How can it be so cheap? Online agent launches £35 HMO service

Online lettings firm No Agent is claiming to be the first in the industry to offer landlords a fixed-fee management service for HMOs, charging £35 per room a month in England and £55 in London. The package includes a tenant finding service but not photos, which landlords will have to pay extra for. No Agent’s launch, which it says would work out at a 4.5% management fee excluding VAT, is designed to undercut traditional agents which it claims charge between 10-15% for a similar service. Landlords are charged a £100 set-up fee for its HMO package to pay for licensing and property condition checks. Photos are charged at £250 for the first room and £35 for each subsequent one, a cost which includes 30 days of accompanied viewings. The online agency, which has so far been funded partly through two crowdfunding campaigns and private VC investment, says its new HMO service is designed to attract landlords caught between the recent buy-to-let tax increases and the looming tenant fees ban. HMO service Its £35 service for HMO landlords includes quarterly inspections, rent collection, contract renewals and property management. No Agent also reports tenants’ rent to Experian if they agree to it…