Unlike other agents we specifically describe and advertise our agency as being landlord focused. The reason for this is that over recent years we feel that landlords and agents have been unfairly vilified by media, certain charitable organisations, and cross-party political agenda. The long-standing results of this have seen many landlords abandon what has become an unnecessarily complicated compliance laden system which is interwoven with fines contrived on the basis of central London rent prices, completely removed from the reality of the beautiful West Norfolk and Cambridgeshire towns and villages that we service.
What do we do differently then? Apart from being collectively qualified professionals in residential lettings, accountancy and energy performance regulations, our team are one of the most hands-on agencies that you will encounter which means that our clients receive a better standard of service and lower costs relating to repairs, maintenance and planned improvements.
How does being more hands-on save a landlord money exactly? When maintenance is recorded at our office, whether following a property inspection or as the result of being contacted by the resident tenant, we do not forward it to a “catch-all” maintenance provider to make our handling process easier. As convenient as this would be for us, it doesn’t yield the best financial results for the landlord as if the work is referred to smaller local contractors with whom we have spent more than 10 years developing strong working relationships. Furthermore, we are also one of the few lettings companies locally which operates a commercial vehicle for the collection and delivery of replacement appliances and other materials when required. Our involvement extends into full project management of properties that are undergoing refurbishment to ensure the best results for our landlords and we take pride in being able to offer some of the best presented rental properties.
Why do we do all that extra work? It is what makes us stand out and means that our landlords are loyal to our company because they recognise that we operate in their best interests. This has also been a proven formula for the organic expansion of our client base as most of our business has come from positive verbal recommendations from existing landlord clients. That is why you rarely see our agency self-promoting. Our primary advertising commitment is focused on finding good quality tenants for the properties that we have available.
As a landlord you have a number of objectives, but most importantly your property needs to be well looked after and maintained in order to maximise its market potential and to protect your investment.
The legislation relating to the private rented sector is in a state of constant change at present so for the most current information on what you will require to maintain compliance please contact our office. However, we have provided some brief guidance below of the most relevant legislation that we arrange for our landlords and the timescales relevant to each:
Electrical Installation Certificate (EICR) – Valid for 5 Years (3 years for Park Homes)
Energy Performance Certificate – Minimum Rating of E and valid for 10 years (changing in 2026)
Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022 – Checked at the start of the tenancy and then on every subsequent property inspection.
Gas Safety Certificate (CP12) – Valid for 12 months
Right to Rent Checks – Validity dependent on results of check
MLR Register checks – At the start of each tenancy and repeated every 12 months.
If you would like more information regarding any aspect of residential lettings legislation in more depth please telephone our office to discuss this further or arrange an appointment to visit our office. To make the best use of our agents knowledge and expertise we do not have them permanently cited at our office premises during call handling times, which is why we strongly recommend that you arrange an appointment in advance before visiting.
SERVICES AND FEES
We aim to make our firm’s fees as clear and transparent as possible, as well as being competitive in comparison to other agencies within the local property market.
Full Management:
At Edmonton Estates we want each of our landlords to feel like number one and not just one of a number, so we are happy to tailor the services we offer to each of our client’s specific needs’ and requirements. We would recommend a personal visit from us if you are thinking of renting your home to discuss our services in depth. However, listed below is what you can expect as standard from our Letting and Full Management service package:
- Free market appraisal of your property by an experienced ARLA qualified Lettings Consultant and written confirmation of the rental valuation.
- Clear, practical advice on how best to market your property and your obligations as a landlord.
- Arrangement of an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) if required.
- Advertising of your property.
- All accompanied viewings undertaken and initial interviewing of suitable prospective tenants.
- Full references taken up on tenants including previous landlord/ managing agent, employer’s and full credit check.
- Preparation of the Tenancy Agreements and other legal documentation as required.
- Preparation of a comprehensive schedule of condition/inventory which includes photographs detailing the condition of each area of the property.
- Notification to the relevant local authority of the change of occupancy status.
- Collection of the electricity and gas meter readings at the start and end of the tenancy.
- Collection of the rent due in accordance with the tenancy terms.
- Payment of rent to your chosen bank account within 3 bank working days of us receiving it.
- Collection and holding of the dilapidations deposit and automatic inclusion into a deposit scheme.
- Arranging any necessary maintenance to the property as agreed with the Landlord and deducting the cost from rent received.
- Submission of remittance statements to landlord with copies of any maintenance invoices/deductions at the end of each month.
- Additional monthly summary statements for all portfolio landlords.
- Automatic instruction of annual gas safety inspections or servicing.
- Internal property inspections on a regular basis.
- Written reports following the inspection of your property which includes photographs to keep you appraised of your property’s condition where appropriate.
- A thorough final inspection at the end of each tenancy using the original inventory.
All the items listed above are included as standard within our Full Management Service. There is an initial set up fee for this service (once a tenant has been secured) and thereafter we charge an agreed percentage of the collected monthly rent. VAT is payable on our services at the prevailing rate and all properties are advertised on a “NO LET, NO FEE” basis.
Our standard rate 9.5% + VAT of the monthly rent is charged at the point of collection.
Set up fee for new tenancies which includes the inventory for the property is £360.00 inclusive of VAT.
Portfolio Landlord rate accessible to landlords with 3 or more properties is 8% + VAT with £360.00 new tenancy set up fee.
We also offer the option to all landlords to have a higher fixed fee monthly commission and not pay a set up fee on the change of tenants. Multiple factors are considered in this program before a fee is agreed, please contact us to discuss this option further.
Rent & Legal Expense Cover is available for properties under our management and costs £29.60 inclusive of VAT per month for properties with a rental value of up to £1500pcm. For rentals above this threshold the cover price will be more and this will be confirmed with our insurance provider before letting your property.
Tenant Find & Set Up:
Within this package we will undertake the marketing, viewings, referencing and set up the tenancy for you including Right to Rent Checks, MLR checks and produce the Inventory and Schedule of Condition. After we accept the initial payment and deposit for the property the tenants will then continue to pay you directly each month for the remaining duration of the tenancy.
This service is for hands-on landlords who want to deal directly with their tenants as well as all the maintenance and periodic compliance requirements. This service does not include registration