Does my letting agency have to show me invoices for repairs?

I own a two-bedroom terraced property in Bolton, managed by a local letting agency. The agency uses its own contractors and deducts costs from my rental income without showing invoices because my contract apparently states it can administer repairs of up to £200 without my consent. It refuses to show me the contractors’ bills, claiming this isn’t done for any landlord. It also frequently attempts to repair old appliances even when I suggest replacing them.
I am considering switching agency due to its lack of transparency, but my contract requires two months’ notice coinciding with the end of the tenancy agreement. Is this standard practice in the industry? How easy is it to transfer to a new agency while keeping the same tenants?Claire, Reading
While there’s no legal requirement for letting agents to show original invoices, many do so as a matter of good practice. This transparency allows landlords to verify the work done and ensures that the amount charged matches the tradesperson’s fee. However, if your agent’s terms of business don’t specify that it will, it is not obliged to.
The £200 threshold for repairs without your consent is fairly standard in the industry, and is designed to prevent delays resolving minor issues due to unresponsive landlords. However, we’d expect to see invoices for any costs deducted from the rent — even if the value is below this threshold.
It’s unusual that the agency is pushing for repairs when you are suggesting replacements. Often it’s the other way around, as replacements often save an agency time and hassle, even if they’re less cost-effective.
Regarding changing agents, it’s common for agencies to require you to keep paying its fee until the tenants it found move out. It’s unusual (and impractical) to ask for two months’ notice of this situation, though, because there may be occasions when the tenant is only required to give one month’s notice, so you can’t possibly know that far ahead that the tenancy is going to end. We’d suggest you query this with the agency.
Some agencies allow you to end the agreement and keep the tenants by paying a termination fee, which is typically a few months’ worth of management fees — but if your agent doesn’t have this in its terms, you’ll need to negotiate with it. Ultimately it depends on just how dissatisfied you are: you can attempt to bring the agreement to an end, but if it’s only niggling you it may be easier to wait until the natural end of the tenancy.
I’m a doctor interested in buy-to-let investing, but my job means I’m short on time to arrange viewings and answer calls during the day. I know it’s possible to have other people find properties and manage them for you, but other than the obvious trust issues, I worry about missing out on important knowledge by not doing things myself. Do you think I should do everything myself at least once before handing things over?Abbad, Sheffield
We’re big on the benefits of approaching property as an investment rather than getting into the weeds yourself, but you’re right — as with anything, most learning comes from doing, so there is a risk of missing out by outsourcing everything from the start.
Let’s start by thinking about using somebody else to find potential investment opportunities for you. This is a lightly regulated area with a lot of subpar investments being heavily marketed — so even if somebody else is presenting opportunities to you, you still need to search locations, assess property and rental values and validate everything that they tell you.
As a result, if you’re partnering with someone responsibly rather than blindly trusting them, you’ll still have plenty of opportunities to sharpen your skills, even if it’s not you physically walking around properties with an estate agent. Nevertheless, you will of course learn more lessons from doing it yourself.
Once you’ve made a purchase, there is a lot to be said from managing the tenancy yourself initially — because by learning first-hand what it entails you’ll be able to do a better job of selecting and collaborating with managing agents in future.
However, for someone in your position, this may just not be realistic — and it may come down to a choice between bringing in outside help or not doing it at all.
So, if you do choose to outsource, read up in advance on what the lettings and management process involves and what legislation you need to comply with, so you can have better informed conversations with potential agents and keep an eye on their work. There are books available on this subject, and you can turn to the government website for a comprehensive list of all your obligations.
As your portfolio grows and you get up to four or five properties, it may become viable to have a part-time assistant manage things on your behalf — which can ultimately give you the best of both worlds.
But initially, when it comes to both making your investment and then managing it, we talk to many busy people who may love the idea of doing everything themselves but know that it’s ultimately not practical for their situation. To those people we always recommend that they educate themselves as widely as possible from all possible sources — which is still a time commitment, of course, but at least one that’s easier to fit around a busy working life.
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Rob Dix and Rob Bence are the presenters of The Property Podcast. They co-founded the property investors’ community Property Hub and the investment app Portfolio. Dix has written four books on investing and renting, including Property Investment for Beginners