Your letting-agent statement, explained: what every line actually means

What is a letting-agent statement (or rent statement)?

A letting-agent statement - also called a rent statement or rental statement - is the summary your agent sends showing what happened with your property’s money over a period: the rent they collected, the fees and costs they deducted, and the amount they paid out to you. Every agent lays it out differently, but they’re all answering one question: of the rent collected, how much ends up with you? Here’s a plain-English tour of the lines you’ll typically see.

Rent received / income. The rent the agent actually collected from tenants in the period. In an HMO this may be split per room, so you’ll see several rent lines.
Management fee / commission. The agent’s cut for managing the property - often a percentage (say 10–12%) of the rent.
VAT. Usually charged on the agent’s fee, not on your rent. Worth knowing so you don’t mistake it for a tax on your income.
Repairs / maintenance / contractor charges. Money the agent paid out on your behalf - a plumber, a certificate, a bit of cleaning - deducted before you’re paid.
Float / retained / reserve. An amount the agent holds back to cover future costs. It’s not a fee and not income to you - just money parked for later.
Owner contribution / funds paid in. Money you put in (for example to cover a big repair). It’s not rent, and it shouldn’t be counted as income - but it’s easy to muddle.
Arrears / rent outstanding. Rent that’s owed but not yet collected. It shouldn’t be counted as money you’ve received.
Balance / paid to landlord. The bottom line - what actually reached (or will reach) your bank account.

A useful habit: check it reconciles

A statement “reconciles” when the maths ties up - opening balance, plus money in, minus fees and costs, equals what was paid to you. If it doesn’t, something’s been mislabelled or missed, and it’s worth querying with your agent.

Doing that check by eye across a busy HMO statement is hard. RentSorter reads the statement, sorts each line into the right category (so rent isn’t muddled with a top-up, and arrears aren’t counted as cash), and tells you whether it balances - then hands you the whole thing as a spreadsheet.

Common questions

What is a rent statement?

It's the summary a letting agent sends showing the rent collected for your property, the fees and costs deducted, and the amount paid to you for a period. “Rent statement”, “rental statement” and “letting-agent statement” all mean the same thing.

How do I read a letting-agent statement?

Start with the rent received at the top, take off the management fee (and the VAT on that fee) and any repairs the agent paid on your behalf, and you should land on the balance paid to you. If it doesn't tie up, a line has been mislabelled or missed - worth querying with your agent.

What does a letting-agent statement show?

Typically: rent collected, the agent's management fee, VAT on that fee, any repairs or contractor charges, sometimes a float or reserve held back, and the final amount paid to you. An HMO statement may list the rent per room.

Why doesn't the statement total match what reached my bank?

Usually timing (rent collected late in the period, or paid out in the next one), a float the agent holds back, or arrears that were charged but not actually collected. Arrears in particular aren't money you've received, even though they show on the statement.

Stop retyping your letting-agent statements. RentSorter turns them - even scanned ones - into a clean, checked spreadsheet in seconds.

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