A widening rift between letting agents, landlords and tenants is emerging in the private rented sector as it prepares for the introduction of the Tenants’ Rights Act, according to new research from Goodlord.
The survey of 2,650 industry participants, published in the report titled Is renting broken?Highlights growing pressure points across the region, with communications and operational tensions at the center of concerns.
Letting agents are facing significant capacity challenges, with one in five (20%) identifying administrative workload as their biggest operational bottleneck. More than three quarters (76%) said time spent on administration is limiting their ability to grow, with managing property maintenance the most time-consuming task.
The findings show that administrative pressures are now a bigger barrier to growth than preparing for the Tenant Rights Act (72%) or securing new landlord business (65%).
Despite this, many landlords are not convinced of the value that agents provide. While 68% use full wealth management services, 59% cited high fees and poor value as major disappointments. Only 6% said they were “very satisfied” with value for money.
Communication appears to be a central issue. Although 67% of landlords said they were satisfied with agent communication overall, almost half (48%) still rated it as one of their main frustrations.
Tenants are also reporting similar concerns. More than a third (37%) said they were frustrated by poor communication, while maintenance issues were the most common complaint. Damp and mold (25%), general maintenance (22%) and plumbing (21%) top the list, with 53% saying faster repairs would improve their rental experience.
Tom Goodman, managing director of Goodlord, said: “As PRS becomes increasingly complex and heavily regulated, the ability of agents to help landlords navigate the market has never been more valuable. However, the results of this survey point to a clear gap between the priorities and frustrations currently felt by agents and landlords.
“The issue isn’t that agents aren’t working hard enough, or even that they’re not delivering. The point is that the value of that delivery isn’t always visible.
“As it stands, it is clear that at least some elements of the PRS are broken. Fixing the underlying breakdowns in communication is the first step to addressing these. Failure to do so risks damaging trust at a time when the relationship between landlords and letting agents is more important than ever.”
The administrative burden associated with property maintenance is contributing to the gap between effort and results, he said.
“Tenant complaints are directly related to admin burden that hinders agents’ operational efficiency. Whether it’s obtaining quotes, chasing up contractors for compliance documents, or processing invoices, routine property maintenance creates admin overhead for overworked teams.
“It is clear that, despite the immense efforts being made by agents to tackle these problems, tenants are not feeling the benefits. This needs to change.”
Goodman warned that misalignment between stakeholders could deepen once the new law is implemented.
“As the RRA transforms our sector, agents must make every effort to ensure compliance at every level of their operations, and ensure that any changes are communicated to landlords and tenants as clearly as possible. This will not be easy to do, but will be critical to navigating this once-in-a-generation transition.”