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The Lettings Specialists, Surrey and Sussex

Knights are a full service, residential lettings specialist with over 50 years of experience.

We all share a passion for delivering first class service and have a deep understanding of marketing, tenant screening, lettings legislation and everything that goes alongside creating long-lasting, trouble-free tenancies for our clients. For over a decade, we have helped our clients succeed as landlords by utilising our all-round letting know-how. Our obsession with doing things correctly combined with our attention to detail has led our operation to great success.

Knights Team

Awards & Recognition

Knights Timeline

Knights Incorporated

After 13 years working his way up from Trainee to Area Director in the local property market, Mark Halsey knew he could offer a service to fill a gap in the market and so Knights Estate Agents is born.

New Contracts

Knights secure contracts with several local companies to fulfill their housing requirements.

Continued Growth

Knights headhunt Ross Gardner; a Sales and Lettings expert with 10 years’ experience in showcasing and marketing of property. Ross Gardner and Mark Halsey enjoyed several years working together in previous employment and now form an unrivalled partnership.

Revised Strategy

Knights devise a revolutionary Lettings marketing strategy that simultaneously improves the quality of service and tenant provided to our clients: becoming the ‘go-to agent’.

Continued Growth

Mark and Ross continue to grow the operation and our client base continues to expand as we receive many referrals from previous happy clients.

Agency Partnership

Knights secure the services of go6 media to further enhance their brand and digital marketing presence thus propelling themselves into the forefront of the property world.

Knights HQ relocates

Due to continued success and growth Knights HQ relocates to large refurbished premises on Gatwick Road in the heart of the Manor Royal Business District.

Award Winning Agents

Ross and Mark continue to grow the operation from the new headquarters winning not one but, TWO coveted ‘All Agents’ awards! Best Overall Agent and Best Letting Agent.

 

Launch of our explainer video

Knights invest in a helpful explainer video to amplify awareness of their operation and unique strategy and its unique benefits to landlords in an informative short video.

Retaining Awards

Knights retain the titles of ‘Best Letting Agent’ and ‘Best Overall Agent’ for RH10 for a second year.

Expanding the Team

Knights headhunt Phillipa Shoults to help service the growing client base and maintain high standards of operation. Phillipa has a proven track record and brings five years of experience to the team.

Propertymark Qualification,

Welcoming the future and the potential licencing and regulation of Property Professionals; Ross Gardner and Phillipa Shoults successfully pass their respective exams and Knights are offered membership of ARLA Propertymark, ensuring the highest standards of service and a continued commitment to compliance, development and learning.

Even more awards.

Knights retain the titles of ‘Best Letting Agent’ and ‘Best Overall Agent’ in RH10 for a third year.

Launch of the all new ‘Guide for Landlords’

Knights update and re-issue their popular ‘Guide for Landlords’ to include up-to-date legislation changes and forward-thinking advice for landlords.

Coronavirus Pandemic,

The Coronavirus Pandemic took the world by storm, Knights invested in remote working technologies to ensure we could continue to serve our clients no matter what. We quickly reoffered all our clients our Rent Guarantee policy (fearing a sharp rise in premiums) to ensure our clients were as insulated as possible from any risk. We developed COVID SECURE PROTOCOLS for all appointments and acquired the required PPE.

Electrical Installation Condition Reports

The government introduced The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 which meant that all Landlords had to ensure that electrical installation inspections were carried out for all new tenancies from 1st July 2020 and for all existing tenancies by 1st April 2021.

We organised our contractors and secured preferential rates for our landlords and began to undertake the mammoth task of testing every single property in our portfolio.

Coronavirus Pandemic

The Coronavirus Pandemic hit again in the first quarter of the year with another Lockdown, Knights continued to operate remotely and observe our strict COVID secure working protocols to ensure continued service and to do our bit to stop the spread of the virus.

Deadline for electrical testing

The deadline for Electrical Testing came into effect on the 1st April 2021, because of planning well in advance we met our legal obligations without issue.

Propertymark Qualifications for the Knights team

Mark Halsey could finally physically sit his ARLA Propertymark exams (which had been cancelled by the Pandemic) and earn his qualification. This means that every single member of the Knights Team is fully qualified. We’re not sure any other letting agent could say the same!

The Knights Landlord Mentorship is launched

Knights launch The Knights Landlord Mentorship designed to help Investors acquire Buy-to-Let property efficiently and correctly.

Smoke & CO Alarm Amendments

The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022 came into force on 1 October 2022.
Knights ensured all managed properties met the new requirements.

Cost-of-Living Crisis

The cost-of-living in the UK surged with soaring inflation and rising prices on food, fuel and energy. Interest rates were raised by the BoE from 0.25% to 3.5% in an attempt to curve rising inflation.

Landlord Mentorship Growth

Following successful launch in 2021, The Knights Landlord Mentorship goes from strength to strength seeing numerous completions with Investors successfully onboarding acquisitions and referring friends and family.

2023 Updates

The UK Government tables The Renters (Reform) Bill that proposes to balance the power within the PRS with the abolition of Section 21 and a string of other amendments to Section 8. The team are busy, learning the supposed new framework and updating our clients on its progress through Parliament.

Phillipa welcomes the birth of her son, Tommy.

Ross continues to study and sit exams toward gaining his Fellowship with Propertymark, the top qualification a Letting Professional can achieve. Consisting of 6 examinations over a 2-year period and over 260 hours of study required.

2024 Updates

Expansion as Knights recruit Chloe Longhurst into the team to help service our client base and expand our operation.

The Renters (Reform) Bill falls as it fails to make it through ‘wash-up’ following a snap election and the ascension of the Labour Government. …but we’re sure it will be back in one form or another soon enough.

Meet the Knights Team

Mark Halsey M.A.R.L.A

Managing Director
Mark Halsey M.A.R.L.A

I began my career working for an independent property company in 1997 as a junior consultant and within ten years had worked my way up to become a Lettings and Sales Area Director. Over the years, I have been fortunate enough to build many good working relationships with corporate clients and relocation companies, which I still maintain today.
In my 24 years in the industry (yes I know I don’t look old enough!) I have run sales and lettings divisions and am equally comfortable in either environment, somewhat a rarity in the property industry.

In 2010, I had a vision that with hard work and dedication that I could build a better business model for Estate Agency based on honesty, transparency, partnership and trust, working intimately with our clients so that they could benefit from all of my expertise.

It’s been a great joy to see Knights grow over the years, I’m very passionate about what we do and I always will be. We offer competitive fee packages for landlords and guarantee the personal attention of the directors (myself and Ross) which ensures quality service and smooth communication plus a level of personal care and attention, which we believe is vital for today’s landlords.

On a personal level, my main passion is sport (especially football) and despite now being in my early forties I still regularly play at the weekend, as well as coaching children to play. I have a penchant for fine dining and wine and beer tastings.

I look forward to working with you.

Ross Gardner M.A.R.L.A

I began my property career in 2002 and over the years I’ve Let & Managed all types of property which has given me a wealth of experience and insight. I came onboard at Knights with my co-Director Mark, in 2012 and we haven’t looked back since. In this time our operation has seen explosive growth with glowing five stars reviews from happy clients along the way. We have developed a strong company identity and ethos and brought The Knights Landlord Mentorship to life, helping people buy and Let property for their and/or their children’s future.

I am a proud qualified member of ARLA Propertymark with a keen eye for detail and letting legislation. I regularly attended webinars and courses to improve my working knowledge and keep up to date with emerging case law, in the everchanging letting landscape this knowledge has been called upon more and more and has proved invaluable in protecting and supporting our clients.

I’m a dedicated husband and father and I spend my spare time with my wife Rhianna and our two children, Carmen and Alfred.

Phillipa Shoults M.A.R.L.A

Lettings and Property Manager
Phillipa Shoults M.A.R.L.A

I have been letting and managing property since 2013. I joined Mark & Ross here at Knights in January 2017 to help service the expanding client base and maintain Knights high standards. Having worked in the industry for 5 years it was genuinely eye-opening to come into an operation that takes a completely different and refreshing approach, that really sets us above the rest. All of our clients receive a personal, professional and honest service.

I am passionate about my career and will always go the extra mile to help and support my clients. I spend a lot of my personal time in the gym, walking my dog and enjoy spending time with friends and family.

Chloe Longhurst

Property Manager
Chloe Longhurst

I joined Ross, Mark, and Phillipa at Knights in early 2024, bringing with me experience in property management, particularly in managing property portfolios within the insolvency industry and overseeing asset management client portfolios. My background has equipped me with a deep understanding of the complexities involved in property management, allowing me to effectively navigate challenges for our clients.

At Knights, I have been able to leverage my strong relationship building and customer service skills, which I consider central to success in property management. In my role here, I have embraced the opportunity to further expand my expertise, learning all aspects of being a successful property manager—including maintenance coordination and legal compliance. My hands-on experience at Knights, combined with the mentorship of Mark and Ross, has significantly enhanced my skill set. I am about to complete my ARLA Propertymark qualifications, I look forward to applying this knowledge to help Knights maintain its high standards of service and deliver exceptional results for our clients.

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