Property Manager Fees Calculator
The quoted percentage is not the whole cost. Add up the management fee, leasing fee, advertising, admin and inspection charges on your rent - per year, and over ten years.
Your management agreement
Per-tenancy fees
Ongoing extras
What management actually costs
Per year
$3,070
10.7% of your rent - not the headline 7.5%.
Over 10 years
$30,703
At today's rent, before any rent increases.
Vestly does the paperwork half free, forever: rent and lease tracking, maintenance log, compliant rent-increase notices, and tax records your accountant can actually use.
Free to track your portfolio, no card required. Optional AI Pro is $9.99/mo or $99/yr.
The fee stack, itemised
Australian agencies typically bill a rental across five separate lines. Industry fee guides put the ranges at:
- Ongoing management fee: 6-10% of rent collected, varying by state and agency. Published fee guides put the national average around 7.5% of rent plus GST.
- Leasing / letting fee: 1-2 weeks of rent every time a new tenancy starts.
- Advertising: $100-500+ per re-let for portal listings and photography.
- Routine inspection fees: $50-100 per visit at some agencies (included at others).
- Admin, statement and technology fees: small monthly charges that add up quietly, plus lease renewal fees.
Spread across a year, the effective cost usually lands well above the headline percentage. On a $550/week property at the average rates, the full stack runs to roughly three thousand dollars a year - and past thirty thousand over a decade at today's rent.
What you still own, even with a manager
Paying a manager delegates the work, not the responsibility. NSW Fair Trading puts it plainly: regardless of who manages the property, landlords remain responsible for ensuring residential tenancy laws are complied with. And the tax records are yours to keep either way - the ATO requires rental records to be kept for five years, and CGT records effectively for the whole time you own the property plus five years.
That is why many investors who keep their property manager still track their own records: the agent's annual statement covers rent and their own fees, but not your loan interest, insurance, council rates you pay directly, depreciation, or the paper trail the ATO expects if it asks questions.
If you self-manage, the paperwork half is free
The administrative half of a property manager's job is systematic: track the rent, log the maintenance, serve compliant notices, keep the records. Vestly does that half free, forever - rent and lease tracking, a maintenance log that follows every issue to done, state-compliant rent-increase notices for all 8 states and territories, and tax records organised the way your accountant wants them.
The judgment half - choosing tenants, negotiating, showing up to inspections - stays with you, or with an agent you pay for exactly that. As WA's consumer regulator notes, it need not be all or nothing.
Frequently asked questions
What do property managers charge in Australia?
Industry fee guides put ongoing management fees at 6-10% of rent depending on the state and agency, with published guides putting the national average around 7.5% of rent plus GST. On top of that, most agencies charge a leasing fee of 1-2 weeks of rent for each new tenancy, advertising costs of $100-500 or more per re-let, and often monthly admin or statement fees and per-visit inspection fees.
Why is my effective fee higher than the quoted percentage?
The quoted percentage only covers the ongoing management fee. Once you spread the leasing fee, advertising and fixed admin charges across the year, the effective cost is usually several percentage points above the headline rate. That gap is exactly what this calculator makes visible.
Are property management fees tax deductible?
Generally yes - property agent fees and commissions on an income-producing rental are deductible in the year you pay them. That softens the cost but does not remove it: a deduction returns your marginal tax rate on the fee, not the whole fee. This is general information, not tax advice.
Is self-managing legal in Australia?
Yes, in every state and territory. You must follow the same residential tenancy laws an agent would: correct notice periods and forms for rent increases, bond lodgement with your state authority, habitability and repair obligations, and entry rules. State regulators like NSW Fair Trading and WA Consumer Protection publish self-management guidance, and WA explicitly notes it need not be all or nothing - you can pay an agent for tenant-find only and self-manage the rest.
Does using a property manager remove my legal responsibility?
No. NSW Fair Trading is explicit that regardless of who manages the property, the landlord remains responsible for ensuring residential tenancy laws are complied with. A manager acts as your agent - the compliance obligation stays yours.
What is the hard part of self-managing?
The paperwork and the rules: keeping rent and expense records the ATO will accept, serving compliant notices with the right form and notice period for your state, tracking maintenance from request to done, and keeping every receipt for tax time. That administrative half is what Vestly does free. The judgment half - vetting tenants, negotiating, handling disputes - stays with you.