How Much Do Letting Agents Charge? Letting Agent Charges Explained for Landlords

Letting agent charges depend on what you ask them to do

Letting agent charges are not one number. What you pay depends on the service level you choose, how the agency expresses its fee, and the extras it adds at the start and during the tenancy. This guide shows how to work out the real cost with your own numbers, what an agent cannot pass on to your tenant in England, and what you take on if you manage the property yourself. It is general information, not legal or financial advice.

We have not quoted a typical fee. Fees vary by agency, region and property, and the only numbers that matter are the ones in the quotes on your table.

The three service levels

Tenant-find (let only)

The agent markets the property, handles enquiries and viewings, references the applicant, draws up the tenancy agreement and hands over. After move-in, the tenancy is yours: rent, repairs, inspections and the tenant's calls.

Suits you if you live nearby, have time, and want help only with the part that needs a wide audience and a referencing process.

Tenant-find plus rent collection

Everything above, plus the agent collects the rent each month, chases late payments and pays you after deducting its fee. Repairs and inspections usually stay with you, so check.

Suits you if chasing money is the part you most want to hand over.

Fully managed

The agent runs the tenancy day to day: rent, repairs and contractors, routine inspections, safety certificates and renewals of them, deposit handling and the end of the tenancy. You get statements and decisions to make.

Suits you if you live far away, have several properties, or simply do not want to be the person the tenant calls.

How much does a letting agency charge? How fees are expressed

Agencies express fees in three common ways, and a quote can mix them:

• A percentage of the monthly rent, taken each month for rent collection or full management.
• A one-off fee for finding a tenant, as a flat amount, a number of weeks' rent, or a share of the first year's rent.
• Flat fees for specific jobs, such as inventories, check-outs or arranging safety certificates.

Also check whether the quote includes VAT. In England, a letting agent's website must list its fees with the amount including any applicable tax, or how the fee is calculated where it cannot be known in advance (Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 83, legislation.gov.uk, checked September 2026). That list is the best place to start comparing.

Work it out with your own numbers

For a monthly fee expressed as a share of rent:

1. Take your monthly rent. Call it R.
2. Take the agent's rate for the service level, as a decimal (a rate of "x in every hundred" is x ÷ 100). Call it F.
3. Monthly fee = R × F. Add VAT if the quote excludes it.
4. Yearly cost = monthly fee × 12, plus every one-off fee you expect in a year.

Do the same for each agency, and for each service level you are considering. Then compare the yearly figures, not the headline rate. An agency with a lower monthly rate and higher set-up and check-out fees can cost more over a year.

Set-up, renewal and other fees to ask about

Ask every agency for its full fee list and look for these:

• Set-up or let fee: charged when a new tenant moves in.
• Inventory and check-in: a report on the condition and contents at the start.
• Check-out: the comparison at the end, used if there is a deposit dispute.
• Tenancy renewal fees: in England, on 1 May 2026 existing assured shorthold tenancies became assured periodic tenancies, and new tenancies are periodic, with no end date (GOV.UK, Renters' Rights Act overview for landlords, checked September 2026). If a contract still mentions renewal fees for fixed terms, ask what it now charges for, if anything.
• Deposit registration: some agents charge to protect the deposit in a government-approved scheme.
• Safety certificates: whether the agent arranges them, and whether the fee is on top of the contractor's.
• Rent reviews, notices and court work: often priced separately.
• Early termination by you: what it costs to end the agency agreement, and the notice period.
• Tenant-find fee on renewal or continuation: some agreements charge again if the tenant you were introduced to stays on. Read that clause.

What your tenant cannot be charged (England)

Under the Tenant Fees Act 2019, landlords and letting agents in England can only take the payments the Act permits from a tenant. GOV.UK's guidance lists them: rent; a refundable tenancy deposit of no more than five weeks' rent where the annual rent is under £50,000 (six weeks' at £50,000 or more); a refundable holding deposit of no more than one week's rent; a charge for changing the tenancy at the tenant's request, expected to be no more than £50 unless reasonable costs are higher; payments on early termination requested by the tenant; utilities, council tax, TV licence and communication services where the tenancy makes the tenant responsible; and default fees for late rent or a lost key where the tenancy allows them (legislation.gov.uk and GOV.UK Tenant Fees Act guidance, checked September 2026).

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 added that landlords and agents cannot ask for rent in advance of an assured tenancy agreement being signed (GOV.UK statutory guidance on the Tenant Fees Act as amended, checked September 2026).

So referencing, admin, check-in and renewal fees cannot be charged to the tenant. If an agency's fees work, they work as your cost. Wales and Scotland have their own rules. For what adverts must now say about rent, see the Renters' Rights Act and rental adverts.

How to compare letting agents

1. Get the fee list from each agency's website, not a phone summary.
2. Calculate the yearly cost for your property with the steps above.
3. Ask which redress scheme each belongs to (every letting agent in England must belong to one) and, if they will hold your rent, which client money protection scheme. Both should be on their website.
4. Ask who you will deal with, how often they inspect, and how you will hear about repairs.
5. Read the contract for the notice period and any fee for a tenant who stays on.

Managing the property yourself

Self-managing saves the fee and gives you direct control. Be clear about what you take on. GOV.UK lists a landlord's responsibilities in England: keep the property safe and free from health hazards, protect the deposit in a government-approved scheme, make sure gas and electrical equipment is safely installed and maintained, provide an Energy Performance Certificate, fit and test smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, and check that your tenant has the right to rent (GOV.UK, renting out a property, checked September 2026).

On top of that sits the practical work: writing the advert, answering enquiries, arranging viewings, referencing, the tenancy agreement, collecting and chasing rent, repairs, inspections and the end of the tenancy.

A way to decide: estimate the hours a month the tenancy takes you, multiply by what an hour of your time is worth, and add what you would spend on referencing and tools. Compare that with the yearly agency figure. If the two are close, the question is less about money and more about who you want the tenant to call.

Some landlords split it: a tenant-find service from an agent, then self-manage. Others do the letting themselves too, which is where finding and choosing tenants is where the effort goes. Block viewings save a lot of evenings.

Where Loftfolio fits

If you self-manage, Loftfolio covers the letting side: a website for your properties at yourname.loftfolio.com, where enquiries made through the site arrive as applications with notes and a message thread, applicants book viewings themselves with email reminders, and you can ask applicants to upload ID, proof of income or a reference. Enquiries from portals or the phone do not arrive in it; reply with the property's link and they apply there. It does not collect rent, reference tenants, hold deposits or manage repairs. Plans start at US$39 a month, charged in US dollars. More for landlords, or see the plans.