A portfolio in a spreadsheet and a box of files
The deal is done. The selling agent sends an export of tenancies, a spreadsheet of landlords, access to a shared drive and several boxes of paper files. Some deposits are registered in the other agent's name. Some certificates are missing. Some landlords are on terms you have never seen. Tenants start ringing your office with questions, and your team does not yet know who they are.
Weeks later, you are still discovering tenancies where something important was never done.
Why taking on a portfolio is messy
Every agency keeps records differently, and an export rarely contains everything. Key facts are in documents rather than data: deposit certificates, safety certificates, signed terms and tenancy agreements. There is pressure to get the book running under your name quickly, because rent needs collecting and landlords need reassurance, which leaves little time for checking.
How deposits, client money and landlord terms transfer is a matter for the deal and your advisers. The operational task is knowing, for every tenancy, what you have and what you are missing.
| Area | Typical gap found late |
|---|---|
| Deposits | Registered with a different scheme or agent, or not at all |
| Safety certificates | Missing or out of date |
| Tenancy agreements | Unsigned, or not found |
| Landlord terms | Fees and service levels unclear |
| Balances | Arrears and landlord balances that do not reconcile |
| Contacts | Old phone numbers and email addresses |
What a rough handover costs
Problems inherited from the previous agent become yours the moment you take over, and landlords judge your service by the first few months. A missing deposit registration or an expired certificate discovered late is far harder to deal with than one found on day one. Tenants who cannot get answers during the changeover leave poor reviews under your name.
The cost of staff time is large as well. Checking hundreds of tenancy files by hand, one at a time, takes your most experienced people away from the landlords you already had. Often the checking is never finished, and gaps stay hidden until a tenancy ends or a landlord asks a question nobody can answer.
The handover process we build
- Data intake: exports, spreadsheets and document folders from the selling agent are gathered, and paper files are scanned where needed.
- Document reading: tenancy agreements, deposit certificates, safety certificates and terms of business are read to extract dates, parties and amounts, with each extraction confirmed by your team.
- Tenancy health check: every tenancy is checked for a matched deposit registration, current certificates, a signed agreement, clear landlord terms and a balance that reconciles, and gaps are listed.
- Clean import: records are mapped into your lettings software through its API or import format, with the source of each field kept.
- Gap list: your team works through a prioritised list of gaps, starting with anything time-sensitive.
- Communications: landlords and tenants receive welcome messages and contact details in your wording, with updated details collected as they reply.
A portfolio you actually know
Within the handover, not months later, you know exactly what you have taken on. Every tenancy is in your system with its documents, and every gap is on a list with an owner. Landlords and tenants hear from you early and clearly. And the same process can be reused for your next acquisition.
Are you taking on another agent's book?
- You are buying or have bought another agent's lettings portfolio.
- The incoming records are in a different format from yours.
- You are not sure every inherited deposit is registered properly.
- Certificates and agreements are in paper files or a shared drive.