Specimen
Letter of engagement
For an estate or letting agency in Ireland. Ireland.
1. The parties, and our licence
This letter is between the client named below, being every person with an interest in the property, and this agency. Our property services licence number is shown in the footer of this letter and on our website.
Your wording. Name every owner. A letter signed by one of two joint owners is the defect that surfaces at the worst possible moment, which is on the day a sale is agreed.
2. The property and the service
The property is identified below. We are appointed to provide the service described below and no other, and we will agree any additional service with you in writing before we provide it.
3. What we will do
We will advise on the price or rent, prepare and place the marketing, handle enquiries and viewings, report to you on interest received, and negotiate on your behalf up to the point of agreement. We will tell you promptly of every offer received, whether or not we recommend it.
Your wording. A letting appointment usually continues past the point of agreement into management. If yours does, say where marketing ends and management begins, because they are usually charged on different bases.
4. Our fee
Our fee is shown in the schedule below, with the basis on which it is calculated and the point at which it becomes payable. Where the fee is a percentage, the schedule shows what it is a percentage of.
Value added tax is charged in addition at the rate applying when the fee falls due.
5. Outlays and advertising
Costs we incur on your behalf are listed separately in the schedule and are payable whether or not a sale or letting is completed. We will not incur an outlay above the amount shown without asking you first.
6. How long the appointment lasts
This appointment runs from the date it is signed for the period shown below, and continues after that until either of us ends it by notice in writing.
7. Whether we are the only agent
The basis of our appointment, being sole agency, joint agency or multiple agency, is stated below, together with what it means for our fee if the property is sold or let through someone else during the appointment or shortly after it ends.
Your wording. This is the clause a dispute is most often about. State the consequence in money, not in principle.
8. Complaints
If you are unhappy with our service, please tell the person named below. If we cannot resolve it, you may complain to the Property Services Regulatory Authority, whose contact details we will provide on request.
9. Agreement
Please confirm your agreement to this letter by signing below. Where there is more than one owner, each is asked to sign.
Fees and outlays
| Service | Basis | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Sale of the property | On completion | 1.25% of the sale price |
| Letting, finding a tenant | On the tenancy starting | One month’s rent |
| Ongoing letting management | Monthly | 6% of rent collected, per month |
| Photography, floor plan and listing | One-off outlay | €350, additional |
| Building energy rating assessment | One-off outlay | €180, additional |
Figures are illustrative. Yours come from your own service list. Fees and outlays are shown separately and are never added together: an outlay is payable whether or not the property sells, and a fee is not.