Frequently Asked Questions
At David English Property, we know that becoming a landlord isn’t always part of the plan. Whether you’ve inherited a home, moved abroad, or simply need to rent out your property, we’re here to help you navigate every step, with clarity, confidence, and care.
Here are some of the FAQs we get asked most often by accidental landlords like you.
1. FAQs About Your Situation
I never planned to be a landlord – can you help me make it work?
Yes, this is our specialism. Most of our clients either bought their house or flat to live in originally, or inherited the home of a relative. You may see the value in long term bricks and mortar investment, but you’re not looking to become an expert in Lettings Law – We‘re built on helping people exactly like you.
I already have tenants, but no managing agent. Can you start mid-tenancy?
Absolutely. Circumstances change and you’ve realised you don’t need the hassle being a Property Manager in your life. We’ll explain exactly what we’ll need from you, and you’ll only need to send one email to your tenant to introduce us – We can take it from here.
I’m unhappy with my current agent. Am I stuck with them?
Good news – the Management part of your agreement will normally be breakable. The sad truth is many of our clients moved to us after having a bad experience with another agent – and they’re blown away by the relief they experience after making the change! We’re happy to review your existing terms and conditions, and tell you exactly where you stand. Typically, you’ll only need to send one email to your agent to give them notice and instruct them to cooperate with us. We’ll manage the handover from there.
I’m deciding whether to sell or rent – can you help?
Yes, we’d love the opportunity to hear about your situation, understand your needs and help you to understand your options in simple terms. We pride ourselves on communicating plainly and helping our clients to make their decisions with clarity.
Can you manage our residential development?
Yes, we’re proud to offer the same bespoke and personable approach to Block Management as we do our other services. We work with resident/leaseholder management companies to take care of day-to-day issues, legal compliance and long-term planning.
2. Why choose David English?
What makes you different?
We care. We’re a small, independent office, embedded in the same area where we live and work. Rather than treating you as just another digit on a spreadsheet and passing you around between anonymous operatives, we value the relationships that we build up with landlords, tenants, sellers, buyers and properties. We approach every situation with consideration for the long term, rather than using sticking-plasters and looking to make a quick buck.
Do you cover my area?
Our office in Chiswick & Acton specialises in servicing properties throughout West London. As a rule of thumb, if the property is between Hyde Park and Heathrow, then we’re right for you. If your property is outside our core patch, please ask and we’ll be honest about whether we can still uphold our high quality service expectation in your area.
How do you charge for your services?
How do I know my assets are safe with you?
Compliance is at the heart of everything that we do. All client funds are held in specific ring-fenced accounts with a major bank. We are members of Propertymark and the TPO independent redress scheme, and adhere to their standards. We provide clear accounts statements showing what’s been received, charged and paid out to you.
What happens in an emergency?
Our management doesn’t stop – We employ external assistance from a specialist provider, which operates at all times outside of our office opening times.
3. FAQs for Landlords – Lettings & Property Management
What services do you offer to landlords?
We offer three straightforward service options:
- Management with Agency – A complete property management package, including tenant finding services.
- Management Service (standalone) – A complete property management package, without tenant finding services
- Agency (only) – Tenant finding services, without property management.
We’ll listen to your situation and recommend the right option based on your needs.
How do you find and verify tenants?
We use major property portals to advertise properties for rent and maintain our own database of registered applicants. Every prospective tenant is referenced through an external specialist who completes credit checks and income verification. We know what red flags to look out for, and when a difficult conversation needs to be had.
How do you set the asking price?
We know our area very well – having lived and worked in the same community for many years. We combine comparable evidence from recent lets, current market conditions and the specifics of your property to arrive at a reasoned range. We’ll have a conversation with you about our analysis and agree the strategy that feels right for you.
What is a Management Service?
We essentially act as the first point of contact for the tenant and manage routine issues that come up day-to-day during the tenancy. This would typically include collecting the rent and managing disbursements, organising repairs and compliance checks, carrying out property inspections, conducting rent reviews and engaging with you as the picture develops. We keep you as informed as you would prefer, whilst we handle the workload.
Do I need a license to rent out my property?
Possibly. Licensing rules vary by London borough and even by council ward. We’re experts on Selective, Additional and Mandatory licensing schemes. We can quickly review the specific requirements for your property and let you know exactly what the situation is.
4. FAQs About Residential Sales
How do you determine an appropriate sale price?
Rather than plucking a big number out of the air and hoping that you’ll like it, we take a factual and data-driven approach to appraising houses and flats. We factor location and property-specific factors into market trends, and present you with an evidence-based price range and a strategy for launching to market.
How will you find a buyer for my property?
We use major property portals to advertise properties for sale and maintain our own database of registered applicants. You can expect strong photography, clear floorplans and carefully written descriptions as standard.
What happens after we accept an offer?
Accepting an offer is only the beginning. A lot of our value comes from having a diligent, well-organised office, which works every day to keep deal progression on track. We’ll maintain a simple timeline of key milestones, chase proactively and update you regularly, in plain language.
5. FAQs About Block Management
Who do you provide Block Management services to?
We work with residential housing developments and small estates where the leaseholders or freeholder want a proactive and approachable managing agent.
What difference will we see if we appoint you?
We bring a very human approach to Block Management, driven by four underlying principles:
- Communicating clearly, and striving for simplicity.
- Achieving high levels of regulatory compliance.
- Responsibly managing income and expenditure.
- Fostering a positive living experience on the development.
Can you help us with Section 20 and major works?
Absolutely. We can plan major works, run formal consultation, obtain and compare quotes and coordinate the works on site. Throughout, we keep our clients and stakeholders informed.