What a letting agent costs you
Set your rent and your agency's rates. The ledger shows what a year costs through an agent and what it costs to run the same unit yourself on Amatle.
R8 000
Drag to your actual figure
8%
Usually 7% to 10% of rent collected
1 month
Charged once, when they sign a tenant
1
The gap widens with each one
| Line | Cost to you |
|---|---|
| Management commission8% of R8 000, twelve months | R7 680 |
| Tenant placement fee1 month rent, charged once | R8 000 |
| Lease admin and renewal feesOften charged again at every renewal | R1 200 |
| Agency takes, year one | R16 880 |
| Line | Cost to you |
|---|---|
| Tenant screeningFull TPN credit and rental check, per applicant | R299 |
| Lease packAttorney-drafted lease, digital signing, deposit and move-in invoice, estate forms | R2 500 |
| Running the unitR149 per unit per month, twelve months | R1 788 |
| You spend, year one | R4 587 |
You keep
R12 293
On one flat, in year one. The screening and the lease pack are once-off. The percentage never is.
How this is worked out. Management commission is charged monthly on rent collected. Placement is a once-off charge when an agency signs a tenant. Agency lease admin uses a nominal R1 200 placeholder. South African agency fees vary, so set the sliders to your own numbers rather than ours. Amatle never collects your rent, so there is no percentage to take. Screening is charged per applicant, the lease pack per lease signed, and the monthly per unit with a live lease.
How the figures are built
The agency side is your own inputs: a management percentage on the rent collected, a placement fee in months of rent and a nominal lease admin charge. We do not know what your agency charges, so the sliders start at 8% and 1 month and you move them to match.
The Amatle side is our published rates: R299 to screen an applicant, R2 500 for the lease pack and R149 per unit per month. The screening and the lease pack are once-off, and nothing scales with your rent.
Both columns cover year one of a single 12-month lease. They leave out what is the same either way, such as municipal accounts and repairs.
Questions about letting agent fees
What commission do letting agents charge in South Africa?
Agencies usually charge a monthly management fee of 7% to 10% of the rent collected, excluding VAT, and many add a placement fee of up to one month of rent when they sign a tenant. On R8 000 a month, 8% comes to R7 680 over a 12-month lease. Fees vary between agencies, so ask for yours in writing.
What does a letting agent fee cover?
Usually advertising the unit, screening applicants, drafting the lease, collecting rent and handling routine maintenance requests. Some agencies charge separately for lease admin and again at each renewal. Read the mandate to see which of these sit inside the percentage and which are extra.
How is the deposit handled when I use an agent?
The lease sets the deposit, typically at least one month of rent, and it is refunded after the tenant hands the unit back, less documented damage and any amounts owed. Where the agency holds it, ask where and how the refund is administered. On Amatle the deposit and move-in invoice are part of the lease pack, so there is no percentage charged on it.
What does Amatle charge instead of a percentage?
A flat R299 for a full TPN credit and rental check on a single applicant, a R2 500 lease pack per lease signed, and R149 per unit per month. For one unit over twelve months that is R4 587, and it does not change when your rent does.
How does that compare on a R8 000 flat?
At R8 000 a month, 8% management commission alone is R7 680 and a 1-month placement fee adds R8 000, before any lease admin charge. Running the same unit on Amatle costs R4 587 in year one. Use the ledger above with your own rent and your own agency's rates.
Does Amatle collect my rent?
No. Amatle invoices the tenant and issues receipts, but it never takes a cut of your rent, which is why there is no percentage to pay.