Letting Your Property: Should You Use a Letting Agent or Self-Manage in England?

The choice between using a letting agent vs self-managing is the single biggest decision a new England landlord makes after buying the property, because it shapes your costs, your time and your legal exposure for the entire life of the tenancy. Get it right and you protect both your margin and your sanity; get it wrong and you either bleed 12% of your rent to an agent who adds little, or you self-manage a tenancy you do not legally understand and walk into a fine. This guide sets out exactly what each route costs, what each one covers and, crucially for 2026, how the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 changed the risk calculation for both.

Letting agent vs self-managing: the short answer

There is no universally correct answer, only the right answer for your situation. As a rough rule:

• Use a full-management agent if the property is far from where you live, you have a demanding day job, you own one property and have no appetite to learn landlord law, or the local licensing regime is complex.
• Self-manage if the property is local, you are willing to learn the rules (or use software that encodes them), you own one to a handful of properties, and you want to keep the 10%–15% of rent an agent would otherwise take.
• Use a tenant-find-only service as a middle path: pay the agent once to advertise, reference and move a tenant in, then run the tenancy yourself.

The financial gap is large. On a property let at £1,400 a month, full management at 12% plus VAT costs roughly £2,016 a year. Over a five-year tenancy that is more than £10,000, money that, if you self-manage competently, stays with you.

What a letting agent actually does

“Letting agent” covers three very different service levels, and conflating them is where landlords overpay.

Tenant-find only is a one-off service: marketing, viewings, referencing, Right to Rent checks, drawing up the tenancy agreement and registering the deposit. You then take over. Typical cost is half a month’s to one month’s rent.

Rent collection adds monthly chasing of rent and basic statements on top of tenant-find, usually for around 5%–8% of rent.

Full management is the premium tier: everything above plus repairs coordination, periodic inspections, serving notices, managing arrears, renewals and end-of-tenancy. Typical cost is 10%–15% of rent plus VAT, often with set-up and renewal fees on top.

A good agent earns their fee on a problem tenancy, they know the local contractor market, they handle the 9pm “the boiler’s dead” call, and a reputable one keeps your compliance paperwork current. A poor agent collects the percentage, outsources the boiler to the cheapest trade and leaves you legally exposed when a deposit is mis-protected. The brand on the door does not guarantee the second outcome over the first.

What self-managing actually requires

Self-managing is not “doing nothing and pocketing the fee”. You personally become responsible for a stack of legal duties that an agent would otherwise carry. Before the first tenant moves in you must:

• Provide a valid EPC, a Gas Safety Record (CP12) and an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR), plus the government’s How to Rent guide.
• Protect the deposit in an authorised scheme within 30 days and serve the prescribed information.
• Carry out Right to Rent checks on every adult occupier.
• Use a compliant, periodic tenancy agreement, fixed terms no longer exist for assured tenancies.

During the tenancy you handle repairs within the legal timescales, respond to the new Decent Homes Standard as it phases in, manage any rent increase strictly through the once-a-year Section 13 route, and deal lawfully with pet requests inside the 28-day window. To end a tenancy you can no longer rely on a no-fault notice; you must establish a possession ground and serve the current prescribed form on GOV.UK. None of this is beyond a careful person, but it is real, ongoing work, and the penalty for getting deposit protection or licensing wrong runs to thousands of pounds.

Side-by-side comparison

The row that catches landlords out is legal responsibility. Using an agent does not transfer your statutory liability. If the agent fails to protect the deposit or serves a defective notice, the tenant’s claim and the council’s penalty land on you, the landlord, not the agent. You can pursue the agent afterwards, but the regulator looks to you first. That is why “I used an agent” is not a defence, and why your choice of agent matters as much as the choice to use one.

How the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 changed the maths

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025, in force from 1 May 2026, reshaped both sides of this decision.

For self-managers, the abolition of Section 21 removed the simple no-fault exit. Every tenancy is now an open-ended periodic assured tenancy, the tenant can leave on two months’ notice, and you can only regain possession on a stated Section 8 ground, Ground 8 mandatory rent arrears now requires three months’ (or 13 weeks’) arrears, Ground 1A for sale needs four months’ notice, and Ground 2 for mortgage repossession needs four months. Rent rises must go through Section 13 once a year, rent-review clauses are banned, and the First-tier Tribunal cannot set the rent any higher than the figure you proposed. This raises the knowledge bar for self-managers, but it also makes the rules more standardised, which is exactly the kind of thing software can encode and prompt you through.

For those using an agent, the same complexity is why a competent agent’s fee is easier to justify than it was two years ago, but only a competent one. The PRS Database and the new PRS Ombudsman, expected to come into force from late 2026 through to around 2028, will add registration and redress obligations. When they arrive, every landlord, managed or self-managing, will need to be registered, so “the agent handles it” will not remove your name from the database.

Worked example: the five-year cost of each route

Priya owns a two-bed flat in Reading let at £1,400 per month (£16,800 a year). She is comparing full management against self-managing with a software toolkit.

Full management at 12% + VAT: - Annual fee: £16,800 x 12% = £2,016, plus 20% VAT = £2,419 per year - Plus a £300 set-up fee in year one and a £150 renewal fee in years two to five - Five-year total: (£2,419 x 5) + £300 + (£150 x 4) = £12,095 + £900 = £12,995

Self-managing with software: - Software/tools: roughly £180 per year = £900 over five years - A one-off tenant-find at the start (1 week’s rent ≈ £323) to fill the flat quickly: £323 - Her own time: about 3 hours a month - Five-year total: £1,223, plus her time

The cash difference is roughly £11,770 over five years. The honest trade-off is that Priya absorbs the legal responsibility and the time cost herself. If she values her time at £30/hour, 3 hours a month over five years is about £5,400 of effort, so even fully costing her time, self-managing still leaves her materially better off, provided she does it correctly. The risk that flips the maths is a single avoidable penalty: an unprotected deposit can cost one to three times the deposit in a tenant claim, which is exactly the kind of error a structured tool is built to prevent.

Making the decision

Work through these questions honestly:

1. How far away is the property? Over an hour’s drive tilts strongly toward an agent for the practical repairs and inspection work.
2. Will you actually learn the rules? If the answer is “probably not”, either use an agent or commit to software that walks you through compliance.
3. How many properties do you have? One distant flat suits an agent; a local cluster usually rewards self-management.
4. What is your tolerance for the 9pm phone call? Be honest. Some people find tenant contact fine; others find it corrosive.

A common and sensible hybrid is to self-manage the day-to-day but pay a tenant-find fee at the start, so a professional handles referencing, Right to Rent and the agreement while you keep the ongoing 12%. For more on the foundations either route relies on, see our guides to becoming a landlord in England and the first-time landlord checklist.

Frequently asked questions

Is self-managing legal in England?

Yes. There is no requirement to use a letting agent. You can market, let and manage your own property provided you meet every statutory duty yourself, deposit protection, safety certificates, Right to Rent, a compliant periodic agreement and lawful notices. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 did not change this; it changed what those duties are.

Does using a letting agent remove my legal liability?

No. This is the most expensive misconception in the sector. Your statutory obligations as landlord cannot be delegated away. If your agent fails to protect a deposit or serves a defective notice, the tenant’s claim and any council penalty fall on you. You may have a separate claim against the agent, but enforcement looks to the landlord first.

How much does full management cost in 2026?

Typically 10%–15% of the monthly rent plus VAT, often with a set-up fee and a renewal fee. On a £1,400-per-month let, 12% plus VAT is roughly £2,400 a year before extras. Always ask for the fee schedule in writing and check whether inspections, notice-serving and renewals are included or charged separately.

Can a letting agent serve a Section 8 notice for me?

A managing agent can prepare and serve notices on your behalf, but the notice must use the current prescribed form on GOV.UK and cite a valid possession ground with the correct notice period. Because Section 21 is abolished, there is no longer a no-fault route, so the agent must get the ground and timing exactly right, errors invalidate the notice. See our guide to how tenancies end in England in 2026.

What is the cheapest safe way to self-manage?

Combine a one-off professional tenant-find (so referencing and the initial paperwork are done properly) with software that tracks compliance deadlines, generates current documents and prompts you through rent increases and notices. This keeps your ongoing cost low while closing the knowledge gaps that cause fines.

Will the PRS Database affect my choice?

When the PRS Database comes into force (expected from late 2026 onwards), all private landlords in England will need to register, whether they self-manage or use an agent. It will not let you offload your identity onto the agent, your name stays on the record either way, which is another reason to understand your obligations regardless of route.

Coming soon

Tenancy Pilot is launching soon to make self-managing genuinely safe for ordinary landlords: guided document generators, rent collection, compliance deadline tracking, maintenance logging, tax and finance reports, analytics, a tenant portal with e-signing and an AI assistant that answers England-specific questions in plain English. If you want the cost savings of self-management without the legal exposure, join the waitlist and we will let you know the moment it goes live.

This guide is general information for England landlords and reflects the law as we understand it on 18 June 2026, including the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. It is not legal, tax or financial advice. Letting-agent fees and the timing of measures such as the PRS Database and PRS Ombudsman may change. Verify current requirements against GOV.UK and consult a qualified solicitor or accountant before making decisions about your tenancy.

This is general information, not legal advice. Rules change and your circumstances may differ, always check GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk, and consult a solicitor before acting.