Online Letting Agents, the efficiently cheap way of Letting your Property!
Landlords that use online letting agents instead of the traditional high-street letting agents save on average £1,000 per let, and for many the savings run into thousands!
Find out all you need to know about Online Letting Agents, including the best options available to you…
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List of the Best Online Letting Agents for Landlords
There are a buttload of online agents out there, and more and more are opening up shop every day, but here’s a list of online letting agencies that I personally recommend, because I’ve either used them myself to find tenants, or because they have received awesome feedback from the landlord community.
The prices and details below are for “Tenant-find” services. If you want a “Managed” solution from an online agent (yup, they offer that, too), you may want to hop down to the managed services section.
Search Filters
Require any of the following?
Tenant referencing
Tenant referencing To ensure you stand the best chances of getting reliable tenants, your agent will reference prospective tenants, which can include credit checks and employment history.
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Deposit registration
Deposit registration In order to comply with the tenancy deposit legislation, the agent will secure the deposit on your behalf and serve required documents to your tenant.
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Rent collection
Rent collection Agent will collect rent from tenant and then send it to you.
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Tenancy sign-up service
Tenancy sign-up service The agent will draft your tenancy agreement contract and get it signed by the tenant(s) on your behalf.
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EPC
EPC An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is needed when a property sold in the UK. They are valid for 10 years, so if you already have a valid one you do not to order another.
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Gas safety check
Gas safety check Agent will arrange for a gas safety check to be conducted. Landlords are legally obligated to have annual gas safety checks.
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EICR
EICR Electrical Installation Condition Reports (EICR) are legally required for new tenancies in England. As from the 1st April 2021, all let properties will require an EICR.
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Photograghs
Photograghs The agent will arrange for a photographer to visit your property to take pictures, which can be used with your adverts. Good quality photos are important in making your property look attractive and can increase enquiries.
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Floorplan
Floorplan The agent will arrange for a professionally produced floorplan showing the layout and room sizes of your property. Many buyers find floorplans useful when viewing property details online.
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Inventory service
Inventory service The agent will arrange for an independent inventory clerk to create an inventory report.
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Hosted viewings
Hosted viewings A local agent will take viewings and show potential tenants around your property. Please note, some agents limit how many viewings they will take, so please read the T&C's carefully.
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Pay on Completion
Pay on Completion Pay on Completition means there's nothing to pay upfront until you find your perfect tenants (T&C's may apply, so please read carefully).
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Letting AgentRatingDurationIncludes / NotesPrice Mashroom Rating 4.6 Feefo Reviews Duration 30 days* Includes / Notes
True cost of letting package
30 days* marketing on Rightmove, Zoopla + more
Rent collection
Tenancy sign-up service
*30 days free, and then the option of continuing service for an additional 30 days for £29 (Inc VAT). Price*FREEInc VATNo hidden fees, no credit card details required!
Free Visit Website OpenRent Rating 4.9 Google Reviews Duration 5 days / 3 months* Includes / Notes
Ultimate Advertising package
5 days / 3 months* marketing on Rightmove, Zoopla + more
*5 days free, and then the option of continuing service for 3 months for £24 (Inc VAT) for new customers, and £29 (Inc VAT) for returning customers! Price*FREEInc VATNo hidden fees, no credit card details required!
Free Trial Visit Website 99Home Rating 4.9 TrustPilot Reviews Duration Until Let Includes / Notes
Express package
Until Let marketing on Zoopla, OnTheMarket + more
Tenant referencing (1 x tenant)
Deposit registration
Tenancy sign-up service
First month's rent collection
Zoopla featured listing (for 1 week) Price £25Inc VAT Normal price: £49
Promo available Visit Website50% Discount Code: PIPLET20 OpenRent Top Pick Rating 4.9 Google Reviews Duration 3 months Includes / Notes
Advertising + Rent Now package
3 months marketing on Rightmove, Zoopla + more
Deposit registration
Tenancy sign-up service
First month's rent collection Price £49Inc VAT Visit Website Visum Rating 4.7 TrustPilot Reviews Duration 3 months Includes / Notes
Plus package
3 months marketing on Rightmove, Zoopla + more Price £74Inc VAT Normal price: £89
Discount available Visit Website£15 Discount Code: PIP1 I Am The Agent Rating 4.8 TrustPilot Reviews Duration 1 Month Includes / Notes
IATA Speedy package
1 Month marketing on Rightmove, Zoopla + more Price £80.1Inc VAT Normal price: £89
Discount available Visit Website10% Discount Code: propinv21 Letting a Property Rating 4.9 Review Centre Duration 2 months Includes / Notes
Find a Tenant package
2 months marketing on Rightmove, Zoopla + more Price £149Inc VAT Visit Website
Please note, I try my best to keep the information of each agent up-to-date, but you should read the T&C’s from the agents’ website for the most up-to-date information.
Other Popular Services
Just in case you require a couple of other competitive quotes for popular letting services…
Table of contents:
What is an Online letting agent?
They’re letting agents that don’t have a high-street presence (i.e. a local branch you can walk into), instead they operate from one centralised office, and make all their sales via their website. Ultimately, that means they have much lower overheads compared to high-street agents, which is precisely why they’re the able to offer much cheaper solutions for finding tenants. Like, massively cheaper.
An online letting agents goal is fundamentally the same as any other high-street letting agent, which is to generate as many leads from prospective tenants as possible in order to fulfil a vacant tenancy for a landlord. They achieve this by marketing a landlord’s property across several (if not hundreds) of the biggest UK property portals, which are all crawling with prospective tenants looking for their next home.
Quick fact: a staggering 92% of tenants search online for their next rental property on websites like Rightmove and Zoopla. So getting your website listed on those websites is paramount to finding tenants efficiently.
In order to get listed, you simply need to pay a [small] fee, and then upload your BTL property details onto the online agent’s website. The online agent will then distribute your property details across various different property portals, including Rightmove, which means your property will appear in Rightmove’s search results.
When a prospective tenants makes an enquiry through one of the property portals, the landlord will receive it directly, and then, typically, schedules and conducts the viewings. The final step is for the landlord to choose the most suitable applicant.
Some online letting agents do offer ‘hosted viewing’ services for an additional fee (£300 on average) – so you don’t necessarily have to take the viewings – but *most* landlords that use online letting agents take the viewings themselves, because that’s how they’re able to make the biggest savings.
The most reputable (and recommendable) online letting agents have a fully-dedicated support team which can be easily contacted via phone and/or email, so you’re not just dealing with a dormant website and automated responses- you actually are dealing with real people.
Online letting agents originally only catered for landlords that wanted a simple “tenant-find” service, and NOT a fully managed service.
If you opt for a “tenant-find” service from an online agent, which is approx £50 on average, you can typically expect the following service:
Property listed on the biggest UK portals, including Rightmove and Zoopla, to generate enquiries from prospective tenants
A range of forms and documents, including Tenancy agreement templates
Support from an account manager in case you have any questions
However, many online agents have evolved their services by offering a more comprehensive service, which includes those services expected from a regular fully managed service you receive from a high-street agent, such as rent collection and maintenance management. So if you’re looking to benefit from online letting agent prices, while still wanting a managed service, you may want to skip down to the online letting agents that offer managed services section.
What are the differences between a high-street letting agent and online letting agent?
These days, in terms of services, online letting agents can offer most of the services high-street agents can. For example, online letting agents can offer ‘hosted viewings’, ‘professional photography’ services, ‘Rent collection’ services etc., essentially all the services you’d expected from a useful high-street agent.
However, they differ in the following ways (in my awesome opinion):
Local knowledge – high-street agents operate locally out of their shop-front, while online agents tend to operate nationally (so lack local knowledge of specific areas) from an office. High-street agents pride themselves on local knowledge, and feel they have an extra edge with that useful information. Granted, local knowledge is useful in some ways, but in this internet driven world, the importance of local knowledge is declining by the day. Moreover, most agents generate most of their leads from property portals like Rightmove anyways, and local knowledge isn’t even required for a tenant acquisition sourced by Rightmove.
Shop-front / Face-to-face service – high-street agents can offer a face-to-face service. So, for example, if you get really pissed off with their service, you can storm into their shop and punch your agent square in their stupid-looking face (assuming the intoxicating scent of their Old Spice aftershave doesn’t choke you to death first. Only joking). With an online letting agent, you’re limited to communicating via phone and/or email- assuming you’re not a psychotic maniac and prepared to track down your agent, the biggest threat in your arsenal is a string of harsh words, like, “you’re a cunt, mate!”
Price – this is where high-street agents and online agents become drastically alien from one another.
When you start looking at the pricing differences you almost have to wonder if they’re selling the same commodity (they essentially are!).
High-street agents have massive overheads in comparison to online agents, so they NEED to charge more for their services, and believe me, that they do! That’s a fact. Those fabulous multi-coloured Mini Coopers don’t pay for themselves.
High street agents generally base their fees on the percentage of rental income achieved over a one year duration. For example, if you receive a rental income of £1,000pcm, they might charge you 10% of of the annual rent (£1,000 x 12 = £12,000) to find you tenants, which would cost £1,200. That’s a horrendous amount of money.
From my experience, ALL online letting agents work on a fixed-fee basis (i.e. the £45 price on the tin is what you pay, unless you opt in for add-on services e.g. gas safety certificate, EPC, professional photography etc), so there are no hidden fees or sneaky extras that sneak in, which are notorious of the traditional high-street agent.
You do the math… and then tell me online agents aren’t worth a punt (if you’re not a believer yet, that is).
Enquiry management – unless you opt for a fully-managed solution (more on that further down the page), handling enquiries is generally a service online letting agents don’t provide.
High-street agents, on the other hand, generally include enquiry management and a viewing service with all their packages (of course, you’ll pay through the ass for the privilege).
Inspections – most high-street agents include a quarterly inspection with their fully-managed service, while this is a service most standard online letting agents won’t offer (although, it is available with online letting agents that offer managed services).
Inspections are imperative, as they can weed out any distasteful practises shown by the tenants at the early stages of the tenancy. Alas, a lot of agents methods of inspecting has yet to be desired- they may as well have walked in with a blindfold on. On the flip-side, it really isn’t much hassle for a landlord to arrange an inspection. Plus, you’d probably be more thorough when inspecting your own property, so it actually works out more beneficial in my opinion.
Online letting agents managed services
Ok, so the table above shows the prices and details for “Tenant-find” services, which is suitable for landlords that want to deal directly with the tenant and take full control of the management. And yes, while I have stipulated that I believe that’s where the best value is, I also do appreciate that some landlords want more from an agent.
Fortunately, and as said, some of the agents listed do offer more comprehensive ‘managed’ packages along with the ‘tenant-find’, which are suitable for landlords that want to benefit from online prices.
So if a fully managed service is your bag, I would personally recommend the agents and packages listed below! The best part about them? Unlike with high-street agents, you won’t be tied into any lengthy contracts, because they all operate on a month-by-month contract…Online letting agents managed servicesLetting AgentRatingContractNotes / IncludesPrice Howsy
Rating 4.4 TrustPilot Reviews Duration Month by month Notes / Includes
Full Management Service
£0 up-front - nothing to pay until tenant moves in.
Tenancy agreement drafted and signed.
Rent collection service.
24/7 phone support.
24/7 repairs and maintenance support.
Inspections: full photographic reports after 3 months and then 6 months thereafter.
Access to legal helpline.
Key holder service
Free legal helpline
Negotiate renewals on your behalf
Online platform gives you visibility over your portfolio, including overseeing repairs, statements etc.
Optional Extras
£149 Tenant find service.
£300 for hosted viewings. Covers 30 days of unlimited viewings.
£95 Professional photos for marketing
Pricing & Discount explained
*£45pcm price is based on one years' fee and with the usage of the discount (which qualifies you for 3 free months service). Normal price is £59pm.
*£67pm for properties inside of the M25 with the usage of the discount (which qualifies you for 3 free months service). Normal price is £89pm.
**Sign up to get the first 3 months FREE if you mention you came from Property Investment Project. Price *45pmInc VATPrice shown with discount!
Discount availableVisit Website**First 3 Months FREE using link above! 99 Homet
Rating 4.9 TrustPilot Reviews Duration Month by month Notes / Includes
Full Management Service
Will market your property on Rightmove, Zoopla + more.
Free online valuation
Viewing & Enquiry organiser
Tenant referencing
Contract drafting & Digital signing
Deposit registration
Letting board
Offer negotiation
Professional photos and Floorplan
Property dashboard to control and check progress on your advert
Inventory
Legal assistance
Periodic inspection
Maintenance
Notifying the local council and utilities providers of the new tenant details
Rent collection, including chasing arrears, and issuing late payment notices as required
Annual rental tax return statements
Gas safety check & Carbon monoxide test
CP12 certificate
24-hour UK helpline. (T&C apply)
Optional Extras
£300 for hosted viewings
*Exclusive £40 discount code: 99PIP40 Price *£39 + £85pmInc VATNormal price: £79 + £85pm
Discount availableVisit Website£40 Discount Code: 99PIP40 Letting A Property
Rating 4.9 Review Centre Duration Month by month Notes / Includes
Complete Package
Solution for Rent Collection & Guaranteed Rent, Home Emergency Cover and Legal Cover!
Advert on all major property websites, including Rightmove & Zoopla
Rent paid on time - paid to you on time even when the tenant doesn't pay!
Full tenant referencing (2 x people)
Digital tenancy agreements
Deposit secured
Holding fee service
Dedicated advisor
Guaranteed rent
Legal helpline
Legal expenses
Eviction support
Home emergency cover
Dispute resolution
Free tenancy renewals
Read about my fantastic Experience With Letting A Property To Find Tenants
*Landlord pays one-off £149 upfront, and then £99 per month. Price *£149 + £99pmInc VAT
Promo runningVisit Website
Please note, I try my best to keep the information of each agent up-to-date, but you should read the T&C’s from the agents’ website for the most up-to-date information.
Consumer Protection with online agents
Putting aside the fact that I don’t think tenants or landlords don’t have enough protection when dealing with any type of letting agent, I do want to make it clear that both online and highstreet letting agents must be a member of a redness scheme. If they’re not, they’re operating illegally and you should avoid them at all costs.
Essentially, every agent must be regulated in order to maintain consumer protection, and more notably, you don’t get any more or less consumer protection rights whether you use an online or high-street agent.
If you experience any problems with an agent, the scheme should be your first port of call to lodge an official complaint.
It should be clearly stated on the agent’s website or shop-front (if you’re using an high-street agent) which scheme(s) they are a member of.
Which is the best online letting agent?
I wish I could give you a definitive answer, but I can’t. However…
I have used several online agents in the past (and continue to use them every time I need to find tenants quickly), and many of which I have reviewed.
Every online letting agent I have used delivered exactly what they said they would; they marketed my property on the biggest property portals in the UK, generated a shitload of enquiries, and assisted me with finding tenants quickly, all for a very reasonable fixed-fee (i.e. no hidden costs). They did exactly what I wanted and expected.
In my opinion, as long as you use an online agent that will put your BTL on Rightmove and Zoopla, you stand a good chance of achieving your goal efficiently, if that is to generate enquiries from prospective tenants.
Where some online letting agents differ is the level of additional services they provide, beyond the basic tenant-find service. For example, while Visum and OpenRent are GREAT for throwing your property onto Rightmove and generating enquiries, other online agents like LettingAProperty offer managed-services, which include rent collection and dealing with repairs and maintenance.
All the agents I have listed have received a remarkable amount of positive feedback. So as far as I’m concerned, picking the right online agent for you really boils down to determining what level of service you’re after, as some offer more than others. If you’re unsure, I recommend reading through a couple of the agents’ websites, and learn more about what they offer, and go with what feels most suitable. But in reality, I don’t think you can go wrong with any of them (unless you’re trying to flog a deadhorse, and in that case, it’s probably your fault). It could just boil down to which online agent is currently offering the best deal.
I will say one thing though, online agents are generally a lot more flexible and forgiving than high-street agents. What I mean by that is that they don’t tie you into contracts, so you’re not forced/contracted to continue using a service you’re dissatisfied with.
The tenant-only package is the value solution!
Currently, the average price for using an online letting agent to generate enquiries across the biggest property portals, like Rightmove & Zoopla, is £50. Last time I checked, my local high-street agent wanted to charge me £700 for exact same service. And seriously, they are a bunch of inbred wankers, so I would have begrudged giving them money, period. I think many that have jumped ship from high-street to online have similar sentiments.
I’ve personally saved thousands by using tenant-find services from online agents. It’s a no-brainer.
The Extras e.g. Professional Photography & EPC’s
By law, landlords are required to show their prospective tenant’s an EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) BEFORE signing a tenancy agreement i.e. during the viewing.
Most online agents will give you the option to buy an EPC an ‘add on’ purchase during checkout. They generally cost anywhere between £60 – £120. Alternatively, you can just independently source your own by using a local supplier; simply Google “EPC [insert your area]”, and plenty of options should become available. You’re more likely to get a better deal if you source your own, but if you’re after convenience, buy one through the agent.
If you already have a valid EPC, then you don’t need to purchase another one. EPC’s last for 10 years per property (not per tenant!).
While providing professional photography and floorplans isn’t a legal obligation, the purchasing process is similar to EPC’s. Most agents will give you the option to buy a property photography package as an ‘add on’ product during checkout. And again, you can Google for local suppliers for better rates.
Professional photography typically has a positive impact on the enquiry rate, so if you don’t already have a set, I personally think they’re a wise investment. Bear in mind, you’ll be able to reuse them over and over again!
Ignore the cynics. Online letting agents are awesome
I read an amusing article last week over at ‘Estate Agent Today’ about angry high-street letting agents bitching about online letting agents.
Essentially, you have a bunch of high-street letting agents complaining that Online Letting Agents (e.g. LettingAproperty, OpenRent) shouldn’t be able to advertise their properties on Rightmove. I don’t really understand the argument. I’m not even sure there is a problem, beyond the fact that high-street letting agents aren’t able to compete with the low prices online letting agents are charging. But that’s tough shit. They should either change their business model so they can compete; focus on building their “fully-managed” package….or roll over and die.
The consumer (landlord) should be able to choose whether they want the service of a virtual or high-street letting agent. Despite common misconception, neither service is better than the other and they shouldn’t be compared, because they’re different services all together, designed for different types of landlords.
So, comments like this, “Some landlords will always be prepared to cut corners and avoid paying a good letting agent. In my experience, many live to regret it” are the remarks muttered by a petulant child. If I don’t need the extras that come with a high-street agent, why the hell should I bloody pay for one? It’s genuinely not a case of “cutting corners”, it’s a case of assessing my needs, and choosing a service that will meet them. Simple.
You don’t need to be a salesman (at the moment)
If you decide to conduct the viewings (because it’s a buttload cheaper than upgrading to a ‘hosted viewing’ service), you may have concerns over your ability to ‘sell’ your property; you may not have the gift of the gab or be a natural salesman, or you may just be incredibly shy around strangers. Understandable.
While I won’t be able to cure any anxiety issues you may have about taking your own viewings, I do want to say the following two things about ‘selling’ your property, which may make the situation a little less daunting:
The reality is, if someone falls in love with a property during the viewing, they’ll probably make an offer as long you come across as relatively friendly and reasonable. There’s not much ‘selling’ required; the product is in front of them, they can see what’s on offer.
In today’s climate, where demand for rental properties is massively out-striping supply, tenancies are flying off the shelf. Point being, during a booming market, you really don’t need to push a hard sale – the selling happens in cruise control.
I’ve recently written an in-depth blog post on why it is so much better and safer for landlords to take their viewings! If that doesn’t reassure you, I don’t know what will!
So I wouldn’t over worry if you’re concerned about the ‘selling’ aspect; the sales pitch will mostly boil down to showing prospective tenants around, and answering a few questions about the property and tenancy agreement.
You can ALWAYS use both an online agent and high-street agent
When people talk about online agents and high-street agents, I always get the impression they think it’s an either/or situation. That’s definitely not the case. Actually, I’ve probably given that impression myself, but I’m about to set the record straight.
For anyone that’s reluctant about using an online agent, but wants to give it a whirl by ditching a high-street agent and their fees, I would recommend doing the following…
Use an online letting agent- invest £45 (or so) into their service, and see if you can bag yourself a tenant, but at the same time use a high-street agent to find tenants. May the best greaseball method win.
Most high-street agents don’t charge unless you actually USE the tenant they source (but double check that with your agent, and get it in writing to be safe!We’re dealing with agents here. Enough said, right?). If the high-street agent sources the tenant, then the worst case scenario is that you invested an extra £45, which isn’t a big loss in the grand scheme of things. Alternatively, you just saved yourself a few hundred quid, and finally recognise how awesome online letting agents are. Congratulations.
But let me expand on how you can still use both online and high-street agents together. If you manage to find a tenant through an online agent, and take on the fully-managed role, but then realise taking on the responsibility isn’t suited to your lifestyle, then you can easily just approach an agent to take over the management. It really isn’t a case of either/or as far as I’m concerned.
Still adamant on using a high-street agent? Then cut a deal!
You’re not convinced by the whole online letting agent thing.
That’s cool, I can dig it.
In that case: it’s always worth mentioning to your high-street agent that you’re looking into online agents because they’re so much more cost-efficient and offer the same services. Once you drop that bomb, many agents have been obliged to lower their initial rates.
Needless to say, online agents’ low prices have been causing havoc for high-street agents, and I don’t see it getting any easier for them.
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