Illustrative example. Today: The tenant’s thread: “Any news on referencing?” ([day]). “Is the [date] move-in still on?” ([day]). “I’ve given notice on my flat. Can someone call me?” ([day]). No replies. After the fix: “Referencing passed.” “Your tenancy agreement is ready to sign: [link].” “Move-in confirmed for [date]. Keys from [branch] after [time].” “Your deposit is protected with [scheme]. Certificate attached.”.
Illustrative. Your business carries your own details.
02 · Keeping customers updated
Customers keep chasing you for updates.
‘Tenants chase us for news at every step of a let.’
What It Costs You
Poor or delayed communication is a top cause of lettings complaints to Property Redress, where complaint enquiries rose to 4,220 in 2025 from 2,863 the year before.
Source: Property Redress 2025, via Propertymark
Illustrative example. Today: [n] portal leads since [time], unread. [n] new voicemails on the branch phone. After the fix: “[Name] asked about [property] at [time]. Replied in [n] minutes. Viewing booked for [date], [time].” “Valuation request from [Name] in [area]. Flagged to you.” “[Name] hasn’t confirmed. Follow-up sent [date].”.
Illustrative. Your business carries your own details.
03 · Answering every enquiry
You miss calls and enquiries, and the work goes elsewhere.
‘Portal enquiries come in at eight at night, and we answer them at ten the next morning.’
What It Costs You
What Missed Calls Cost You
An estimate. Before we start, we count your real numbers for a week.
Illustrative example. Today: Fee agreed at the valuation visit: “[x]%?” Terms sent on [date]. No signed copy on file. After the fix: “Terms of business for [property]: fee [x]% plus VAT, sole agency for [n] weeks. Signed by [Client] on [date].” “Added: [service], £[x]. Signed [date].”.
Illustrative. Your business carries your own details.
04 · Agreeing the work and the price
Customers dispute what was agreed and what it cost.
‘Landlords and sellers dispute the fee they agreed to.’
What It Costs You
Instructions, terms of business and fees drew 2,001 seller and 1,660 landlord complaints to The Property Ombudsman in 2024.
Source: TPO Annual Review 2024
Illustrative example. Today: A complaint from [Tenant] in [Name]’s inbox, [n] days old, forwarded twice. No acknowledgement sent. After the fix: “Open complaints: [n]. [Tenant], [property]: acknowledged [date], response due [date]. Draft ready. [Approve]” “[Landlord]: [n] days open, next step due [date].”.
Illustrative. Your business carries your own details.
05 · Settling complaints early
Small complaints turn into big ones.
‘A complaint sits in someone’s inbox, and the next we hear is from the ombudsman.’
What It Costs You
The Property Ombudsman awarded £1.3m against agents in 2024, and agents’ own complaint handling was a dispute category in its own right.
Source: TPO Annual Review 2024
Illustrative example. Today: A tenant email, “The [appliance] has stopped again”, forwarded twice. No contractor booked. The landlord doesn’t know. After the fix: “Repair [n]: [property], [issue], urgent. Sent to [contractor] at [time]. Landlord approval needed above £[x]: requested [time], approved [time]. Booked [date]. Tenant told.”.
Illustrative. Your business carries your own details.
06 · Callbacks and aftercare
Jobs keep coming back.
‘Tenants report the same repair three times before a contractor turns up.’
What It Costs You
Repairs and maintenance was the top tenant complaint to The Property Ombudsman in 2024, with 2,030 enquiries.
Source: TPO Annual Review 2024
Illustrative example. Today: [Name] writes [n] landlord updates by hand from viewing notes. After the fix: “Landlord updates for [n] properties drafted from this week’s viewings and notes. [Approve all] [Edit]”.
Illustrative. Your business carries your own details.
07 · Taking repeat work off the team
Your team is stretched, and you’re covering the gaps.
‘Friday afternoons go on landlord update emails.’
What It Costs You
What the Task Costs You
An estimate. Before we start, we count your real numbers for a week.
Illustrative example. Today: AML supervision renewal: “in [Name]’s calendar?” Gas safety certificates for [n] properties in a spreadsheet with [n] blank rows. After the fix: “This month: AML supervision renewal due [date], owner [Name], evidence ready. Gas safety at [property] expires [date], engineer booked [date]. Overdue: none.”.
Illustrative. Your business carries your own details.
09 · Never missing a deadline
A missed deadline or registration lands you with a fine.
‘A renewal slips past, and the first we know is the penalty letter.’
What It Costs You
194 estate and letting agents were penalised over £1m in six months, mostly for registering late for anti-money-laundering supervision.
Source: HMRC data via Propertymark
Your Problem Isn’t Here?
The problems on this page are the ones we see most often in estate and letting agents. Yours may be different, and that’s fine. Most fixes are found when an owner and someone who builds them sit down and go through how the work actually gets done. Tell us what’s costing you, and we’ll tell you straight whether we can fix it.
Read next
- What a missed call costs a small businessNobody publishes a reliable UK figure for missed calls. Here is how to count yours in a week, and work out what they cost you in a year.
- When a complaint reaches the ombudsmanWhat the property, motor and dental complaint schemes decided last year, what they cost a business and the deadlines for answering a complaint.
- What a missed deadline costsThe penalties for late accounts, tax returns, VAT and payroll reports, in one place, with a ladder that shows what a late filing costs day by day.
Pick One Problem
Tell us which one. We’ll tell you whether we can fix it and how long it takes.