If you’re a landlord in Birmingham or Solihull and your letting agent has recently written to tell you your management is transferring to John Shepherd, you’re not alone. Three established Midlands agencies, Smart Homes, Xact Homes, and Centrick, have all sold their lettings books to John Shepherd, which operates under the rapidly expanding Lomond Group. For many landlords, the letter arrived with little warning and raised an immediate question: what happens to your property, your tenancy, and your relationship with your agent now?
This article explains what’s happened, what your rights are, and what practical steps you can take if you’re unhappy with the change.
What Happened, and Why
The three acquisitions unfolded over roughly two years:
- Smart Homes sold its 550-unit Solihull-based lettings book to John Shepherd in 2022. Smart Homes itself pivoted away from lettings to focus on residential sales, new homes, and commercial work.
- Centrick sold its high street sales and lettings business to John Shepherd in January 2024, transferring a portfolio of 1,300 homes, more than 25 staff, and offices in Solihull and Nottingham. Centrick repositioned itself as a national property services provider rather than a high street agency.
- Xact Homes followed in June 2024, with John Shepherd taking over 100% of Xact’s lettings operations. That deal pushed John Shepherd’s portfolio to around 8,000 properties under management across the West and East Midlands.
These aren’t opportunistic one-off deals. Lomond Group, the private equity-backed consolidator that owns John Shepherd, has completed more than 65 acquisitions since 2021 and now manages over 50,000 properties nationally. Its stated strategy is to continue buying lettings books in existing and new regional markets. If your current agent hasn’t been acquired yet, it’s worth knowing this landscape exists.
Does a Takeover Affect Your Tenancy?
No. The tenancy agreement is a contract between you, the landlord, and your tenant. The letting agent is not a party to that contract; they act on your behalf. When one agent sells their book to another, the tenancy itself is unaffected. Your tenant’s rights and obligations remain exactly as they were, and so do yours as the landlord.
What does change is who is managing the property on your behalf, which is a material change to your service relationship, even if the legal position of the tenancy is unchanged.
What Are Your Rights as a Landlord?
Your rights in this situation are governed primarily by the terms of business you signed when you first appointed your agent. That document is the most important thing to locate and read carefully.
Notice periods
In most cases, you’ll need to give written notice to terminate the management agreement. Three months is a common requirement, though some agents specify less and some specify more. Check your specific document rather than assuming a standard period applies.
Exit fees
Some management agreements include exit fees or early termination charges. The Competition and Markets Authority has stated that disproportionately high termination charges and excessively long notice periods can constitute unfair contract terms, particularly where they haven’t been individually negotiated and create a significant imbalance between the parties. If you believe an exit fee is unreasonably punitive, it’s worth taking advice, whether from the NRLA, a solicitor, or a letting agent who can review the terms with you.
New terms of business
When a new agent takes over a book, they will typically ask landlords to sign updated terms of business. You are not obliged to accept any term you find unacceptable. Read the new agreement carefully before signing, and if the terms have materially changed from what you originally agreed, raise this in writing.
Can You Switch Agents Mid-Tenancy?
Yes, and this is a point many landlords are uncertain about. Because the tenancy agreement is between you and your tenant, not between your tenant and your agent, changing who manages the property doesn’t require the tenancy to end. The tenant simply needs to be informed of the new point of contact for rent payments, maintenance requests, and so on.
The steps to switch are straightforward:
- Locate your current terms of business. Identify the notice period and any exit provisions.
- Serve written notice on your current agent. Do this formally and keep a copy. Note the date notice is given, as this starts the clock on any notice period.
- Appoint your new agent. Your new agent will typically handle the transfer of keys, deposit records, compliance certificates, and tenancy documents.
- Notify your tenant in writing. Inform them of the change, who to pay rent to, and who to contact going forward. This is both courteous and practically necessary.
- Confirm deposit protection. If your tenant’s deposit is held in a scheme registered by the outgoing agent, ensure it is transferred to a scheme registered by your new agent or directly by you. The deposit must remain protected throughout.
What to Check During Any Transition
Whether you’re staying with John Shepherd or moving to a different agent, use the transition as a prompt to review the basics. Compliance obligations don’t pause because your agent has changed hands, and any gap in oversight during a handover period can create problems.
Run through the following:
- Gas Safety Certificate: must be renewed annually by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Confirm the current certificate is valid and that renewal is scheduled.
- Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR): required every five years for private rented properties in England. Check when yours was last issued.
- EPC: must be valid (rated E or above for most tenancies) and available to the tenant. A new certificate lasts ten years.
- Deposit protection: confirm the deposit is protected in a government-approved scheme and that the prescribed information has been served on the tenant.
- Licensing: if your property is in a licensable HMO, or if Birmingham City Council runs a selective licensing scheme covering your area, confirm the licence is current and held in the correct name.
- Right to Rent checks: confirm these were carried out at the start of the tenancy and that records are held.
A good incoming agent should carry out their own audit at the point of transfer. But as the landlord, the legal obligations sit with you, not your agent, so it’s worth verifying these yourself rather than assuming the handover is complete.
Should You Stay or Switch?
This is a practical decision, not a sentimental one. John Shepherd is a well-established Midlands agency with a large portfolio, and many landlords will find the transition uneventful. But size isn’t the same as service quality, and if you’ve experienced reduced responsiveness, slower maintenance handling, or difficulty reaching your property manager since the transfer, those are legitimate reasons to review your options.
Ask yourself:
- Are maintenance issues being resolved promptly?
- Do you have a named property manager you can actually reach?
- Is rent being paid on time and reconciled accurately?
- Are compliance renewals being tracked and actioned?
If the answers have deteriorated since the acquisition, that’s the relevant signal. The size of a management portfolio matters less than whether your individual property is being looked after.
A Note on What’s Coming
Lomond’s acquisition strategy is ongoing. They have the backing, the stated intent, and the operational infrastructure to continue buying lettings books across the Midlands and beyond. This isn’t the last consolidation the regional market will see. For landlords, the broader lesson is worth taking: know who your agent is, know your terms of business, and know that you have options if the service changes.
If you’re a landlord in Birmingham or Solihull reassessing your management arrangements following a recent acquisition, Partridge Homes offers a straightforward, local lettings service with no large corporate portfolio sitting behind it. We’d be glad to talk through your current situation, review what switching would involve for your property, and give you an honest rental valuation if that’s useful. You can reach us through our contact page.
