Supporting agents to deliver
Since October 2023, the team has taken more than 7,200 calls regarding hundreds of different topics, and the service's popularity continues to grow, with significant numbers of positive and highly recommended reviews.
Sharon Parnell, Propertymark Lettings Helpline Team Leader, says they’ve dealt with everything from how to manage bats and bees, to abandoned cars, to dealing with deceased tenants with no next of kin. Every day is different, and the team is constantly awestruck by the sheer dedication and the amount of work our members do for their clients and customers.
Access to expertise
The in-house Helpline was set up to meet the demand from our growing membership during a time of significant legislative change for the lettings market, with the number one priority for the team to answer every call from ARLA Propertymark members. Their day-to-day engagement with callers has the additional benefit of helping Propertymark grow a bank of FAQs that members can access instantly at any time.
Some calls are straightforward, but many touch on contradictory pieces of legislation or areas that aren't covered by legislation or regulation at all, meaning they need some investigation. Propertymark people from across the business get involved with finding answers, and the Helpline team also has several legal specialists on hand to support the more complex enquiries. Where a bespoke solution is essential, these trusted specialists can also be further instructed by our members to work on their behalf.
The next evolution of the helpline
We aim to recruit legal specialists to widen our in-house offering to all the devolved nations and across the other property disciplines, so those working in residential, commercial sales and auctioneering have the same wide-ranging resources to tap into.
If members working across the disciplines have a recommendation for a particular firm of lawyers who are property specialists in their area, we’d love to hear from them. Our members thrive on professional recommendations in their firms, so any recommendations for property legal services in their locality would be appreciated.
Send any law firm recommendations, whether for lettings, sales or auctioneering to [email protected].
Growing member resources
In addition to the ever-expanding range of fact sheets and information already available in the membership area of our website.
New interactive FAQ pages will be launched soon, all of which will be exclusively available to members. This will include a new search-by-topic function that will put hundreds of new solutions and answers at their fingertips. We know agents often work long hours and don’t always have time to pick up the phone within their working day, so this will be a further resource to help on demand.
Lettings Helpline FAQs
We may already have the answer to your question. Take a look at the suite of Helpline FAQs covering the hottest topics that members have previously contacted us about.
Delivering value to our members
Propertymark membership carries benefits, preferential rates and services to give you the edge alongside your experience, qualifications and commendations. They will aid you in governance, risk management and compliance by ensuring that you are up to date with best practices and legislation while supporting business growth through a range of savings.
As major changes continue to sweep through our dynamic industry, we’re with you every step of the way, providing practical support and communicating with you regularly. We continue to campaign on the issues that matter to you, as well as influencing policymakers and gaining widespread media attention.
Membership benefits
Membership carries benefits, preferential rates and services developed in partnership with members to give you the edge alongside your experience, qualifications and commendations. Make sure you're aware of everything membership has to offer.
