Duplicate letting agencies for same property

[jools]

Hello all,

I'm a fairly new agent and have a query on a HMO I am dealing with. I am marketing an 8 bedroom property along with another agency for a student/professional group. However, what happens if the other agency finds a tenant for say one, maybe two rooms. Do I hand the whole property over to them? Surely it would be silly to have two agents managing one property? Also, I have had the property on my books for 2 months and have been dealing with all the HMO paperwork etc because under the new legislation the council have automatically appointed me as the licence holder. Does this mean I should now start charging the landlord a management fee? I would be very grateful for your thoughts on this.

[SteveP]

I think you should read what you contract with the landlord says, the answers should be in it.

If they are not then you have got yourself in a pickle haven't you?


Do I hand the whole property over to them? Surely it would be silly to have two agents managing one property?

That depends upon what you agreed to do.


have been dealing with all the HMO paperwork etc because under the new legislation the council have automatically appointed me as the licence holder.

Did you agree to this? If not why did you do it? If the council got it wrong tell them.


Does this mean I should now start charging the landlord a management fee?

You should charge what you have agreed to charge for any service you agreed to provide. If you have taken it upon yourself to do things without agreeing a fee or getting instructions to do it then you just did some voluntary work.

[jools]

Thanks for your feedback. I didn't agree to anything re the HMO paperwork. The council had contacted the landlord and he told them I was managing the property (which I'm not yet, I am marketing it on a no let no fee basis). The council just wrote to me saying the landlord had instructed them that I was now managing the property and therefore they had transferred the licence into my name.