Thankfully, those days are well behind us. Savvy renters no longer have to put up with sub-standard accommodation, poorly maintained properties or impossible to contact landlords . . . but only if they deal with a professional and reputable letting agency.

The market is now well served with such agents who not only handle all areas of the rental transaction such as leases, agreeing inventories, transferring utility bills, ensuring the property is maintained and so on, but most importantly they look after quality control. These agencies will not take a poor quality properties onto their books and prospective tenants can be assured that only accommodation of suitable standard will be offered to them.

One such company is the Dublin Letting Company. The company is one of the leading agencies in the city to specialise in the letting and management of rental properties.

"Our office works on a simple format that we describe as the three Q's", says David Bracken of the Dublin Letting Company. "These are quality properties, quality service, and quality tenants."

According to Bracken the letting market has undergone some radical changes during the last ten years. "Low interest rates and an emerging young workforce have added to spiralling costs for first time buyers", he says. "This has been added to by an influx of migrant workers and has put a strain on the supply of quality accommodation to the market. The upside to this is that the standard and design of our homes and apartments has greatly improved due to the high demand in the marketplace."

Indeed, migrant workers are now forming a significant proportion of the rental market. "Thirty per cent of people that contact my office looking for accommodation are persons with a financial background from other EU states, drawn to this country by our booming economy and looking for white-collar jobs close the St Stephens Green and the IFSC", he says. "We tend to deal in properties close to the city centre and along the commuter belt along the DART and LUAS lines. When looking for accommodation they tend to go for a contemporary style with a high emphasis on finish and most regard parking as a high priority."

Bracken also has some advice for both tenants and landlords. "Using a reputable agency gives both the landlord and tenant peace of mind. There are several unlicensed agencies currently operating within the letting market and I would strongly urge both landlords and tenants alike to make sure that the firm is reputable before handing over either the keys to their property or deposit money."

Another specialist in the area is Homefront which was established in Wicklow town this time last year having originally been set up in Dun Laoghaire some five years ago. One facility which Homefront offers which sets it apart from other management and letting companies and indeed auctioneers is its high quality website (www. homefront. ie). The site offers a 360-degree virtual tour of all the properties currently for let on the company's books. This means that prospective tenants can have a virtual showing of each property at any time of their choosing before booking an appointment to visit a property. This cuts out a lot of the stress, hassle and time which hunting for a new home can take.

Homefront MD Barry Lynch says his company not only guarantees a professional and reliable service for landlords but also for tenants.

"We provide a negotiation service between landlords and tenants. We have a saying 'A happy tenant equals a happy landlord' and in our experience we have always found this to be the case."

So what's the benefit for tenants renting from Homefront over other letting agents? For one thing the company operates a 24/7 emergency service, so if anything goes awry as is often the case in a new home Homefront and their team of professionals are on hand to help. "Because our business is based on 'marrying up' tenants and landlords Homefront is also a progressive company when it comes to meeting each party's needs", says Lynch. "The service we provide is constantly evolving. One of our new packages offers extremely competitive contents insurance for tenants, something which is often overlooked to a tenant's detriment later on."

Among the more recognised names in the sector is O'Keeffe Estates which has now opened new offices in the heart of Sandymount village.

While the company's core business remains residential lettings and property management it has now opened a sales division. Patsy O'Keeffe, director of O'Keeffe Estates, has had many years experience in the residential letting and management business both in the UK and Irish markets. Her priority is to specialise in the upper end of the market, dealing, with corporate lettings, embassies and individual professionals.

And tenants can be assured of a high quality service. "We take care of all the emergencies which arise at the properties we manage and have an experienced team to include plumbers, electricians, painters and so on and will oversee necessary repair work required", says O'Keeffe. "Our tenant list includes many of the leading companies and institutions in the greater Dublin area as well as individual professionals. We endeavour to offer our tenants the best possible choice in apartments and houses to suit their needs and will source properties for tenants who have particular requirements."

With a history of three decades serving the market behind it Young Auctioneers is among the longer established professional letting agencies in the country. The company prides itself on the variety of services we provide to home buyers and sellers, tenants and landlords alike. Youngs employ over 30 staff with a staff of 10 employed on a full time basis in the Lettings Division which offers a wide variety of houses and apartments to potential tenants.

"The rental sector continues to be buoyant in 2006 as demand continues to exceed supply", says Jane Young.

"According to the ESRI rents were 4.6 per cent higher in April of this year than April 2005."

She cites a number of factors including our growing population and the trend of inward migration as underpinning this buoyancy. She also points to a psychological factor. "Also, more and more prospective first time buyers, worried about the effect that future interest rate hikes will have on their ability to repay large home loans, are choosing to remain in the rental sector and are adopting a 'wait and see' approach with regard to making their first foray into the housing market", she says."Recent comments made by the new leader of the Progressive Democrats, Michael McDowell about stamp duty for first time buyers have had the effect of encouraging young couples to stay in their rental accommodation and adopt the wait and see approach once again. Finally, there has also been a trend in the rental market where people are choosing to stay in their rental accommodation as they are afraid if they move out they will find themselves paying an extra 50 to 100 for the same type of property in a similar area."

The market may be buoyant but with house completions running at an all time high and a wide range of highly professional letting agencies to choose from it's not a bad time to be a renter.