Renting Experiences Revealed: Who Delivers Better – Landlords or Letting Agents?

Marks Out Of Tenancy has reviewed more than 2,200 rental property experiences from 2017 to 2025, offering a detailed look at how tenant satisfaction has changed over time. The data reveals evolving trends in tenant sentiment and the influence of major events like COVID-19, while also highlighting seasonal patterns and differences across regions and demographics. By covering the full range of property types and rental prices, the analysis provides a comprehensive view of today’s rental landscape.

When tenants search for a new home, they often ask themselves: "Should I rent directly from a landlord, or is it better to go through a letting agent?" Marks Out Of Tenancy's latest data-driven report sheds some intriguing insights on tenant satisfaction levels associated with these two primary rental management types.

Self-Managed Landlords vs. Letting Agents: Who Wins?

Our comprehensive analysis of over 1,250 reviews since 2020 indicates a clear satisfaction hierarchy:

• Self-Managed Landlords scored highest overall, averaging 2.48 out of 5.
• Letting Agents followed with an average satisfaction score of 2.32.
• Properties managed by both landlords and agents scored lowest at 2.20.

Interestingly, Self-Managed Landlords excelled significantly in property and landlord satisfaction, highlighting perhaps a more personalised tenant-landlord relationship, compared to the sometimes more impersonal agency-managed tenancies.

If you’re a landlord considering self-management, Suzanne Smith from the Independent Landlord blog has a great guide on how to self-manage a buy to let property. We also speak to Suzanne on our blog about her experiences managing her own tenants and properties, and the challenges she faces.

Our landlord league table showcases which landtelords have earned top marks from previous tenants for qualities like responsiveness, upkeep, and fair practices. It also highlights landlords who may have received frequent complaints from previous tenants, helping you make an informed decision about who to rent from - and which landlords to avoid.

Performance Trends & COVID-19 Impacts

The pandemic clearly influenced renters' experiences. Self-managed landlords saw peak performance in 2017 at 3.09, but tenant satisfaction plummeted to 2.12 in 2021. Recovery since has been modest, reaching 2.32 in 2024.

Letting Agents exhibited stability during the initial COVID-19 outbreak (2020), but saw a steep decline in 2021 (1.62). Surprisingly, they have rebounded robustly to 3.03 by 2025, reflecting improvements potentially linked to increased professionalisation and technology adoption post-pandemic.

Deposit Protection: Room for Improvement?

Deposit protection is a critical indicator of good practice in property management. Our data showed that Letting Agents were slightly ahead in deposit protection rates at 75.1%, compared to 66.8% for Direct Landlords. Despite this, nearly a quarter of tenants still reported issues around deposit protection, signalling an area for improvement across the board.

Take a deeper delve into deposit protection from our research and find out more about what the data said.

Spotlight on Leading Letting Agents

Several letting agents demonstrated exceptional performance, suggesting best practices worth adopting industry-wide:

• King & Co topped the chart with an impressive average score of 4.14.
• Town And Gown Letting (3.86), Broad Court Property Management (3.82), and Easy Lettings (3.75) also showed commendable performances, reflecting effective communication, prompt maintenance responses, and professional service delivery.

If you’re looking for a letting agent, take a look at our guide to finding a good letting agent and also how to spot the bad ones.

Implications for Renters, Landlords, and Letting Agents

For renters, these findings reinforce the importance of considering landlord or agent reputation when selecting a rental property. Platforms like Marks Out Of Tenancy empower tenants to make informed decisions through authentic peer reviews.

For landlords, these insights demonstrate the value tenants place on direct, personalised relationships and clear communication. Enhancing tenant-landlord interactions and addressing deposit handling proactively could further boost tenant satisfaction. Our guide to maintaining a good relationship with your tenant offers some great ways to ensure a harmonious rental experience for both parties.

Letting agents should take note of agencies that consistently perform well, highlighting opportunities to enhance customer service and transparency. Embracing technology, improving deposit handling, and ensuring proactive communication can significantly elevate tenant satisfaction levels.

For Researchers: A Rich Dataset for Future Studies

This analysis provides researchers with valuable insights into tenant-landlord dynamics. Further academic exploration could investigate specific factors influencing these satisfaction scores, such as property conditions, responsiveness to repairs, or the influence of external events like pandemics on tenant experiences. Recent studies like those from the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence could further benefit from such detailed datasets.

By better understanding these dynamics, everyone from tenants and landlords to letting agents can work together to foster a fairer, more satisfying rental market. Let's keep the conversation going - your experience matters.