Rental management fees: what costs should you expect?

Rental management fees can weigh heavily on your overall budget and reduce your net income. To boost rental profitability , pay attention to them! Handing over the management of your accommodation to a professional or an agency allows you to offload all the tasks related to rental. You regularly receive income without having to invest time and energy in the administration of your property .

The definition of the amount of agency fees for the management of a rental is completely free. The price difference can therefore be enormous. Their services can be charged between 5 and 10% of the rent per year excluding taxes. The services included in the rental management contract also differ. It is therefore important to take into account all these details to avoid unpleasant financial surprises.

Why should you turn to delegating the rental management of your accommodation? What are the management fees made up of? What services are included?

What is rental management?

Rental management brings together all the tasks you are responsible for when you rent out your accommodation.

Renting out an apartment or house goes beyond promoting it to finding a solvent tenant. This initial step comes with multiple responsibilities. Signing a lease contract is a step that you absolutely must go through whether you decide to rent as a shared apartment, rent furnished or unfurnished . As the owner, you are responsible for drafting it for each new tenant.

You must be on the premises at the entry and departure of each tenant. Your presence will be essential for the production of an entry and exit inventory . These two documents will be compared at the end of the lease. The management of rents and the payment of various rental charges will also be part of your responsibilities as a landlord.

If the condition of your home and its equipment deteriorates, it will be your duty to carry out the necessary work to keep them in good condition. It may also happen that your tenant does not pay their rent on time or stops doing so completely during the lease. However, late and unpaid rent is a delicate matter. It may call into question the profitability of your investment. Proper management of these disputes is then essential.

Managing your rental yourself is certainly the most economical solution. However, it is important to invest yourself fully to ensure good rental management. In addition, administrative and legal knowledge is still required.

You are not ready to put all your time and energy into it? Don't panic! Delegating the management of your rental property is the solution!

What is the benefit of delegating the management of your rental property?

Delegating the management of your rental property gives you the benefit of tailor-made support from A to Z. The effectiveness of rental management is one of the keys to the success of your rental investment. Indeed, it can increase or decrease your rental income. If you do not have the skills required to carry it out successfully, there is nothing like turning to a real estate agency, despite the rental management fees. But what do the services of an agency bring you? How will its intervention be advantageous to you?

Careful sorting of tenants

The goal of renting out an apartment or house is to generate regular and stable income. To achieve this, the tenant must not be chosen at random. Neglecting to check the tenant's solvency would be a huge mistake. The risks of unpaid rent during the lease must be taken seriously. More than a third of owners have already had to deal with this. However, they have serious consequences on the profitability of your project.

The rental management of a real estate agency promises security for your investment. Professionals take care to analyze each rental application file. They pay attention to the income of each tenant to study their stability. Thanks to this careful sorting, the occupation of your accommodation will be stable.

Optimal financial security

By working with a rental management agency, owners benefit from unpaid rent insurance in the event of default by their tenant. Regular income is therefore ensured throughout the rental of your condominium apartment or house. This insurance can even cover any work and legal costs in the event of a dispute.

Save time and give you peace of mind

Letting a real estate agency take care of everything related to renting out your home saves you a lot of time. The services offered by agencies are diverse. They range from finding tenants to managing rent to maintaining your home to avoid high repair costs in the long term.

Real estate agencies also master the regulations related to rental. They therefore have the necessary expertise to guarantee the success of each step, in compliance with the rules. Whether during the drafting of the lease contract or a possible dispute with the tenant, professionals will know how to act effectively.

What are rental management fees made up of?

The fees charged by real estate agencies for rental management vary. They consist of monthly fees in exchange for the service provided during the rental, to which are added other costs depending on the services offered.

The service price of a real estate agency for rental management is paid monthly, and it ranges from 5 to 10% of the rent. Agencies generally charge for finding tenants. The rate applied represents 50 to 100% of the monthly rent. The inventory is another cost included in the real estate agency fees. Although it varies, it is between €3 and €5 per square meter. Finally, while some agencies offer the drafting of leases free of charge in their services, others include this service.

Let's say you rent a 15m2 studio for €650. The monthly agency fees can range from €32.5 to €65 per month. If the rental is charged at 50% of the rent, the service price will then be €325. The inventory , on the other hand, will cost you between €45 and €75.

If you are offering a 30m2 T3 condominium apartment for €1,100, the agency fees will be between €55 and €110. For the rental , the real estate agency will charge you €550. The price of the inventory will be between €90 and €150.  

The amount of rent and the size of your home make all the difference in the management fees of a rental. Other factors also influence the fees:

• Type of accommodation: The size of your accommodation can make all the difference in the management costs of a rental, as maintenance and upkeep can be more complex in a large house than in a condominium;
• The location of your accommodation: rental management prices in urban areas are generally higher than in rural areas, due to greater demand;
• The services requested: they vary the service cost of real estate agencies.

To avoid unpleasant surprises, it is therefore advisable to pay particular attention to each detail relating to the management costs of your rental.

What services are included in the rental management fees?

Rental management fees include various basic services that are essential to ensure the efficiency of your property administration. Before signing a rental management mandate with the agency, remember to find out about the various services it offers, knowing that these will have an influence on the amount of the fees.

A rental management contract generally includes:

• The collection of rents and their payment to the landlord;
• Issuing rent receipts for each payment for quality monitoring;
• Monitoring and management of late and unpaid rent, including reminders;
• Management of various rental charges: trustee fees, water, electricity, etc.

Additional services may also be included in the rental management contract.

• The Unpaid Rent Guarantee insurance or GLI protects the owner in the event of tenant default.
• Legal assistance is of great help in the event of a conflict with the tenant.
• Management of maintenance and repair work throughout the rental period.

The transparency of the contract is a fundamental point to check. Before signing the mandate, read it carefully. Beyond the services included in the rental management rate , also take an interest in any services that may generate additional costs. Do not neglect the conditions for terminating the contract (penalties, notice periods, etc.).

Who should pay the rental management fees?

In general, it is the landlord who must bear the rental management costs . However, it is possible to split them between the two parties. Indeed, some costs can be partially covered by the tenant.

The sharing of rental management fees between the owner and the tenant is subject to the Alur law. This law provides for a ceiling on the fees paid by tenants. Its amount varies from one geographical area to another, and ranges from €8 to €12 per square meter, depending on whether the area is not tense, tense or very tense. But in all cases, the tenant must not pay more than the landlord.

As a landlord, you must pay the rental fees for your condominium or house yourself. You are also solely responsible for recurring rental management fees. The tenant can only be required to contribute to the costs of drafting the lease or the inventory of fixtures, as well as the costs of visits and administration.

What are the tips for optimizing your management costs?

Negotiating the rental management fees for your property with the real estate agency, identifying the services required based on your needs and comparing the offers from each agency will be the keys to optimizing your rental management fees! By going about it smartly, you will have every chance of boosting your rental income.

Fee negotiation

Effective negotiation is based on knowledge of the market. The credibility of your offer will indeed be decisive. Hence the importance of basing yourself on reliable and real data before asking for a reduction in fees from the targeted real estate agency. How to go about it? Find out about the rates offered by the agencies in your area. Do not hesitate to ask for several quotes to analyze each offer.

You can use the information gathered as a negotiating weapon. The length of your mandate will also have an influence on the negotiation. If you sign a long-term contract, the real estate agency will be likely to grant you the discount.

The choice of services to be included in the contract

The services included in the contract vary the amount of the rental management fees . This is why it can be smart to define your real needs in terms of services. In this way, you will not have to spend on a service that will not really serve you.

Moreover, delegating the management of the rental of your apartment or house does not prevent you from taking care of certain tasks yourself. For example, it is possible to only take the basic services offered by an agency, and to look for a tenant by your own means. This will save you significant amounts of money.

Comparing offers

Faced with variable rates depending on the agency, nothing beats comparing several quotes. Don't limit yourself to the prices charged. Also consider the quality of the offer and the services proposed. By playing the competition, you will be guaranteed to benefit from the best offer on the market.

The tax deduction

Under the real tax regime, you have the possibility of deducting rental management fees from your taxes . To take advantage of this benefit, remember to keep all supporting documents relating to the costs. They will be essential when filing your tax return.

Rental management fees: what you need to know

Entrusting rental management to a real estate agency saves you time and energy. This option allows you to secure your project. Thanks to the guarantee offered, you protect yourself from the risks of unpaid rent. Although it is practical and possible to use online rental management, the support of professionals remains more advantageous.

But in exchange for the services offered, you must pay management fees for the rental of your apartment or house to the agency. These rental management fees have an impact on your net income . To prevent them from affecting the profitability of your rental investment , it is therefore important to control them.

Each real estate agency can charge for its services in its own way. The conditions related to the offer as well as the services included in the fees are also variable. To avoid unpleasant surprises, carefully check each element of the contract before signing the mandate with the real estate agency.

The secret to maximizing your rental income? Negotiating fees with the targeted real estate agency. Take the time to play the competition. Ask for several quotes and analyze them carefully. By optimizing the costs related to the professional management of the rental of your apartment or house, you will boost your earnings! Don't forget that choosing rental management with a real estate agency does not prevent you from taking care of certain tasks to reduce the cost of your management contract. By taking charge of the search for tenants, you free yourself from a significant expense that can cause rental management fees to explode!