Why Choosing the Right Property Management Matters More Than Ever

Most landlords choose an agent on two things: the fee percentage and whether the office is nearby. Both are reasonable. Neither tells you much about what actually happens when a boiler fails on a Friday night, when a tenant stops paying, or when the council writes to ask why your property doesn’t have a licence.

The gap between a good managing agent and a poor one used to show up in convenience. Since May 1, 2026, it shows up in liability.

The legal position hasn’t moved: it’s still your name on the line

This is the point landlords most often get wrong. Delegating management does not delegate responsibility.

If your property is let without a required licence, if the gas safety record has lapsed, if the deposit wasn’t protected in time — enforcement action lands on the landlord. You may have a contractual claim against your agent afterwards. That is a very different thing from not being penalised in the first place.

So the question isn’t really “who will collect my rent for the lowest fee?” It’s “who am I trusting with obligations I can’t hand over?”

What changed on May 1, 2026

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 brought in the biggest overhaul of the private rented sector in more than thirty years, and phase one took effect on May 1, 2026. Among the changes now live:

• Section 21 is gone. No-fault eviction has been abolished. Regaining possession now means establishing a valid ground under Section 8, with longer notice periods for most grounds.
• Assured periodic tenancies replaced ASTs. Existing tenancies converted automatically. Fixed terms ended. Tenancies roll month to month, and tenants can leave on two months’ notice.
• Rent increases follow a prescribed route. Increases go through a revised Section 13 procedure using a new prescribed form. Informal “we’re putting it up £50” conversations no longer work.
• Rent in advance can no longer be demanded, rental discrimination is banned, and tenants have an implied right to request a pet.
• Written statements of terms must be provided, and landlords had to issue the government’s tenant Information Sheet to existing tenants by May 31, 2026. Where an agent manages the property, the agent must supply it too — even if the landlord already has.

Penalties for breaches run up to £7,000 for a first offence and up to £40,000 for repeated or continuing ones.

More is coming. The PRS database, which will require landlords to register themselves and their properties, is due to roll out regionally from late 2026. Mandatory landlord membership of the new PRS Ombudsman follows in 2028.

An agent who was competent under the old rules is not automatically competent under the new ones. It’s a fair question to ask directly: what did you change in your process on May 1, 2026?

Licensing is a Manchester and Salford problem specifically

Selective licensing is where a lot of local landlords get caught, because it’s postcode-level and it keeps expanding.

Manchester City Council has been extending its schemes steadily — a designation on Feb 24, 2025 alone brought in around 1,860 additional properties across areas including Cheetham, Crumpsall and Moss Side. Salford’s newest scheme, covering parts of Broughton, Kersal and Broughton Park, began on Jan 21, 2026 and runs for five years, with a standard licence fee of £609.

Renting out a licensable property without a licence is a criminal offence. It also exposes you to a rent repayment order — and the Renters’ Rights Act doubled the maximum from twelve months’ rent to two years’. On top of that, an unlicensed period can block you from serving a valid possession notice, which means you may not be able to get your property back when you need it.

A good agent knows which designations cover which streets, tracks renewal dates, and tells you before you buy in an affected area. An agent working from a national playbook often doesn’t.

Six things worth checking before you sign

1. Redress scheme and client money protection. Letting agents in England must belong to a government-approved redress scheme, and any agent holding client money must have client money protection in place. Both are verifiable in minutes. Ask for the scheme names and membership numbers, then check them yourself rather than taking a logo on a website as proof.

2. What the headline percentage actually excludes. The management fee is rarely the whole cost. Ask for a written schedule covering tenancy setup, renewals, inventory and check-in, check-out, deposit registration, annual safety certificate arrangement, inspection visits, serving notices, and Section 13 rent increase paperwork. A slightly higher all-in fee frequently beats a low headline rate with a long list of extras.

3. Who physically attends. Ask who conducts viewings, who carries out mid-term inspections, how often, and whether you get a written report with photographs. “We manage remotely and use a contractor network” is a legitimate model — but you should know that’s what you’re buying.

4. The arrears process, in writing. Day one of a missed payment: what happens? Day seven? Day twenty-one? At what point are you told, and who decides whether to serve notice? With Section 21 gone, arrears cases now depend entirely on getting Section 8 grounds and notice periods right. Vague answers here are the biggest single warning sign.

5. Compliance tracking. Gas safety records renew annually. EICRs run on a five-year cycle. EPCs must meet the current minimum standard, and the government has consulted on raising that threshold later this decade. Deposits must be protected and prescribed information served within statutory deadlines. Ask how these dates are tracked and what the reminder process looks like. “We keep an eye on it” is not a system.

6. How you leave. Read the notice period, any tied-in period, and any fee payable if the tenant they introduced stays on after you’ve moved agents. This clause is where landlords most often find themselves stuck with a service they’ve stopped trusting.

Warning signs

• Reluctance to put the full fee schedule in writing
• No named contact — everything goes through a general inbox
• Inspection reports that are text-only, or that don’t arrive at all
• No clear answer on selective licensing in the property’s postcode
• Pressure to sign quickly, or a discount that expires today
• Guaranteed rent or guaranteed yield promises with no explanation of who carries the risk if the tenant defaults

The real cost of getting it wrong

A void month on a Manchester city-centre two-bed costs more than a year’s difference between a 10% and a 12% management fee. A licensing penalty costs considerably more than either. A possession claim that fails on a procedural error can cost months of rent plus legal fees, and under the current rules there’s no Section 21 fallback to fix it.

Management fees are the visible cost. Poor management is the expensive one, and it tends to arrive all at once.

Talking it through

If you’re weighing up agents in Manchester or Salford — or reviewing an arrangement that isn’t working — we’re happy to go through your situation and be straight with you about it, including where your current setup is already fine.

Chennie Investment Ltd
+44 7386 381268 · info@chennieinvestment.com

This article is general information for landlords, not legal advice. Requirements vary by property and location, and the Renters’ Rights Act is still being implemented in phases. Check your specific obligations with your local authority or a qualified adviser.