The Tenant Fees Act 2019 came into force in June 2019 and has resulted in a significant loss in revenue for agents. According to ARLA Propertymark, a fifth of letting agent revenues were previously made up of tenant fees.
This article shares insight into how agents can use the Kamma (formerly GetRentr) property licensing platform to offer new services to their landlords. This function not only differentiates agents, but can generate new revenue streams. Read on to find out more.
- Register your property portfolio
First, there are two options available for registering properties with Kamma:-
- insert an address to the platform property by property.
- bulk upload all property addresses straight into the platform.
As soon as a property is added , the platform will provide an instant licensing determination, clearly stating the exact licence requirements for that address. The ongoing monitoring system alerts users when the licences are coming up to expiry, when new schemes are coming into force, as well as any new schemes in consultation that landlords should be aware of.
2. Offer a property licensing monitoring service
Now properties have been registered (step one), agents are kept fully up to date with the ever-changing architecture of property licensing.
This allows agents to communicate the availability of a new service to landlords. By monitoring properties and informing landlords of any changes to legislation, this ensures compliance and minimises the risk of any fines.
This is a great way for agencies to differentiate themselves. A fee could be charged to landlords to disclose this “property monitoring” service directly from the agent. Providing a premium service and being fully on top of compliance requirements is one of the key reasons landlords use an agent. Go to step three below, to offer more.
3. Provide a full licence application service
Once property licence requirements are determined, agents can look to offer a full licence application service to landlords, applying directly on their behalf to the relevant council.
This can generate a significant new revenue stream for an agent, charging a few hundred pounds per application for landlords who do not have the time to do it themselves.
Furthermore, this is an additional value add service providing landlords with extra benefits, encouraging them to stay with you. By taking control of the licence application service, agents can also put themselves in control of the process, protecting them on the joint liability they share with landlords for letting out non-licensed properties.
The charge for this service would be at the agency’s discretion. You may wish to consider a scalable model dependent on the volume of properties landlords register.
Contact us
Speak to Kamma for more information or register for a demo. Once you are signed up and have a log in you can register your property portfolio on the Kamma platform and receive updates straight to your inbox to start earning.
