How to find a reliable tradesperson for a rental property

• Gas work: Gas Safe registration is a legal requirement. Check the register and the ID card, including which categories of work they are qualified for.
• Electrical work: notifiable work must be certified. Look for registration with a competent-person scheme such as NICEIC, NAPIT or ELECSA, and get the certificate with the invoice.
• Public liability insurance: ask for the certificate and check the expiry date, not just that one exists.
• References: two recent jobs of a similar type, ideally in rented properties where access and tenant communication matter.
• Business identity: a real address, a company number if they trade as a limited company, and an invoice with proper details.

1. Is the quote fixed, or an estimate that can move? What would make it move?
2. Does it include parts, VAT, waste removal and making good?
3. When can you start, and how long will you be on site?
4. Will you contact the tenant directly to arrange access?
5. What guarantee do you offer on labour, and how long on parts?
6. What happens if you find something else once the wall is open?

That last one prevents most disputes. Agreeing in advance that additional work needs a written variation and fresh approval keeps a £200 job from turning into a £900 invoice.

• Cash only, or a large deposit before any materials are ordered.
• No written quote — only a verbal number.
• Cold-callers who "noticed something wrong with your roof".
• Reluctance to provide insurance or registration details.
• A quote dramatically below the others, which almost always means a narrower scope.
• Poor communication before the job — it does not improve afterwards.

• Referrals from other local landlords. Still the highest hit rate, but slow and limited to who you know.
• Trade association directories. Good for verifying credentials, weak on availability and price.
• Lead-generation sites. Fast, but trades pay per lead and that cost usually appears in the quote.
• A managing agent's contractor list. Convenient, often marked up, and you rarely see the underlying invoice.
• An on-demand repair network. Vetted local trades quote against a described job, so you see price and availability side by side.

Good tradespeople are not short of work — they are short of clients who make work easy. The landlords who get priority are the ones who send clear photos and descriptions, approve quotes quickly, arrange access with the tenant properly, and pay on completion without chasing.

That is exactly how Mainto is built. Jobs arrive already triaged with photos and urgency, the landlord's funds are held securely before work starts, and payment releases to the tradesperson as soon as both they and the tenant confirm the job is done. Mainto takes a flat £5 per completed job — no percentage of the repair and no lead fees. Trades can see how it works for them, and landlords can read the landlord side.