Changing Letting Agent in Burnley & Pendle

You can switch at any time, including part-way through a tenancy. Here is how it works, what to check first, and the one clause that catches landlords out.

Most landlords who are unhappy with their agent stay put, and it is almost never because they are satisfied. It is because switching sounds like a job — deposits, certificates, the tenant, and a contract nobody has read since the day they signed it.

It is less work than you think. Your tenant’s agreement is with you, not with your agent, so the tenancy itself carries on completely unchanged. Nothing needs re-signing and your tenant does not need to agree to anything. What governs the switch is your management agreement, and that is usually one to three months’ notice.

The whole handover takes around four to six weeks, and most of that is waiting rather than doing. We handle nearly all of it.

Two things we will do free, before you commit to anything. We will tell you what your property should be letting for in your town, using current figures rather than guesswork. And we will read your existing management agreement and tell you exactly what notice you owe. No obligation either way — if you are better off staying where you are, we will say so.

Before you give notice

Read your agreement first

Before you say anything to your current agent. You are looking for three things: the notice period, any minimum term or tie-in, and whether commission continues after you leave. Send it over and we will read it for you.

Check for ongoing commission

This is the clause that catches landlords out. Some agreements keep the agent earning for as long as the tenant they introduced stays in the property — even after you have moved elsewhere. Far better to know before you give notice than after.

Line up the new agent first

Do not leave a gap. Agree a start date with us, then serve notice, so the handover overlaps and the property is never sitting unmanaged in between.

Serve notice in writing

In the format the agreement requires and to the address it specifies. Ask for written confirmation of the final management date, and ask for the handover pack at the same time.

Get the deposit transferred properly

The single most important item on the list. If the deposit is not correctly transferred and the prescribed information re-served, you can lose the ability to regain possession later. We check this ourselves rather than take anyone’s word for it.

Tell your tenant the right way

We write to tenants ourselves, introduce the team and confirm where to report repairs. Handled properly it barely registers, because nothing about their tenancy is actually changing.

What has to transfer across

What we do for you

Read your existing agreement

You send it over, we tell you what notice you owe, whether there is a tie-in and whether commission continues after you leave. Free, and with no obligation to move.

Chase every document

We contact the outgoing agent and work through the transfer list ourselves. Agents on the way out are rarely quick about it, which is exactly why it helps to have someone doing the chasing who does this regularly.

Transfer the deposit correctly

We confirm which scheme holds it, move it across, and check the prescribed information was served properly in the first place. If it was not, we put it right.

Write to your tenant

We introduce ourselves, confirm where to report repairs and set out any change to payment details, so the change does not land as a surprise.

Review the rent and the licence

We tell you what the property should be achieving now, and check whether it needs a selective licence. Both get missed when an agent has stopped paying attention.

Free rent review and contract check

Frequently asked questions

Can I change letting agent during a tenancy?

Yes. The tenancy agreement is between you and your tenant, not between you and the agent, so it continues completely unchanged when you switch. Your tenant does not need to agree and nothing needs re-signing. What governs the switch is your management agreement with the agent, not the tenancy.