For many landlords, choosing a management service comes down to one key question: how much of the day-to-day responsibility do you want to manage yourself, and how much would you prefer to hand over?
Mistoria Estate Agents offers four different levels of landlord service, allowing you to choose the amount of support that best suits you rather than relying on a single package. The right option will depend on factors such as your experience, available time, location, number of properties and how involved you want to remain once a tenancy is underway.
Tenant Find Only – help getting your tenancy underway
Tenant Find Only is designed for landlords who mainly need support finding and moving in a suitable tenant. The service is charged at one month’s rent and includes advertising the property, handling enquiries, arranging viewings, referencing prospective tenants and completing the necessary tenancy paperwork.
Once the tenant has moved in, responsibility for the ongoing management of the property returns to the landlord.
This option can work well for experienced landlords who live locally and are comfortable handling maintenance, tenant communication and the everyday running of the tenancy themselves.
A separate tenancy set-up fee of 50% of the first month’s rent applies for preparing the required paperwork and checking the tenant into the property.
Part Management – support with collecting the rent
Part Management, sometimes referred to as a rent collection service, provides a middle ground between Tenant Find Only and full property management.
The service costs 25% of the first month’s rent, followed by 8% of the rent collected thereafter. Mistoria supports the landlord by collecting rent and following up where necessary, while the landlord continues to manage other aspects of the property.
This can be a suitable choice for landlords who are happy to deal directly with tenants and organise repairs and maintenance but would prefer the financial administration and rent collection to be professionally managed.
Standard Full Management – ongoing day-to-day support
Standard Full Management provides a more comprehensive service that continues throughout the tenancy rather than ending once the tenant moves in.
Charged at 12% of the rent received, the service means the agent becomes the tenant’s main point of contact. This includes coordinating maintenance, monitoring rent payments, carrying out agreed property inspections and helping to keep the administration of the tenancy organised.
For landlords with one or two properties, owners who live overseas or those balancing property investment with a busy career, full management can significantly reduce the amount of day-to-day work involved.
Portfolio Management – full management for larger portfolios
Landlords with five or more properties can choose Portfolio Management, which provides the same full-management service at a reduced rate of 10% of the rent received.
The lower rate reflects the efficiencies that can come from managing several properties through one relationship and provides larger portfolio landlords with a consistent approach across their holdings.
Professional management can help with compliance
Keeping up with regulation has become an increasingly important part of being a landlord. The Renters’ Rights Act has introduced further requirements around how tenancies operate in England, while breaches of HMO licensing requirements under the Housing Act 2004 can result in fines of up to £30,000.
Even experienced landlords need reliable systems for handling notices, tenancy records, rent reviews, deposits, safety documentation and tenant communications.
Using a managing agent does not remove the landlord’s underlying legal responsibilities. However, a competent agent can provide systems and support to help ensure important processes and deadlines are not overlooked.
For example, Mistoria’s standard possession notice service is charged at £100 including VAT, while court appearances are charged at £150 including VAT per day. These are examples of processes a self-managing landlord would otherwise need to arrange and oversee directly.
Remember to put a value on your own time
Management fees are easy to see because they appear as a direct cost. The time involved in managing a property yourself can be much harder to measure.
Arranging contractors, responding to tenant queries, following up late rent, organising viewings and staying informed about changing legislation can all take a significant amount of time.
The most useful comparison is therefore not simply the cost of management versus paying no management fee. It is the cost of professional management compared with the time, administration, systems and knowledge you would otherwise need to provide yourself.
Match the service to the type of property
Your decision should also reflect the property you own rather than your preferences alone.
A straightforward single let may involve less ongoing administration than a larger HMO or a portfolio containing several properties. More tenants, shared areas and maintenance requirements can naturally create additional management work.
The level of service you choose should therefore reflect the complexity of the investment. Landlords with shared properties can also refer to our HMO management guidance for Salford and Liverpool for more specific information about managing this type of accommodation.
The Mistoria view
If you have the experience, time and systems to manage your property confidently yourself, Tenant Find Only or Part Management may provide all the support you need.
If you would prefer to own the investment without taking responsibility for most of the everyday operational work, Standard Full Management or Portfolio Management may be more suitable.
The best choice will depend on your property, portfolio and preferred level of involvement. Ask the Mistoria team for a written comparison based on your individual property so you can review the services and costs side by side before deciding which option works best for you.
