There are so many agents down London it is very difficult unless you have clients already. I work in South West London, Balham/Clapham and there are so many estate agents it is unbelievable. In live in Earlsfield and in the space of half a mile there must be like 15 agents! And now these cowboy agents are offering 0% commission to the landlord, the good quality agents cannot compete. Plus the rental market is very good right now, landlords do not even need agents, they can rent the property themselves and save money.
5 years? That is unbelievable. Good luck to him
Landlords are being mislead by agents saying they can get £100/£200 per week extra on rent which is pushing rents up like crazy. Last year we rented a property for £330 per week, this year I rented the same property for £400 per week . People will pay because they have no choice, everyone needs somewhere to live and no one can buy at the moment.