Why Most Managing Agents Fail, And What You Should Demand Instead

There is a bit of a hard truth in this industry: most managing agents are mediocre. Some are outright out of their depth. For the average leaseholder or RMC director, this isn’t news, it’s lived experience. It often happens to be the case that when managed by a very large management firm, a leaseholder submits an enquiry and hears nothing back for weeks as numerous emails get lost in the thick layers of bureaucracy. The enquiry gets chased for updates and gets passed from one anonymous person to another, but never gets dealt with. Service charges creep up every year, but the building looks worse, and when something goes seriously wrong such as a leak, a gap in compliance or an issue with major works, your agent disappears or blames someone else. Why does this keep happening?

The answer is simple: block management is isn’t operated by block managers, or people who care about their leaseholders. Most agents operate in a reactive and transactional way taking on too many buildings, spread their team too thin, and running the portfolio like a call centre. Your building becomes one of 70, managed by someone juggling hundreds of tickets at once. There’s no site presence, no strategic thinking, no contractor accountability and goals are not met. This system is convenient for some agents depending on how their company is structured, but it can be a real nightmare for leaseholders.

It doesn’t have to be this way. A truly competent managing agent builds the entire structure of their business around prevention, clarity, and long-term value. At Pont & Lyall, we do things better. Every building gets a bespoke plan, not just a file number. We visit sites routinely, not reactively. Contractors are monitored, reviewed, and paid only when jobs are properly signed off. Every invoice is justified. Every action is tracked. Every decision is made with full awareness of the building’s needs, the lease terms, and the long-term impact.

If you work with us, you’ll have a relationship with one dedicated manager, not a rotating pool of names. You’ll get regular updates, transparent reporting, and honest advice even when it’s not what you want to hear because we’re here to protect your building, your money, and your peace of mind.

So what should you demand from your managing agent? Site presence? Proper budgeting? Legal and regulatory knowledge? Responsive communication? Strategic thinking? And above all, actual care?. If your agent can’t deliver those as standard, they’re not managing your best interests, they’re profiting from your apathy.

It’s time the industry raised its standards. At Pont & Lyall, we already have.