UK landlords increase use of letting agents to two-year high

The proportion of UK landlords using lettings agents has reached a two-year high, with two-thirds now employing professional services for some or all aspects of property management. According to research from Pegasus Insight, this increase is driven by a growing demand for full management services, which now covers 25% of rental properties, up from 20% in the previous quarter.

Landlords are increasingly outsourcing management to navigate a complex regulatory landscape, including the implementation of the Renters’ Rights Act and evolving compliance requirements. The data highlights a significant difference in time commitment: landlords who self-manage spend an average of 51 hours per month on rental tasks, whereas those using full management services spend only 11 hours.

Overall, landlords spend an average of 33 hours per month overseeing their portfolios. This workload scales with the size of the portfolio, ranging from 18 hours per month for those with one to five properties to 83 hours for those managing 11 or more. For properties not under full management, 34% use agents solely for tenant sourcing, while 6% use them for letting and rent collection. Approximately 34% of properties remain entirely self-managed.