If you deal in lettings, something you should really consider is building up your list of landlords. While new vendor instructions are vital to the success of your estate agency, property sales are a one-off source of income. Landlords, who sign up to your property management services, will generate cash flow month-on-month – bringing the stability you probably crave right now.
But how do you find landlords for property management? Marketing to landlords, as with most forms of estate agency marketing, requires a range of techniques.
Below, we go through our proven step-by-step approach to getting more landlords for your letting agency. If you need help, drop us an email or book a call over Zoom and we will go through your options face to face (and free of charge).
The important thing is to understand your audience and select the most relevant messages and media to bring them on board:
Give some thought to your business and the type of landlord you generally work with – or would like to work with in future. This will help you target them with the right messages.
There are three main types of landlord to consider:
You may wish to attract all three, however, this will mean you need to invest a lot more in your marketing campaigns. So, our advice is to select one of those groups, at least at the start.
Right now, this also means understanding the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. Landlords are actively looking for agents who can guide them through the new rules on possession grounds, rent increases and tenancy structures, so demonstrating this knowledge upfront is one of the fastest ways to earn their trust.
Convincing new landlords to rent their property with your lettings agency is about providing solutions to the pain points, which give them sleepless nights – and proving you can do this better than all the competitors out there.
To start with, you need to ask what do landlords want?
In most cases this is simple – they want a reliable tenant who will stay in the rental property long term, while paying their rent on time and looking after the place. They want minimal void periods between tenancies too, and to achieve the best return on their property investment. If they are a portfolio landlord, they may also want quick, insider access to further investment opportunities.
Your job as a letting agent is to help them achieve their goals.
TIP|: Subscribe to our YouTube channel to ensure you don’t miss any of our video marketing tips for letting agents.
If you haven’t done so already, give your website a reality check.
Make sure it looks appealing and has current, accurate information, great images and is easy to navigate for landlords.
Check that it is properly optimised for search engines too. Do you rank for phrases such as ‘letting agents in YOUR LOCATION’? It is also worth having a regular blog with high-quality content of relevance to landlords.
An online valuation tool for landlords is definitely nice to have – just make sure you keep them on your site with useful content once they’ve received their valuation guide.
It’s also worth checking how your agency shows up when landlords ask AI tools like ChatGPT or Google’s AI Mode for the “best letting agent in [your area]”. These tools are increasingly the first stop for landlords comparing agents, so the same content that ranks you in Google needs to be structured clearly enough for AI systems to cite you too.
Many tenants will go straight to Rightmove, Zoopla or other portals when looking for a place to rent, so your prospective landlords will expect you to have a presence on them.
Landlords, too, are likely to use these sites to search out investment opportunities.
One of the best ways of generating leads and attracting landlords is to make yourself visible locally. Do this by becoming an expert – both on landlord issues and your local area.
Produce well-written articles, which help landlords fulfil their role – from gas safety to pets in rental homes or updates from the local property market.
Make sure these are geared to your ideal landlords and their particular pain points.
You could also combine your articles into a comprehensive guide and issue it as an e-book – in return for signing up to your newsletter, perhaps.
Write good shareable, content about your area too; talking about its history, name-checking local businesses and listing up-and-coming events.
Decide which social channels you will use and commit to them, planning content in advance and updating and sharing regularly.
TIP: Find out how we can help you with your social media marketing.
Consider using video to bring your posts alive – and again, improve your visibility. Including paid traffic in your strategy is an essential way of getting your content seen and can be highly cost-effective.
Think creatively, too, about how to use social media to establish yourself as a credible voice for local landlords.
Raise questions that get people talking and host polls.
Or go further with a Facebook group for local landlords, where they can discuss issues together. As well as getting you noticed, this will be a helpful source of landlord pain points, which you can address in your blogs and videos. (for example, you can answer questions about deposit protection, tenancy deposit solutions, tenancy agreement, or other similar topics landlords want to know about)
Aimed at professionals, LinkedIn is a good tool to help you target landlords for your letting agency.
Use it to publish your best, most thought-provoking articles and drive traffic to your website.
Most landlords now start their search for a new agent online, and increasingly that search doesn’t stop at Google. Landlords are asking tools like ChatGPT and Google’s AI Mode questions such as “best letting agent in [area]” or “which agent handles the Renters’ Rights Act well”, and getting a shortlist of answers before they’ve even opened a search results page. If your agency isn’t set up to appear in both, you’re losing landlords before they know you exist.
Start with the basics that most letting agents still overlook. Claim and fully complete your Google Business Profile, keeping opening hours, photos and services current. Build a landing page for each town or postcode you cover, rather than relying on one generic “areas we cover” page. Ask happy landlords for Google reviews, since review volume and recency are strong local ranking signals and reassure landlords who are comparing agents.
Landlords search for answers to specific problems, not generic agency marketing. Content that addresses what’s genuinely on their mind right now, such as navigating the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, understanding new EPC requirements, or working out whether to sell or keep letting, tends to rank well and builds trust before a landlord has even spoken to you. This kind of content also performs well with AI tools, which favour clear, well-structured answers to real questions over generic sales copy.
AI search tools pull together answers from multiple sources, and they favour content that’s easy to extract information from. A few things make a real difference:
Done well, SEO and AI optimisation work quietly in the background, bringing landlords to you who are already close to making a decision, rather than requiring you to chase them at events or with leaflets. If you’d like help setting this up, our AI search optimisation service is built specifically for estate and letting agents.
While a great online presence will undoubtedly help you get landlords for your letting agency, nothing beats personal recommendations.
Begin by making sure that you really are offering a great service – by being there when your landlords need you, responding to queries promptly and generally getting things done.
If they are happy with the service you provide, don’t be shy about asking for reviews on platforms such as Trustpilot, Nextdoor, Google My Business or your own website.
Attending networking events is a crucial part of getting your name – and face – known locally.
Whether events are in person or online, look out for opportunities to join local business or chamber of commerce meetups where landlords are likely to attend.
Attending property auctions is also a valuable way of meeting landlords who are actively looking for agents.
While so much of a letting agent’s business is done online, don’t forget traditional channels, such as the humble leaflet drop or direct mailing.
Target new developments where there are likely to be high numbers of buy-to-let landlords as well as recently–sold properties. Look too at properties to let – the landlords may be open to switching agents if they are struggling to find tenants.
If you are using printed materials, don’t go with the same old leaflets – invest in good design to create something which will get you noticed.
TIP: Here are 11 leaflet ideas you can use for inspiration.
Look at sites such as Pinterest to get ideas.
Perhaps your whole landlord marketing strategy needs an overhaul – contact us to find out how we might be able to help.
The quickest wins usually come from word-of-mouth and your existing network. Asking happy landlords for referrals and reviews, alongside targeting properties currently struggling to let on portals like Rightmove and Zoopla, tends to generate leads faster than long-term content or social strategies.
This depends on your resources and local market. New and accidental landlords often need more guidance and reassurance, which suits agencies with strong educational content. Portfolio landlords already understand the market and respond well to efficiency and access to new investment opportunities. Most agencies get better results by focusing on one group before expanding to the others.
Look at properties that have been sitting on the rental market for an unusually long time. Long void periods often signal a landlord who is losing patience with their current agent. A polite, helpful approach, such as offering a free rental valuation, can open the door to a conversation.
Yes, increasingly so. Since the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 began taking effect, landlords are actively looking for agents who understand the new rules around possession grounds, rent increases and tenancy structures. Agencies that demonstrate this knowledge clearly on their website and in their marketing tend to stand out from competitors who haven’t updated their messaging.
Landlords increasingly research agents online before making contact, using both Google and AI tools like ChatGPT and Google’s AI Mode. Strong local SEO and content that answers landlords’ real questions, such as how the Renters’ Rights Act affects them, helps your agency appear in these searches. Unlike leaflets or events, this works continuously in the background, bringing landlords to you who are already close to choosing an agent.
Costs vary widely depending on the mix of channels used. A combination of organic content, local SEO and modest paid social spend can work well for smaller agencies, while larger campaigns involving leaflet drops, PPC and portal advertising will cost more. Most agencies see the best return by starting small, tracking results, and reinvesting in what performs.
"*" indicates required fields
