The Hidden £6 Billion Cost of Renting

The Hidden £6 Billion Cost of Renting

The £6 Billion Secret: What’s Really Driving Rent Prices Up in the UK

A couple of years ago, I was at the National Landlord Investment Show — a buzzing room of landlords, investors, and property professionals swapping stories and strategies. The energy was huge.

Then, during a Q&A, a BBC journalist stood up and asked the question that always turns the room cold:

“Rents are rising. People can’t afford homes. Isn’t this the landlords’ fault?”

Silence.

You could feel the tension. Eyes down. Shoulders tighten.

Then, after the journalist left, a woman in her fifties raised her hand and said something that made the room stop:

“Maybe we should stop calling ourselves landlords. The reputation is broken. We’re actually home providers.”

That line stuck with me. Because she was right.

Public conversation has cast landlords as the villains of the housing crisis — but that story leaves out a major character:

The Letting Agents.

The Real Cost of Agents

Letting agents routinely add 10–20% on top of monthly rents.

Let’s break that down.

• The average landlord pays £2,593 to letting agents in the first year alone.

• In London, that jumps to £5,791.

Multiply that across the UK, and you get a £6 billion industry — built mostly on being the middleman.

And what are landlords actually paying for?

• Schedule viewings

• Open the door

• Stand there for a few minutes

• Close the door again

Sometimes the key is even the wrong one.

Yet the narrative is:
“Landlords are driving up rents.”
When huge chunks of rental income are being siphoned off before it ever reaches them.

Let’s call it what it is:

There is £6 billion sitting in the middle of the rental process that does not need to be there.

And tenants feel that cost too — every single month.

Homesty’s Mission

At Homesty, we believe that money should go back to the people who actually matter:

Landlords and tenants.

Our mission is simple:

• Make lettings easy.

• Make it secure.

• Remove the unnecessary middlemen.

No inflated fees.
No being locked out of your own property decisions.
No friction between the people who actually live and care for the home.

Landlords deserve control.

Tenants deserve fair rents.

And the market deserves better.

Welcome to the new era of renting.
Welcome to Homesty.