What a Full Management Service Should Include: A Bristol Landlord's Checklist

Two Bristol agents quote you full management. One is 10 percent, the other is 14 percent. The cheaper one looks obvious until you read what each actually covers, at which point the gap usually turns out to be scope rather than value.

Full management is not a defined term. There is no standard, so it means whatever the agreement in front of you says it means. This is the checklist to hold that agreement against, item by item, before you sign.

Marketing and letting

• Professional photography, a floor plan and a written description.
• Listing on Rightmove and Zoopla, not just the agent's own site.
• Accompanied viewings, including evenings and weekends, when most tenants are actually free.
• A rental valuation based on comparable local lets, not a portal average.
• Feedback after viewings, so a property that is not moving gets repriced rather than left.

Ask: who physically attends viewings, and how quickly after an enquiry?

Tenant vetting

• Full referencing: employment, income, previous landlord, credit check.
• Right to rent checks, correctly documented.
• Guarantor arrangements where the referencing needs support.
• A clear account of who makes the final call on a tenant. It should be you.

Ask: what happens if a tenant they referenced stops paying in month two? Some agents offer a replacement or a rent guarantee, most do not, and you want to know which before it happens.

The tenancy and the deposit

• A tenancy agreement drafted for the rules as they stand after 1 May 2026, not a recycled template with fixed term wording still in it.
• Deposit protection in an approved scheme within 30 days, with the prescribed information served.
• A detailed inventory and schedule of condition with photographs, done at check in.
• Check out inspection against that inventory, and handling of any deposit dispute.

Ask: can I see a sample agreement? A template still referring to fixed terms or Section 21 tells you how current their paperwork is.

Rent and money

• Rent collected and paid to you on a stated day each month.
• Arrears chased from day one, with a written escalation process.
• Monthly statements, and an annual summary you can hand to an accountant.
• Client money protection, and a clear statement of which scheme.

Ask: on what date does my rent reach me, and what happens on day three of arrears? Vague answers here are a genuine warning sign.

Compliance, which is the part that bites

These are not optional and the penalties are real. A management service should track and renew every one of them without you asking.

• Gas safety certificate, renewed annually.
• Electrical installation condition report, renewed every five years.
• Energy performance certificate, valid and at the required rating.
• Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, tested and recorded.
• Legionella risk assessment.
• The How to Rent guide, served in the correct version at the right moment.
• Licensing, where it applies. Bristol runs a citywide additional HMO scheme, plus selective licensing across three wards: Bishopston and Ashley Down, Cotham, and Easton.

Ask: who is responsible for tracking renewal dates, and what does the reminder process look like? If the answer is that they will let you know, that is you doing it.

Repairs and maintenance

• A 24 hour route for genuine emergencies.
• Vetted contractors who are insured and qualified.
• A spending limit below which they act without asking, agreed with you in advance.
• Written quotes above that limit.
• Transparency on commission. Some agents mark up contractor invoices. That is not automatically wrong, but you should know.

Ask: do you add a percentage to contractor invoices, and if so how much? Ask it plainly and note whether the answer is plain.

Inspections and reporting

• Periodic inspections, typically every six months, with proper notice given.
• A written report with photographs, not a verbal all fine.
• Issues flagged early, while they are cheap.

This one carries more weight than it used to. Since possession now runs on grounds and evidence, an inspection history is part of your legal position, not just housekeeping.

Ending a tenancy after May 2026

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 came into force on 1 May 2026. Section 21 is gone, so there is no no fault route. Regaining possession requires a valid ground and the evidence behind it.

• Advice on which ground applies to your situation.
• Notices drafted and served correctly, because a defective notice restarts the clock.
• The evidence pack assembled from records kept along the way.
• A clear statement of what they handle in house and where you would need a solicitor.

Ask: have you taken a possession claim through under the new grounds, and what happened? Experience since May 2026 is worth more than experience before it.

The questions worth asking before you sign

• What is the notice period to leave, and is there a fee for leaving?
• What is not included that I might reasonably expect to be?
• Which fees are charged on top of the headline percentage?
• Who is my actual point of contact, and what happens when they are away?
• How many properties does that person look after?

That last one tells you more than the fee does. Our guide to switching letting agents in Bristol covers the exit terms in detail, and it is worth reading before you sign rather than after.

Where we fit

Take this checklist to any Bristol agent, including us. A good one will answer every line without hedging, and will tell you plainly where the boundaries of the service sit. If you want to see how we answer it, start with a free valuation or read what our full management service covers.

Once you know what should be included, compare it against what property management fees and letting agent fees each cover, so you are judging two quotes on the same basis.

If the terminology itself is the confusing part, we compare property management services and rental management side by side.

Correct as at 22 July 2026. This is general information for Bristol landlords, not legal advice. Tenancy law changed substantially on 1 May 2026, so check anything specific to your property with a solicitor or your local authority before you act on it.