How agency fees are changing in South Africa

Our latest State of the Rental Industry survey reveals that rental agencies are increasingly looking beyond traditional commission when pricing their services.

This year we’ve seen two main trends emerge:

• Almost half of agencies now charge an upfront fee for managed rentals alongside monthly commission
• More than half of agencies have added or increased these or other non-commission fees

The cost of providing services like maintenance and tenant screening is rising, and itemising these fees separately can help justify them more easily and price them more accurately than by rolling them into an all-encompassing commission structure.

So what are agencies charging in 2026?

The average monthly commission is still 10% of rent. But more agencies are charging an upfront fee at the start of fully managed leases, averaging 7.3% of annual rent. That’s not far below the average for procurement-only leases, which is 8.33% of annual rent (equivalent to one month’s rent).

On top of that, more agencies are charging add-on fees for other services (usually to tenants). These include:

• Application fees – averaging R730

• R1 150 average lease fee

• Inspection fees averaging R625 for an incoming inspection and R550 for an outgoing inspection

• A R112 monthly admin fee

Many of these fees are still only charged by a minority of agencies, but with 50% adding or increasing non-commission fees over the past year, more of them could soon become standard.

We recommend reviewing your fee structure annually to support business sustainability and secure a fair market value for your services.

Note that all fees must legally be included in lease agreements, allowing for annual lease revisions.