CIL Lettings Estate

Background

How we came to run rented homes

CIL Lettings Estate is the lettings arm of CIL PROPERTY GROUP LTD. We manage residential buy-to-let property on behalf of landlords who own one or two homes, and occasionally a small block. The work is ordinary and it is constant: finding tenants, checking them, collecting rent, and keeping the building in a condition that will still pass an inspection in five years' time.

We started because landlords kept telling us the same thing. They had a letting agent who sent a monthly statement and little else. Repairs were reported to them rather than handled, inspections were booked and then missed, and the landlord was left chasing three tradesmen from a kitchen table in another county. We built the business around doing that work ourselves and telling the landlord afterwards, not before.

Day to day, that means a named manager for every property, not a shared inbox. Repairs under an agreed threshold are approved and carried out without a phone call. Anything above it gets a call the same working day, with a quote and a clear description of what has failed. Rent arrives by standing order, we chase arrears in writing on a fixed timetable, and the landlord sees the same figures we do.

Compliance is the part of this trade that catches people out. Gas safety, electrical installation condition reports, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, right to rent checks and deposit protection all carry dates, and dates pass quietly. We keep a calendar per property and act before the deadline rather than after the fine. If something is not in place, we say so plainly and set out what it will cost to fix.

Most of our landlords have come to us through another landlord. We take that as the measure that matters, because it means the rent arrived, the tenant stayed, and the house was handed back in a state that could be relet. We are not the cheapest manager in the area and we do not pretend to be. We are the one that answers the phone and finishes the job.

The mid-term visit that saves a deposit

Every tenancy gets a mid-term inspection, with photographs and a written note of what we found. It is the cheapest way to catch a leaking radiator or a broken extractor fan while it is still a small repair, and it gives both sides a record if the deposit is ever in question. Landlords receive the report within two working days.

The mid-term visit that saves a deposit

Work we do not take on

Talk to CIL Lettings Estate about your rented property