For a landlord who lives in Dubai or Riyadh, the letting agent is the property. The agent finds the tenant, holds the deposit, collects the rent, deducts the tax, arranges the repairs and, since the Renters’ Rights Act, carries the compliance the landlord cannot do from abroad. A good one costs 12 to 15 per cent of the rent and is worth it; a bad one costs the same and loses the tenant, the deposit and sometimes the flat.
Owning and letting
Choosing a letting agent from abroad: fees, the ten questions, and the red flags
What a letting agent does for a landlord abroad
A landlord abroad needs full management, not let-only or rent collection. In London that costs 12 to 18 per cent of rent plus VAT, with set-up at £300 to £800 per tenancy: about £8,000 a year on a flat let at £4,000 a month. Before instructing, check the two memberships the law requires, client money protection and a redress scheme. The catch is the cheapest quote: the difference between agents is measured in voids and disputes, not percentage points.
Three levels of service exist. Let-only: the agent markets the flat, finds and references the tenant, prepares the tenancy agreement and the prescribed information, registers the deposit, and hands over; the landlord then manages the tenancy. Rent collection: the above plus collecting the rent, chasing arrears and paying the landlord monthly.
What full management covers for landlords abroad
Full management: all of the above plus repairs and maintenance through the agent’s contractors, inspections, safety certificates, the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme deduction and the annual certificate, the service of notices, the handling of the tenant’s requests under the Renters’ Rights Act, and the checkout and deposit negotiation at the end. For a landlord abroad, full management is the only level that works, and the rest of this guide assumes it. Our guide on letting and managing a London property from the Gulf sets out the compliance list the agent must carry.
Typical London letting agent fees in 2026
The typical London fees in 2026, all before VAT unless stated:
Letting agent fees in London, 2026
| Service | Typical London fee, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Let-only | 8 to 12 per cent of the first year’s rent, or a fixed fee of £1,500 to £3,000, plus VAT |
| Rent collection | 10 to 12 per cent of rent plus VAT |
| Full management | 12 to 18 per cent of rent plus VAT; prime-district agents at the top |
| Tenancy set-up, referencing, inventory | £300 to £800 per tenancy plus VAT |
| Renewal or rent review | £100 to £300, now less relevant with periodic tenancies |
| Checkout and deposit handling | £150 to £300 |
| Repairs mark-up | 0 to 15 per cent on contractors’ invoices; ask |
Source: indicative London ranges, firm’s figures, October 2026.
On a flat let at £4,000 a month, full management at 14 per cent plus VAT is about £8,000 a year, plus set-up and checkout. The fee is deductible against the rent for UK tax, as our guide on tax on rent for overseas landlords explains. A fee quoted without VAT and without the set-up charges is not the fee.
Client money protection: the first membership every agent needs
The law requires two things of every letting agent in England, and a landlord should check both on the day of instruction. Client money protection: every agent that holds rent or deposits must belong to a government-approved scheme (Propertymark, RICS, Client Money Protect, Money Shield, Safeagent or UKALA) that reimburses the landlord if the agent misappropriates money; the certificate must be displayed and the scheme will confirm membership online.
Redress scheme and voluntary Propertymark or RICS membership
Redress: every agent must belong to one of the two approved schemes, the Property Ombudsman or the Property Redress Scheme, to which a landlord or tenant can complain and which can award compensation. Propertymark or RICS membership is additional and voluntary, and indicates the agent is inspected and insured. An agent that cannot name its client money protection scheme and its redress scheme in one sentence is not an agent the law allows to trade.
Ten questions to ask a letting agent before instructing
1. Which client money protection scheme, and which redress scheme, and may I see the certificates? 2. How many properties does the manager who will handle mine look after, and will I have one named person? 3. How do you reference tenants, and will I see the reference report before approving? 4. Where is the deposit protected, and in whose name? 5. What is the repairs authority limit, and do you add a mark-up to contractors’ invoices?
6. How do you handle the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme: will you deduct and remit, or help me apply for gross payment? 7. How often do you inspect, and will I receive the report with photographs? 8. What have you done about the Renters’ Rights Act: the Information Sheet, the written statement of terms, the database registration when it opens? 9. What is the notice period to end your management agreement, and is there a fee if I sell to the tenant you introduced? 10. May I speak to two overseas landlords you act for?
An agent that answers all ten in writing is a serious agent. The answers become the appendix to the management agreement.
What a monthly landlord statement from your agent should show
The monthly statement should show the rent received and the date, the agent’s fee and VAT, each repair with the contractor’s invoice attached, the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme tax deducted (if the landlord has not been approved for gross payment), any float held, and the net amount paid and to which account. Once a year the agent issues the NRL certificate the landlord needs for the UK tax return. A statement that shows a single “net rent” figure with no breakdown is a reason to ask for the ledger, and a reason to change agent if the ledger does not come.
Letting agent red flags for landlords abroad to avoid
An agent that will hold the deposit “informally” rather than in a protected scheme. An agent that discourages a Level 2 inventory at check-in. An agent that proposes a tenancy agreement with a fixed term and a “break in June”, which has been unlawful since May 2026, as our guide on the Renters’ Rights Act for overseas landlords explains.
An agent that marks up repairs without saying so, or uses its own maintenance company exclusively. An agent whose client money protection certificate is expired. An agent that cannot explain the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme. And an agent that quotes the lowest fee in the district; the fee is 2 per cent of the rent either way, and the difference between agents is measured in voids and disputes, not in percentage points.
How to choose a London letting agent from abroad
Choose the agent for the flat’s district, not the one with the most offices; a Marylebone flat needs an agent that lets in Marylebone every week and knows the tenants who look there. Pay 14 to 16 per cent for full management by a Propertymark or RICS firm with a named manager and a written answer to the ten questions, rather than 10 per cent for a firm that cannot answer them.
Read the first three monthly statements line by line, then quarterly. And visit the flat with the agent once a year; an agent who knows the landlord will come manages differently from one who knows the landlord will not.
Sources: Client money protection schemes for property agents (GOV.UK) · Property redress schemes (GOV.UK) · Non-Resident Landlord Scheme (GOV.UK) · Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (legislation.gov.uk). Checked against the government’s letting agent requirements: client money protection and redress scheme membership are mandatory for agents in England. Fees are indicative London ranges. General information, not legal advice; the management agreement and the agent’s scheme certificates are what count. Figures verified 14 October 2026.
Frequently Asked
Questions about choosing a letting agent from abroad
In law, yes; in practice, no. The Non-Resident Landlord Scheme then requires the tenant to deduct tax, the safety certificates and inspections need someone on the ground, and the Renters’ Rights Act’s notices and timescales do not accommodate a landlord in another time zone.
Not necessarily. The protections are the two memberships and the named manager, not the brand; some of the best managers of prime flats are small firms with one office.
Rent and deposits held in a client account are protected by the client money protection scheme up to its limits; that is what the membership is for, and why checking it is the first question.
Typically 12 to 18 per cent of rent plus VAT in 2026, with prime-district agents at the top, plus £300 to £800 per tenancy for set-up, referencing and inventory and £150 to £300 for checkout. On a flat let at £4,000 a month, full management at 14 per cent plus VAT is about £8,000 a year. The fee is deductible against the rent for UK tax.
No. Let-only ends at handover and leaves the landlord managing the tenancy, and rent collection adds only rent, arrears and monthly payment. Full management covers repairs, inspections, safety certificates, the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme deduction and certificate, notices, Renters’ Rights Act requests and the checkout. For a landlord abroad it is the only level that works.
Two. Client money protection through a government-approved scheme (Propertymark, RICS, Client Money Protect, Money Shield, Safeagent or UKALA), which reimburses the landlord if the agent misappropriates money, and a redress scheme, either the Property Ombudsman or the Property Redress Scheme. Propertymark or RICS membership is voluntary and indicates the agent is inspected and insured.
The rent received and its date, the agent’s fee and VAT, each repair with the contractor’s invoice attached, any Non-Resident Landlord Scheme tax deducted, any float held, and the net amount paid and to which account. A single “net rent” figure with no breakdown is a reason to ask for the ledger, and to change agent if it does not come.
A full-management agent should either deduct and remit the tax or help the landlord apply for gross payment, and should say which in writing before instruction. Once a year the agent issues the NRL certificate the landlord needs for the UK tax return. An agent that cannot explain the scheme is a red flag.
Some do, at 0 to 15 per cent on contractors’ invoices, and the only way to know is to ask. The management agreement should state the repairs authority limit and any mark-up. An agent that marks up repairs without saying so, or uses its own maintenance company exclusively, is on our list of red flags.
No. The fee is 2 per cent of the rent either way, and the difference between agents is measured in voids and disputes, not percentage points. We would rather pay 14 to 16 per cent to a Propertymark or RICS firm with a named manager and written answers to the ten questions than 10 per cent to a firm that cannot answer them.
