As any landlord who has been in the business for any length of time knows, it can be a battle to find a suitable property, get the financing together and launch it onto the rental market. But it’s also a huge challenge running the property and dealing with tenants.

Many people who rent out property around the UK today may not even consider themselves landlords, as it’s more of an investment. Their main concern is their full-time job, whether it’s a vet, plumber, architect, or just about anything else. But a business needs proper attention to steer it to success, or the investment may well not pay off.

And if the results of new research are anything to go by, many landlords — full-time or not — are crippled by their dealings with tenants. It’s no wonder many with properties on the rental market are turning to the expertise of letting agents such as Horton and Garton, a top landlord agent in Hammersmith, London, to professionally deal with their rental flats, houses and the people occupying them.

Big fallings out

According to research from lighting firm Lightbulbs Direct, nearly half of landlords and tenants (49%) have been involved in arguments or fallen out with each other — and the figure appears to be rising. If things did not improve and the discord continued, the study said 89% of people renting would strongly think about packing up and leaving.

Some respondents to the survey (18%) were not even able to have a discussion with a landlord about a problem, because the property owner was simply unapproachable. This left them frustrated and not knowing where to turn when they wanted something fixed or just wanted to talk to the landlord. It represents an untenable situation, but one that is easily remedied by appointing a professional letting agent, who is always available to tenant clients, often with an out-of-hours emergency phone number.

Most people contacted their landlords about a broken window (66%), the survey found, followed by tenants who wanted to redecorate the property and were seeking permission (49%), had appliances that had broken and were in need of repair (46%), or had electrical, plumbing and cleaning issues (33%). Others felt the need to call for assistance with hanging pictures (16%), tightening screws (8%) and moving furniture (7%).

The hard landlording reality

So, for many landlords, especially those new to the game and viewing it as something of a hobby, there can be a shock realisation that just buying a property and renting it is not all that it involves. The reality is it can be a real slog, as landlords are run ragged trying to carry out maintenance, find the right tenants, get the rent on time and the myriad other things they have to do. It can end up eating into work time and causing all manner of headaches and stress. When additional properties are added to the business, the work and strife just multiplies.

The simple answer — and one that works out to be a clever investment of both time and money — is to do some research and find the best landlord agent, whether you’re in Hammersmith, the rest of London, or anywhere else in the country. Purely on the financial side alone, landlords stand to save up to £2,000 a year just by handing the running of their properties over to a top landlord agent.

All of this makes ultimate practical and business sense for any landlord, no matter how serious they are about the business or the extent of their property portfolio. Plus, the landlord agent will help to ensure you’re fully compliant with all the relevant and ever-changing property and landlord legislation, so you’re not hit with fines.

Appointing a landlord agent, it turns out, is the foundation to a successful rental empire and a solid place to build from.