How we chose
We started from the forty-nine estate agents Google Maps shows across Telford. Scheme memberships were sourced from the ombudsman register [2], each firm's own website and review platforms. Each business must first meet our basic checks: it is who it says it is, it is trading today and can be reached, and it holds the redress membership the law requires. Twelve firms met all three and were assessed; the ten highest scores make the table. What customers say counts most toward the score, then qualifications, then whether the firm has traded two years or more and whether its cover is stated, then pricing clarity and website detail. All evidence is dated early September 2026.
How to hire
Start by matching the agent to the job. A selling agent values your home, photographs and lists it, runs viewings and negotiates offers. A letting agent finds tenants, collects rent and looks after the tenancy, with tiers from tenant-find to full management. Some branches add mortgage or conveyancing links, so ask what is handled in-house and what is referred elsewhere. When you first enquire, say whether you are selling, letting or both, plus the property type, the area and your timescale.
Telford and Wrekin adds local wrinkles worth knowing before you instruct. The borough holds eight conservation areas, including Wellington and the Severn Gorge, where you may need permission for works that would otherwise go through unchecked [9]. Inside the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site an Article 4 direction means even minor alterations to a dwelling can need consent, so Gorge sellers should expect sharper buyer questions about windows, doors and extensions [10]. Newer family streets keep rising around Lawley alongside the older town centres [13]. Tell the agent which side of that divide your property sits on, and check the valuation reflects it.
Redress is the legal check. Every estate agent dealing with homes in the UK must belong to a redress scheme, and letting agents and managers in England and Wales must too; the law names two schemes, The Property Ombudsman and the Property Redress Scheme, and an agent that stays out risks a fine of up to five thousand pounds [7]. Type the trading name into the ombudsman register of businesses and check the exact name that comes back matches the firm you are hiring [2]. If the name is missing or different, ask why before you go further.
Landlords should check money protection next. Any letting or management agent in England that holds client money must belong to a client money protection scheme, with the certificate on show in the office and on the website, free to anyone who asks [3]. Recognised schemes include Propertymark, RICS, Safeagent, Client Money Protect, Money Shield and UKALA [3]. Fines reach thirty thousand pounds for trading without cover and five thousand for hiding the certificate [3]. Voluntary marks such as ARLA and NAEA Propertymark signal extra standards but are a choice, not a legal badge; the Propertymark finder shows who holds them [6].
Know who pays what on a let. The Tenant Fees Act bans most charges to tenants in England, so the landlord pays the agent and each tenant payment must sit on the short legal list of permitted ones, such as a holding deposit or capped interest on late rent [5] [8]. Published landlord schedules in this round run from tenant-find scales to managed percentages with VAT on top. Ask the agent to point at the line in its schedule behind every pound it quotes, and to confirm which figures include VAT.
Get two or three written quotes on the same scope so you compare like with like. Each quote should state the fee and whether it is a share of the sale price or a fixed sum, the VAT on top, the tie-in period and notice terms for sole agency, what marketing and photography cost, and what you owe if the sale falls through or you find the buyer yourself [1]. Which? reports sole-agency fees typically at one to two per cent and multi-agency at two to three, so treat an outlier far above or below as a question rather than a bargain [1].
A typical sale runs valuation, written instruction, photography and listing, viewings, offers and negotiation, then conveyancing to completion. Expect the agent to agree viewing arrangements and feedback with you at instruction, to report every offer promptly with the buyer's position, and to keep chasing the chain until contracts exchange. A typical let runs valuation of the rent, safety checks and certificate ordering, marketing, referencing, inventory and check-in, then rent collection and inspections. At each handover, from instruction to offer accepted to tenancy start, get the position restated in writing before the next stage begins.
Line up the paperwork before the board goes up. You must order an energy certificate before marketing, it grades the home from A to G and lasts ten years, and your agent may arrange one through an accredited assessor [4]. At instruction, keep the signed contract with the fee, the tie-in and the marketing costs beside the full fee schedule and the certificate. Landlords also file the tenancy agreement and the deposit protection detail, which sits apart from money protection: the tenant's deposit must sit in one of three government-backed schemes within thirty days of receipt, and come back within ten days of an agreed settlement [11]. Check the free certificate service first to see whether your home already holds a valid one [4].
Pricing
As of autumn 2026, selling guides put sole-agency commission typically at 1–2% of the sale price and multi-agency at 2–3%, with the average seller paying roughly 1.3% including VAT in 2025 [1]. On a £200,000 sale, 1% plus VAT comes to £2,400. Quoted fees stretch from under 1% to 3%, so the spread between agents is wide [1].
An auction sale prices differently from a treaty sale. Expect an entry fee to catalogue the lot, a reserve agreed in writing below which it cannot sell, and a buyer's fee on the fall of the hammer alongside the seller's commission. Withdrawing after instruction usually triggers a withdrawal charge, so read that clause before you sign. Ask for every figure, including VAT, on one page next to the reserve.
Letting guides for 2026 put tenant-find at 8–12% of the first year's rent or a fixed £400 to £1,500, rent collection at 3–12% a month, and full management at 10–15% for independents, rising past 15% at the large chains, all before VAT at 20% [8]. A headline 12% therefore bills at 14.4%. For a Telford anchor, Foden Property publishes a £654 set-up with 12% a month managed, VAT stated.
On a managed let, the rent level moves the bill most, since the monthly percentage scales with it, then the void policy, since some contracts charge through empty months and others do not. Renewal fees, annual inspection charges and check-out reports usually sit outside the headline rate, and each one should name its VAT position [8]. A twelve-month tenancy with one renewal costs less to run than three short lets with three set-ups and three inventories. Ask which extras your property is likely to trigger before you compare percentages.
The sale price moves the selling fee most, since a percentage scales with it, then the contract type, with multi-agency costing more than sole agency [1]. Marketing extras such as photography, floor plans and premium portal slots add hundreds unless the quote folds them in. On lettings, the tier moves the bill: tenant-find once versus a monthly share for years, plus extras such as inventories, renewals and check-outs billed apart [8].
Ask whether VAT sits inside or on top of every figure, since guides quote both ways and agents advertise the pre-VAT rate [8]. Get the base in writing: a share of the price achieved or the asking price, the tie-in length and notice period, withdrawal and marketing charges, and what falls due if the sale collapses [1]. Keep every quote, contract and invoice together until completion.
Red flags
No trace of the trading name on the ombudsman register when you search it yourself [2].
A letting quote that names no client money protection scheme and shows no membership certificate [3].
One headline fee with no VAT position, so you cannot tell what the invoice will say [1] [8].
A sole-agency tie-in with no end date and no notice term in the written contract [1].
A valuation with no comparable local sales behind it, pitched far above every other quote.
Marketing your home with no energy certificate ordered first [4].
An upfront payment taken before any marketing, with no written terms for what it buys.
Pressure to sign a sole-agency tie-in at the valuation table, with no time to take the contract away and read it [1].
A managed-let offer with no written inventory, inspection routine or end-of-tenancy process behind it.
An agent that cannot name its redress scheme or money protection scheme when asked directly [2] [3].
Corrections and business responses
Tell us what needs checking, or ask to claim a listing and reply to an assessment.