peace of Mind
Tenants often feel more secure knowing that there is a professional team overseeing the property who are based locally. This particularly applies to tenants who are new to renting or who may have had negative experiences in the past.