Real estate
Virtual assistants for estate and letting agents
A real estate virtual assistant for estate and letting agents takes on the work behind every sale and let: listing admin, viewing diaries, portal and CRM updates, enquiry replies and tenancy paperwork. That frees negotiators to sell and let. The work is priced at the Admin and support rate, from £4.50 an hour. We find the candidate and run four screening steps.
- Four screening steps before you meet a candidate
- Hours tracked
- Earliest start within 48 to 72 hours of choosing a candidate
The estate agency work an assistant takes on
Property work is full of small, time sensitive jobs, and most are admin. An assistant clears them in five areas. The decisions, the client relationships and the legal responsibility stay with your agency.
Listing admin
- Entering new instructions. Adding the property to your CRM and to Rightmove and Zoopla, and checking it displays correctly.
- Descriptions, photos and floorplans. Writing the listing text from your notes and preparing the media.
- Material information. National Trading Standards guidance asks for key facts on every listing. Part A, covering price or rent, council tax band, tenure and EPC rating, applied from 31 May 2022. Parts B and C, covering utilities, parking and any issues such as flood risk, followed from 30 November 2023. Zoopla says manual uploads have their own fields, and anything a feed has no field for goes in the full description (Zoopla support, read 8 November 2026). The assistant fills the fields from the vendor’s documents and flags gaps.
- Updating after changes. Price reductions, under offer and let agreed.
Viewing scheduling
- Booking viewings. Matching buyers or tenants to times in the negotiators’ diaries, with confirmations and reminders.
- Keys and access. Recording who holds keys and checking tenant availability first.
- Follow up after viewings. Asking for feedback and passing it to the vendor or landlord.
- Booking by your rules. From 1 May 2026, government guidance says renters cannot be disadvantaged for having children or receiving benefits, including through refused viewings (GOV.UK, Renters’ Rights Act roadmap, read 8 November 2026). Write that into the booking rules.
CRM and portal updates
- One master record. Keeping systems such as Reapit or Alto current, so a wrong CRM entry does not become a wrong portal listing.
- Applicant and landlord records. Logging each call, offer and note the same day.
- Status changes. Moving a property to under offer, sold or let, and checking the portals follow.
Lead response
- Portal enquiries. Replying to Rightmove and Zoopla enquiries with a set first answer, and passing serious ones to the right negotiator.
- Qualifying questions. Asking a buyer about their position, or a tenant about move date, using questions you approve.
- Handling offers. Passing offers on in writing. From 1 May 2026 landlords and agents cannot seek, encourage or accept offers above the advertised rent, so the assistant never invites a higher bid on a letting (same roadmap).
Compliance paperwork
Lettings carry a long paper trail. The table shows what the assistant can chase and where each rule comes from. General information, not legal advice. Rules change, so check the source.
| Item | What the source says | What the assistant can do |
|---|---|---|
| Right to rent (England) | Keep records for the tenancy and at least one year after it ends. Liability moves to an agent only if agreed in writing (GOV.UK guide, 1 October 2026). | Collect documents or share codes, record the result, diarise the retention date. |
| Holding deposit and tenancy deposit | The holding deposit is capped at one week’s rent, with a default 15 days to sign. The tenancy deposit is capped at five weeks’ rent where annual rent is below £50,000 (GOV.UK, updated 1 May 2026). | Check amounts and dates on the file against your fees schedule. |
| Deposit protection | Protect the deposit in a government approved scheme within 30 days of receiving it (GOV.UK). | Diarise day 30 and chase the scheme confirmation. |
| Gas safety | Annual check. Give existing tenants the record within 28 days of the check and new tenants before they move in. Keep records at least two years (HSE). | Track expiry dates, book the engineer, send the record and log it. |
| Electrical safety | Electrics checked at least every five years by a qualified person, with proof given to tenants (GOV.UK). | Track report dates and chase contractors. |
| Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms | A smoke alarm on each storey, and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a solid fuel appliance (GOV.UK). | Add the check to the move in checklist. |
| Renters’ Rights Act | Phase 1 began on 1 May 2026, ending section 21 evictions and starting most landlord and agent duties. A landlord database is due to start rolling out from late 2026 (GOV.UK roadmap). | Keep a tracker of tenancy information sent, with dates. |
| Anti money laundering | Estate agency businesses must register with HMRC before trading (GOV.UK). Customer due diligence for lettings applies where monthly rent is 10,000 euros or more (HMRC guidance). | Collect and file the identity documents your compliance lead asks for. |
The assistant chases and files. The responsibility for compliance stays with the agency.
What it costs
Most of this work is admin and support, so the Admin and support rate applies. It is per hour by experience, in pounds, for 80 hours a month part time (20 a week) or 160 full time (40 a week). The virtual admin assistant page has the full task list, the pricing page shows every role, and there is no separate recruitment fee.
| Experience level | Per hour | Part time, 80 hours a month | Full time, 160 hours a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beginner (1 to 2 years) | £4.50 | £360 | £720 |
| Intermediate (2 to 4 years) | £6.50 | £520 | £1,040 |
| Expert (4 to 6 years) | £8.50 | £680 | £1,360 |
| Pro (6 to 8 years) | £11.50 | £920 | £1,840 |
A call to talk through your branch
Worked example: a small branch hands over its admin
Illustration only. The branch, hours and split are invented to show the shape of a handover. No real client is described, and this is not a quote.
An imaginary two person agency wants 20 hours a week, which is 80 hours a month. They split it into 24 on listing admin, 16 on viewing diaries, 16 on CRM and portal updates, 12 on enquiry replies and 12 on lettings paperwork. At the beginner level, 80 hours at £4.50 an hour comes to £360 a month. At the intermediate level, at £6.50 an hour, it comes to £520. The same split at 160 hours is £720 and £1,040.
Each Friday the principal checks ten sampled items against their sources. When the sample runs clean for a month, the agency adds a second stream.
A checklist before you hand over
General guidance, not a promise about any one assistant. Settle these points first.
- Which system is the master record, and which portals does it feed?
- Does the assistant have a user of their own in each system, instead of your password?
- What must be on a listing before it goes live, and who signs it off?
- Who completes the material information fields, and where are the source documents?
- What are the viewing booking rules, and what does the assistant ask you first?
- What is the first reply to a portal enquiry, and when does it go to a negotiator?
- Where is the lettings paperwork tracker, and who is the compliance lead?
- Does a written agreement cover personal data? UK GDPR expects a contract when someone handles personal data for you (ICO, read 8 November 2026).
Is an assistant right for your agency?
An assistant suits you if
- Your negotiators spend hours on portal uploads, enquiries and diary admin.
- You can describe your systems and give access to what the assistant needs.
- You want to start with 20 hours a week and add more as listings grow.
Another option may suit you better if
- You need someone in the branch to meet clients: an employee is the better fit.
- You need senior support for a director, with diary and confidential papers: a virtual executive assistant.
- You want a whole week of one person’s time: a full time virtual assistant.
How hiring works
We start with a free call about the work and the hours you have in mind. We shortlist candidates who have passed our screening, you interview them and you choose. We then set up the platforms and tools your assistant needs. Hours are tracked with tools such as Time Doctor, and we run recruitment, payroll management and quality management for you. The earliest start is within 48 to 72 hours of choosing a candidate.
Four screening steps before you meet anyone
- CV screening.
- A first interview on personality and the general benchmark criteria.
- A technical interview.
- A practical task, to test the candidate in the field.
Notice, replacement and fees are set out on how it works. There is no separate recruitment fee.
Questions about virtual assistants for estate agents
What can a virtual assistant do for estate and letting agents?
An assistant handles listing admin, enquiry replies, viewing bookings, follow up and back office records. The work is remote and in your systems, so negotiators keep the client conversations and the assistant keeps the paperwork moving. The sections above group the jobs.
Do they know UK property systems?
We match candidates to the client’s tools, including Rightmove, Zoopla, Reapit and Alto. Tell us your own systems on the call.
What is a virtual assistant for property management?
For property management, an assistant handles tenancy and referencing admin, chases compliance paperwork and keeps records current. See the lettings table above for the items they can track.
Can an assistant reply to Rightmove and Zoopla enquiries?
Yes, once you give them access and a set first reply. They answer routine questions and pass serious buyers and tenants to a negotiator. Offers and negotiation stay with your team. The virtual admin assistant page lists the inbox tasks.
Can an assistant do right to rent checks?
They can chase documents, record the result and diarise retention dates. Who carries the legal responsibility is for your agreement: the GOV.UK guide says liability moves to an agent only if agreed in writing. Take advice if unsure.
Does the Renters’ Rights Act change what an assistant does?
It changes the paperwork, not the role. From 1 May 2026 section 21 evictions ended and most landlord and agent duties began, so checklists and templates need updating. Your agency stays responsible for compliance. Use the GOV.UK links in the table above.
Is client data safe with a remote assistant?
You control what the assistant can reach, and UK GDPR expects a written contract when someone handles personal data for you. We screen every candidate in four steps and track hours. Read about data protection for what we can state.
Related
See the other industries we support, compare pricing, or read how it works.
Get started
Prefer to write? Send an enquiry.
Tell us the role and the hours you have in mind, and we will reply to the email address you give.