The problem
A high-street agent's tenant-find fee can take a big slice of the first month's rent. If the fee is $958£720€857A$1,382C$1,354 including VAT (an assumed figure; ask locally) and you re-let 2 flats a year, that is $1,915£1,440€1,714A$2,765C$2,707 a year, about $160£120€143A$230C$226 a month, for advertising, referencing and paperwork you could run yourself.
What the AI does
OpenRent advertises the property free on its own site, and its paid packages add Zoopla and partner sites, with Rightmove as an optional extra. Advertising + Rent Now ($77£58€69A$111C$109 including VAT on the pricing page) adds tenant applications, contract drafting, custom clauses, online signing, deposit registration with mydeposits and collection of the deposit and first month's rent. Referencing is $40£30€36A$58C$56 per applicant and includes credit, affordability, previous landlord and identity checks. You still hold the viewings, choose the tenant, review the contract and serve the documents OpenRent doesn't mention.
A worked example
A landlord in Nottingham with 5 flats re-lets about 2 a year, with 2 adult tenants in each. They used to pay a high-street agent a tenant-find fee, assumed here at $958£720€857A$1,382C$1,354 including VAT, and now advertise on OpenRent and hold viewings themselves.
Before
2 lets a year at $958£720€857A$1,382C$1,354 each: $1,915£1,440€1,714A$2,765C$2,707 a year, about $160£120€143A$230C$226 a month
After
2 lets a year at $77£58€69A$111C$109 plus 2 references at $40£30€36A$58C$56 each ($157£118€140A$227C$222 a let): $314£236€281A$453C$444 a year, about $27£20€24A$38C$38 a month, plus about 12 hours a year of viewings and admin
What it's worth
About $93£70€83A$134C$132 a month saved, after valuing your own time. Agent fees of $1,915£1,440€1,714A$2,765C$2,707 a year against $314£236€281A$453C$444 on OpenRent is $1,601£1,204€1,433A$2,312C$2,264 a year, about $133£100€119A$192C$188 a month; take off 12 hours a year of viewings and admin (1 hour a month at $40£30€36A$58C$56) and about $93£70€83A$134C$132 is left. One let a year costs about $13£10€12A$19C$19 a month on OpenRent; two cost about $27£20€24A$38C$38.
How to set it up
- Before advertising, check the gas safety record, EICR and EPC are current and write the advert facts yourself, with good photos.
- List the flat on OpenRent and choose Advertising + Rent Now if you want contract drafting, online signing and deposit registration; add Rightmove separately if you want it.
- Hold viewings yourself (OpenRent also sells accompanied viewings from $65£49€58A$94C$92) and reference the tenants you choose at $40£30€36A$58C$56 each.
- Read the drafted tenancy agreement and any custom clauses, which OpenRent doesn't check, before everyone signs online.
- Write the date the deposit is paid and the protection deadline (30 days in England and Wales) in your own diary, and check that the mydeposits certificate and the prescribed information email have arrived well before it.
- Serve the documents the Rent Now page doesn't mention yourself, such as the gas safety record, EPC and EICR, and keep proof you did.
What goes wrong
- Automated steps can fail silently. If you can't see the deposit certificate within a few days of the money clearing, chase it: the deadline is yours, not the platform's.
- Rent Now only uses mydeposits. If your other tenancies use a different scheme, keep track of which deposit sits where.
- OpenRent's pages don't agree on price: $77£58€69A$111C$109 on the pricing page and $105£79€94A$152C$149 next to the Rent Now features. Confirm the price at checkout.
- OpenRent's referencing gives right-to-rent advice, but the right to rent check is still the landlord's legal duty in England.