Self-Manage or Use an Agent?
Compare the cost of a letting agent against managing a rental yourself, including the value of your own time and what each hour earns.
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Self-managing a rental looks like free money — the management fee stays in your pocket. It is not free, it is paid for in hours, and the question is whether those hours are worth more than the fee.
Putting a value on your own time turns a vague preference into a number. For many landlords self-managing pays a respectable hourly rate; for others it pays less than they earn at work, which settles the question.
The calculation
Agent cost = annual management fee + the tenant-find fee spread over the years between tenants. Cash saved by self-managing is that total less your own advertising and admin costs. Dividing by the hours it takes gives what each hour of your time actually earns.
Worked example
On a 1,600 rent, a 10% management fee is 1,920 a year, and an 800 tenant-find fee every two years adds 400 — an agent costs 2,320. Doing it yourself with 200 of advertising saves 2,120. At four hours a month, that is 48 hours a year, so self-managing pays about 44 an hour.
Hours are not the only cost
Self-managing also means being reachable when a boiler fails at the weekend, knowing the legal requirements for notices, deposits and safety certificates, and handling a difficult tenant personally. Those are real costs that do not appear in an hourly rate.
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Create your free property pageFrequently asked questions
How many hours does self-managing really take?
Two to five hours a month for a straightforward tenancy in normal periods, and far more during a changeover, a repair or any dispute. The average understates it because the work arrives in concentrated bursts.
What does a management fee actually cover?
Typically rent collection, arrears chasing, arranging repairs, periodic inspections and serving routine notices. Tenant-find, inventories, renewals and deposit registration are frequently charged separately, so compare total annual cost rather than the headline percentage.
Does self-managing work if I live far away?
It is much harder. Viewings, inspections and emergency repairs all need someone local, and remote landlords typically end up paying for those individually anyway. Distance is the single strongest argument for full management.
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