The sum, line by line
There is no official average agent fee; each agent publishes its own. Purplebricks lists full management at 12% of the rent including VAT, and LettingaProperty states its plans as 9.4% and 12.6% of the rent plus VAT (both checked May 2026). On a £1,200 monthly rent at 12% plus VAT:
- An agent: £144 a month, plus £28.80 VAT, so £172.80 a month or £2,073.60 a year
- LetCompliance Single: £7.99 a month, £95.88 a year, or £76.70 if you pay yearly
- The difference: £1,977.72 a year at the monthly price, before one-off costs such as referencing
What you keep without the agent
The paperwork side of the let runs in LetCompliance: an advert with an Apply button, referencing, Right to Rent, a tenancy agreement for the current law signed online, the deposit and its prescribed information, rent by Direct Debit into your own account with no commission, repairs from the tenant’s photo, certificate reminders, Section 8 and Section 13 notices, and your Making Tax Digital updates.
The parts that need a person
An agent shows the property, visits it and takes the tenant’s calls. If you want a hand with those, book a one-off job instead of a percentage: accompanied viewings £49, a mid-tenancy inspection £80, inventories from £85. Visits are local to Crewe, across the North West and Midlands. Tenant referencing from £19.99 works anywhere in England.
When an agent is still the right call
If you cannot take calls or arrange access, and nobody near the property can, the agent’s fee buys that time. Some landlords pay an agent for tenant-find only, which is a one-off fee, and then run the tenancy themselves here.
