How to Replace Estate Agents (and Their Fees) in 2025

Estate agents were created in the 1800s as local brokers who controlled listings, negotiations, and paperwork. For decades, landlords had no alternative. Agents owned the market’s distribution and data. Even as the world moved digital, their operations stayed manual, expensive, and opaque.

This guide breaks down how agents work today, what you actually pay for, the rise of self-management, and how platforms like Houseshare now make it possible for landlords to replace agents completely.

1. The History of Estate Agents and Why Their Model Persisted

Estate agents originally existed because:

• They controlled housing supply in local markets

• They had access to tenant demand

• They handled the paperwork and negotiation

• They managed maintenance and rent collection manually

Their business model depended on landlords having no access to marketing tools, digital contracts, or verified tenant pools.

Today, listing portals (Rightmove, Zoopla) are simply estate agent ads for listings managed by them, forcing landlords and home owners to require an agent to list and market their home. Property management software on the other hand are focused on the agents and property mangers. Platforms like Houseshare AI look to automate from listings to property management with AI giving control back to landlords and empowering tenants.

2. How Estate Agent Fees Actually Work

Here is the breakdown of what agents charge for - and how much:

Estate Agent Fee Structure

Annual cost for a £2,000/mo property: £3,000–£5,000+ per property per year.

3. Self-Managing Your Properties: Pros and Cons

The last 5 years have seen a surge in landlords shifting to self-management. The tools exist - but there are trade-offs. With 70%+ of landlords under 50 looking for tech solutions.

Pros

• Zero management fees

• Full control over tenant selection

• Better tenant relationships → fewer issues

• You choose contractors

• Modern tools automate admin, payments, and maintenance

Cons

• You must respond to issues

• You need to keep up with compliance

• You need structure around rent collection

• You need a workflow for bills, maintenance, and renewals

The gap between “self-manage” and “agent-managed” is now tech, not expertise.

4. Current Solutions (and Their Limitations)

Comparison of Landlord Tools Available Today

No current solution replaces the entire agent workflow end-to-end.
That’s the gap Houseshare fills.

5. Houseshare: The Modern Alternative to Estate Agents

Houseshare is an all-in-one rental OS that replaces agents with software - not people.

What Houseshare Replaces

• Room & property listings

• Lead verification

• Tenant applications & referencing

• Digital tenancies

• Rent collection

• Maintenance logging + AI diagnosis

• Bills & finances for HMOs

• Portfolios and team roles

Feature Comparison Table

6. Why Agents No Longer Have a Moat

Agents historically won because they had:

• Access to tenant demand

• Exclusive relationships with portals

• Knowledge of renting regulation

• Teams to handle maintenance

All four are now software problems - and Houseshare automates them:

• Lead verification

• Digital tenancy tools

• AI maintenance triage

• Portfolio & finance dashboards

• Automated rent collection

• Compliance alerts

Landlords can now operate like a full property management company—without staff.

7. The Future: A Rental OS Replacing Agent Fees

Estate agents were essential when data and tools were scarce.

In 2025, landlords want:

• Transparency

• Automation

• Lower costs

• Direct relationships with tenants

• A simple dashboard to manage everything

That is exactly what Houseshare delivers.

Ready to replace agents and their fees?

Try Houseshare today.

• List your property

• Verify leads

• Collect rent

• Manage maintenance

• Automate your portfolio

👉 Start on the web beta: https://beta.houseshare.ai
👉 Learn more: https://houseshare.ai