New online letting agent “will charge landlords nothing”

A new online letting agent has launched, offering landlords a completely free service.

Lets Rent has been in beta mode since last summer and used crowdfunding site Crowdcube to raise £118,000. It now plans to roll out across England and Wales.

Lets Rents’s free service to landlords includes 28-day listings on Zoopla. The website’s FAQ section says it can offer landlords a free service by making “a small mark up on the referencing costs”. Tenants pay a fixed fee of £99 to move in.

The site also offers an enhanced “Quick Let” service for a £49 fee to landlords which also advertises the property on RightMove, Gumtree and Prime Location as well as Zoopla.

The site is run by directors and co-founders Oliver Fitzpatrick, 27, and Richard Cook, 26. The pair describe  the site as “a cloud-based online letting agent”.

“We are very different from other online agents in that we are so tech-orientated. Most online agents are just digital shop fronts for traditional agents. We have streamlined the process and by using technology have been able to reduce the cost for landlords to zero,” says Cook, “The service we provide introduces landlords and potential tenants and manages all the paperwork digitally. The free package includes tenant referencing, contracts, deposit collection/ registration and first month’s rent collection, and contract renewals.

“We have a great service, but now the investment funds will allow us to spread the word in the property market while introducing new services to make letting a property even more of a breeze. We also aim to hire the best people in customer service and web development to drive the business forward. Using the crowd funding platform Crowdcube, we have already gained a lot of interest in the business.

“The letting industry has come under scrutiny recently because of arguably unjustifiable hidden fees, both for tenants and landlords. The ‘crowd’ liked our idea because we were offering a transparent and fair way of operating, so it was a great to see the support from investors.”

The new website can be accessed on any device and also allows property uploads on tablet and mobile, so that properties can be uploaded quickly and easily, wherever you are.  Lets Rent is also offering energy performance certificate and gas certificates.