The model, in plain English.
If you've never heard of Rent-to-Rent — start here. We've written this for someone who's never let a property in their life. No jargon, no acronyms left undefined, no maths you can't follow on the back of an envelope.
Lease, not own.
We sign a 5-year head-lease with the landlord. They retain ownership of the property. In exchange, they receive a guaranteed monthly rent from us — every month, on time — for the whole lease term. The landlord gets certainty; we get the right to operate the unit.
Sub-let, professionally.
The head-lease permits us to short-let the unit. We furnish it to serviced-apartment spec, list it on Airbnb, Booking.com and our own direct channels, and operate it as a professional short-let — at much higher nightly rates than long-let rent would pay.
You profit on the margin.
Between the guaranteed monthly rent we pay the landlord and what the unit actually earns as a short-let, there's an operating margin. That margin — minus running costs — is what you take home. Or, on Fully Managed, what we top up into a fixed monthly dividend you receive.
What the maths actually looks like.
An illustrative breakdown for a 2-bed Manchester apartment on our Fully Managed Service. Numbers are based on our published portfolio averages — your unit will vary above or below.
Across the Fully Managed portfolio the net-dividend range is £900–£1,300 per unit per month — settled at month 12, averaged over the year. We don't promise a specific figure on a specific unit; we underwrite the published average.
It's not magic. It's certainty.
The first question we get from people new to R2R: "why would a landlord agree to this?" The answer is one word — certainty.
An R2R operator pays guaranteed rent every month for five years, regardless of whether the unit is occupied, regardless of seasonality, regardless of the wider market. The landlord doesn't deal with tenants. Doesn't chase rent. Doesn't fund voids. Doesn't pay a letting agent's 12%. The unit comes back to them, at the end of the term, in better condition than they let it.
For a landlord who's been let down by tenants in the past, or who lives abroad, or who simply doesn't want the operational burden, the R2R model is a strictly better proposition than a standard AST.
Is R2R legal?
Yes. R2R is a legitimate, well-established UK property model. It's how a meaningful share of the country's serviced-apartment stock is operated.
Three things make it legitimate:
- i. The head-lease is a proper commercial contract. Drafted by property solicitors, signed by both parties, and recorded against the property. It explicitly permits short-let sub-letting and sets out responsibilities on both sides.
- ii. Every unit is compliant. Short-let licensing where applicable (London 90-day rule, Edinburgh control area, etc.), HMO regulations where relevant, fire and gas safety certifications, full insurance. We won't take on a unit that can't be operated legally.
- iii. Every guest is vetted. ID checks, deposit holds, signed booking terms. No parties, no commercial use of the space, no sub-sub-letting. The standard you'd expect from a serviced-apartment operator, not a holiday Airbnb host.
Ready to build one of your own? Start with an application.
Two-minute form. A senior team member calls within one business day.