Letting agents in the UK normally work as part of an estate agent’s business, so you can find them simply by searching for Estate Agents where you are planning to live. Their job is to match the ‘tenant’ (the person looking for a place to live) with a property (house/apartment).

They are not allowed to charge for finding you a place to live, but they can charge you an ‘administration’ fee (sometimes called an ‘application’ or a ‘processing’ fee) or a fee for ‘referencing’ (getting references from your old landlords). 

Most landlords ask that all of their tenants can give references from past landlords. If you are coming to the UK for the first time and have no ‘tenant history’, you may be asked, by the letting agent, to pay between 4-6 months rent in advance, and provide a character reference from an old employer or college/university. However, if you have someone in the UK who will act as a ‘guarantor’ (willing to take financial responsibility for you) then there is no need to pay so much in advance.

Fees 

Not all letting agents will charge you an administration fee; it is a good idea to look around and visit lots of different agents in your area to see where you can get the best deal. Have a look at the "Find a.." tab for a selection of agencies. There are lots of places to rent in the UK, so don’t feel pressured into handing over your money until you have had a good look around. Also, it only costs an agent about £20 to reference someone, so if they want to charge you £100 for example, ask them to do it cheaper.

Once you are registered with the letting agent, don’t rely on them to call you whenever a new property becomes available. Like most people, letting agents want to do the least amount of work for their money, so if you keep calling them every day, they are always going to think of you first if a new place comes on the market, it’s easier for them, so keep calling once a day.

Unfortunately, as in most professions, there are a few dishonest people out there. It will only be a very small minority so don’t let it put you off using letting agents because they can make life much easier for you, but just be aware and if something doesn’t feel right. Do ask around your friends or other people you know to see if they think there may be something wrong.

Letting Organizations 

There is no compulsory regulation of Lettings Agents, but there are some professional organizations that the better agents are members of, these are: the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) or the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

Using a member of these organizations will help guarantee a good level of professionalism, although please do not assume that all non-members are not professional! If you would like to view a property through a non-member agent, take the time to visit them in their office, this should help you to get a better idea of their company. Also, remember that most Landlords still don't ask agents if they belong to a professional body before giving them their property, so don’t worry too much about it, just make sure that that they use one of the 3 official deposit schemes (see Deposits).

By John  Hillman

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USEFUL WORDS

letting agent = a person or company whose business is renting houses or flats to others
property = a place to live
landlord = a person or company from whom you rent a property
tenant = a person who rents a property
tenancy agreement = a period of time which you agree to rent a house or flat for
references = letters written by your employer and bank giving information about your character and ability to pay your rent
guarantor = a person who agrees to be responsible for someone and/or their finances
pay in advance = money to be paid before you move into the property
deposit = a sum of money paid when you move into a house or flat, which is returned to you if there is no damage at the end of the tenancy agreement
view a property = to look at a flat or house and decide whether you like it
commission = an amount of money paid to the letting agent in order for him/her to find you a flat or house

ENGLISH GRAMMAR

1st Conditional

Also known as the likely or possible conditional, the 1st Conditional is used to describe possible future events or situations and their results:

if + Present Simple, will / won’t + infinitive
If the letting agent shows me a good flat, I’ll take it
If they charge commission, I won’t be very happy

Other present tenses can be used in the if clause:
If you’re planning to rent a flat in central London, you’ll have to have plenty of money

Other future forms can also be used in the main clause:
If it’s a good flat, she’s going to live there for a couple of years

Modal verbs can be used in either clause, especially can, may and should:
If the landlord agrees, I may paint the kitchen orange
If I have a guarantor, I should be able to move in soon

It is usually incorrect to use a future form in the if clause:
If the property will be spacious, we’ll be very happy
If the property is spacious, we’ll be very happy