Renting out a flat without using an estate agent - has anyone done it?

[AmericanPastoral]

We have a 2 bed flat in central London we are looking to rent out. I've heard of www.openrent.co.uk/ and now easyproperty.com/residential-lettings Has anyone ever rented a property out themselves, either using one of these or another company? If so how did you do the reference checks? And how long did it take for you to find someone? Thank you.

@DexyMidnight of course! I wouldn't expect them to go through the whole court process, but I do know the process well myself, done it before and happy to handle it if ever needed. What I meant in response to OPs question, was that it can def be done; there are good platforms and they do offer well rounded services despite being very cheap compared to high street agents.