Lettings agency terms of business template
Lettings agency terms of business are the terms a letting agent gives a landlord in England before being instructed: the services, the fees, how money is handled and how either side can end the arrangement. They are signed before the agent starts. The landlord, the property, the service level and the fees change with every instruction.
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What changes each time
33 values. Everything else is your wording, kept exactly.
The agent
- Agency's trading name and legal name
- Company number and address
- Redress scheme and membership number
- Client money protection scheme and membership number
- Professional body and membership number
- Bank holding client money
The landlord and property
- Landlord's name or all joint landlords' names
- Landlord's address
- Property address
- Service level: let-only, rent collection or fully managed
- Date of the terms
- Advertised rent
Fees
- Fees by service level (Schedule 2): set-up, ongoing, inventory, deposit registration, safety certificates, notices, check-out
- VAT treatment
- Fee if the tenant buys the property, and the months it applies
Deposits and money
- Days to pass the deposit to the landlord (let-only)
- Deposit scheme (rent collection or managed)
- Working days to pay rent to the landlord
- Statement frequency
- Float held for repairs
Repairs
- Spending limit without asking the landlord
- Who arranges repairs the tenant reports
- Contractor commission
Law and compliance
- PRS Database registration number
- Liability cap (business landlords)
- Complaints contact name, role and email
- Privacy notice link
- Notice period to end the terms
- Fee after the terms end while a tenant is in place
- Periodic inspection interval in months
Cancellation and signing
- Agency address and email for cancellation
- Landlord's name and date signed
- Agency signatory's name and role
The rules it usually needs
Written in plain English when the template is set up.
- One of several wordings
“State the service level as let-only, rent collection or fully managed.”
Schedule 1 shows what each level includes, and clauses on deposits, repairs and ending the terms follow the level chosen.
- One of several wordings
“For deposits, either the agent passes the deposit to the landlord to protect, or the agent protects it with a scheme.”
The let-only form warns the landlord of the 30-day deadline and the compensation risk. The other form says the agent protects it and deals with deductions.
- One of several wordings
“Let the agent pass a tenant's repair report to the landlord, or arrange the repair itself.”
Only the chosen wording appears.
- One of several wordings
“After the terms end for a managed letting, either no further fee is due, or a described fee is due.”
The fee wording appears only on the second form.
- One of several wordings
“On ending, a let-only instruction ends once the tenant has moved in and the agent has paid the landlord, while a managed one involves handing over deposit, documents, keys and money.”
Only the chosen wording appears.
- Only when…
“Include a professional body line only when the agency is a member.”
The body and membership number appear.
- Only when…
“Include the PRS Database registration duty once the database is open.”
The landlord gives the registration number before marketing.
- Only when…
“Replace the VAT wording only when the agency is not VAT registered.”
The terms say no VAT is charged.
- Only when…
“Include a let-only fee payable when the tenant moves in, and a fee on the tenant buying the property, only when agreed.”
The amounts and periods appear.
- Only when…
“Include repeat right to rent checks when a time-limited right expires, where agreed.”
The checks are repeated.
- Only when…
“Include the repairs clause only for rent collection or fully managed, and the contractor commission wording only when the agency receives commission.”
The spending limit, and the commission disclosure, appear.
- Only when…
“Include the liability cap only for business landlords, and the identity check only where rent is £10,000 a month or more.”
The cap or the money laundering wording appears.
- Only when…
“Add a signature block for each joint landlord.”
Each landlord signs and dates.
Questions people ask
What must a letting agent tell a landlord before taking an instruction?
The services provided, the fees, how money will be handled, the redress scheme and the client money protection scheme the agent belongs to, and how to cancel or end the arrangement.
What does client money protection do?
It protects rent and other money an agent holds for a landlord if the agent fails to pay it over. Letting agents in England must belong to an approved scheme.
What is the difference between let-only, rent collection and fully managed?
Let-only finds and checks the tenant and sets up the tenancy. Rent collection adds collecting and passing on rent. Fully managed adds repairs, safety checks and day-to-day dealings with the tenant.
Can an agent charge a tenant fees?
In England the Tenant Fees Act 2019 bans most fees to tenants, so the fees in the terms are the landlord's.
Can a landlord cancel the instruction?
A consumer landlord signing away from the agent's office or at a distance usually has 14 days to cancel. After that the terms say how to end them and give the notice period.
Use this template
It opens in DocuWeave as a template you can check, change and publish. Nothing is used until you do.