Step 1 - Get the unit ready
Before you advertise, have three things sorted: the legal basics, the numbers and the presentation.
Legal basics means a valid commercial EPC - you need one before the unit is marketed, and in England and Wales the rating has to be E or better to grant a new lease - plus the practical safety items for the building (an asbestos survey or register for pre-2000 buildings, and electrical and gas safety where the landlord is responsible). The numbers mean an accurate floor area, a realistic rent, and a clear idea of the lease you will offer: term, break clause, deposit, repairing obligations. Presentation means the unit clean, clear and photographed in daylight.
The full pre-listing checklist is in what you need before listing a commercial property. Get it right once and steps 2 to 4 are quick.
Step 2 - Advertise it where tenants search
Put the listing on a portal that businesses actually use, with the rent stated, the size in square feet and square metres, six or more photos and a plain description of what the unit is suitable for. On Boxpod that takes a few minutes through the dashboard, costs from £12 a month, and the listing is live straight away - enquiries come to your email or phone directly. Add a board on the unit and tell the neighbours; local businesses are often the quickest lets.
The detail on presentation and on which portals are open to landlords is in how to find a tenant yourself and where to list online, so this guide will not repeat it - the short version is: stated rent, real size, good photos, answer fast.
Step 3 - Enquiries, viewings and heads of terms
Reply to every enquiry within a day, pre-qualify on the first call (what the business does, when they need to be in, how much space, does the use fit), and show the unit with the facts to hand. When a tenant says yes, write the deal down in a one-page heads of terms before solicitors get involved:
- the parties and the unit;
- rent, payment dates, VAT, and any rent-free period;
- lease length, start date and any break clause;
- rent deposit, and any guarantor for a new business;
- who repairs, who insures, and any service charge;
- whether the lease is contracted out of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (most small-unit leases are, which means the tenant has no automatic right to renew - it requires a formal notice and declaration before the lease is signed).
Take references and, for a new or small business, a deposit or guarantor. None of this needs an agent; it needs a sensible conversation and a written note both sides agree to.
Step 4 - The lease and moving in
Instruct a solicitor to prepare the lease from the heads of terms. For a straightforward unit this is a fixed-fee job at most firms, and it is the one cost that is identical whether or not you use an agent - agents do not draft leases. The tenant will usually have their own solicitor review it; any stamp duty land tax on the lease is the tenant's to pay, not yours.
Once signed: collect the deposit and first rent, hand over keys, and make sure the tenant has the EPC, the asbestos register if there is one, and any manuals for plant in the unit. Take meter readings and dated photos of the condition on the day - a simple schedule of condition saves arguments at the end of the term. Then the landlord's job reverts to collecting rent and dealing with the occasional repair request, which is exactly what a managing agent would have charged 5-10% of the rent to do.
What did going direct save? On an ordinary unit, the letting fee - typically around 10% of the first year's rent plus VAT - and any marketing costs. The worked example is in what commercial letting agents charge.