Do I need an estate agent to rent in London?

Renting a place with an estate agent may or may not cost more money, but it can save you quite a lot of time. One of the popular (but pricey!) services “Home Search Day” where the agent drives you to view 10-15 flats in one day. The cost of this service typically ranges around £1500 (which can easily be a month worth of your future rent!), so it mostly makes sense if your employer is covering the expenses. At the end of the Home Search Day, you will likely end up with 2-3 suitable options to rent.

As an alternative, you can simply walk into the agents’ office or give them a call and inquire about the properties they can offer. Some of them have access to exclusive property listings that haven’t been made available to a larger market yet, which increases your chances of securing your ideal flat before the competition for it becomes fierce. Mind that the agents will be showing the flat to multiple prospective tenants anyway, so you will likely need to make yourself stand out – there are several ways to do that (see our recommendations to increase your chances of securing a flat below). 

Be clear and realistic about your requirements for a flat. Do your research in advance to set your expectations about the budget range, preferred neighbourhood, and any other relevant details, so you don’t waste time viewing unsuitable properties. This is especially important if you’re signing up for the Home Search Day: do review the list of flats the agent sends you via email in advance. If there are only one or two suitable options, adjust your requirements or postpone the search day until your search criteria is confirmed.

Worth noting that you are likely to cross paths with estate agents anyway, even if you are searching for your flat on your own – many ads on the property listing sites are published by agencies. This simply means that these flats are managed by agencies, which are there to ensure that their clients – the landlords – end up with responsible, trustworthy tenants. Estate agent fees are on landlords – it’s actually illegal for agencies to charge tenants anything on top of their rent. 

Other services like handling paperwork, setting up utilities, and consultations are generally less useful, as landlords also have agents for documentation, and utilities can be easily set up online without an agent’s help.