More than four in 10 landlords claim their letting agents charge too much - and one in six have been hit with an unexpected fee. 

The survey of 1,205 UK landlords commissioned by Total Landlord Insurance found that 57% of landlords believe the fees they are charged by their letting agent are fair. However, 42% believe agents charge too much, and just 1% believe that they should be charged more. 

On a positive note, 56% of landlords rated the service provided by their letting agent as above average to excellent, while just 18% stated it was below average to poor. A further 61% stated that they had never experienced a late rental payment, with the majority of those who have stating it was the fault of the tenant or another issue such as banking or technical problems. 

However, 16% did reveal that their agent has previously made unexpected deductions to rental income without discussing why before doing so. The most common reason given was for maintenance work on the property carried out by the agent’s contractors, with additional management fees, a gas certificate, electrical safety checks and tenant finding fees also ranking high.