Letting agents in Nottingham are currently the busiest in Britain, handling far more rental listings per branch than the national average.
Research from Propoly analysing 21 major UK cities shows there are around 72,537 rental listings being managed by 5,382 letting agency branches. This equates to an average of 13.5 rental properties per branch.
However, the workload varies widely by location, with Nottingham topping the table. The city has an estimated 3,714 rental listings across 106 branches – meaning each office is handling around 35 properties.
Leeds ranks second, with 30.5 listings per branch, followed by Newcastle at 21.1. Other cities with above-average workloads include Birmingham (18.7), Leicester (18.6), Sheffield (18.6), Bournemouth (18.2), Plymouth (17.7), Bristol (16.4) and Southampton (16).
LIGHTEST LOAD
At the other end of the scale, Newport has the lightest workload, with just 5.2 listings per branch. Glasgow follows with 7.2, while Manchester (10.1), Swansea (10.2), Sunderland (10.7) and London (10.7) also sit below the national average.
Sim Sekhon (main picture, inset), Group CEO at Propoly, says: “These figures highlight just how operationally stretched many letting agents are, particularly in high demand cities such as Nottingham, Leeds and Newcastle, where the volume of listings per agent is well above the national average.
“When an agent is responsible for 30 or more properties at any one time, the pressure is not just about marketing and viewings.
“It extends to referencing, compliance checks, document management, landlord communication and ensuring every tenancy progresses smoothly from offer to move-in. As portfolios grow, so too does the risk of delays, administrative bottlenecks and compliance oversights.”
MAINTAINING STANDARDS
And he adds: “What this research really underlines is the growing need for smarter systems and streamlined processes. Agents are not short of demand. In many cases, they are short of time.
“Platforms that automate repetitive tasks, centralise documentation and provide full transparency across the tenancy journey allow agents to maintain high service standards without increasing headcount.
“Ultimately, landlords judge their letting agent on efficiency, compliance and communication.
“In today’s market, where some agents are juggling more than double the national average number of listings, having the right progression infrastructure in place is no longer a luxury. It is essential to delivering a professional, scalable and class-leading service.”
