Stuart & Partners

Stuart & Partners are an independent estate agent with about 30 years experience. Generally, I have been used to dealing with private landlords whilst living in Brighton and Sweden, avoiding agents like a plague due to all their processing fees and red tape. However, I have been pleasantly surprised with my dealing with this company.
Expect all the regular trappings of an estate agent (well, they are hardly an altruistic outfit of house letting) and a months deposit along with a month up front for rent. They will charge the expected agents ‘processing’ fee and this seems to be slightly higher than some of the local competition. This is also where the good business idea of the firm comes into play.
Yes, you do pay the fee, but only once. As long as i remain with the company I can move as much as I like (aside from the standard 6 month short-​term tenancy agreement) and they will not charge any other fees. I love this ‘clause’ and should my situation change, I become bored of my current flat, or even if I see a better deal/​property than my present abode, I just have to pay the independent inventory costs (good to prevent dubious cleaning charges) and hire a van. This I like!
The current apartment I rent is not managed by the agent, but they informed me that they would only do a quarterly check on managed properties. Money is handled my monthly direct debits and they were reasonable in waiting for references and bank checks.
I have been lucky enough to have had no issues with the property, but feel pretty confident that they would resolve any issues promptly, judging from my dealings thus far.
If you are looking to budget your rent you may find cheaper initial costs elsewhere, but not the flexibility further down the line.
Recommended.