Letting your property, handled properly.
Bowson lets and manages homes across Newcastle — the right tenants, compliance kept current, and one named person who knows the property.
Book a rental valuation
A rent figure with the comparable evidence behind it, and a straight answer on what the property needs before it can be let.
That’s with the lettings team.
Bowson will come back to you with a rent figure for the property and anything it needs before it can be let.
If it’s urgent — 0191 212 8100
As much, or as little, as you want off your desk.
Tenant Find
For landlords who run their own tenancies but want the start done correctly.
- Rental valuation and letting advice
- Professional photography, written copy and portal coverage
- Accompanied viewings
- Full referencing — employment, credit history, previous landlord, guarantor where needed
- Tenancy agreement prepared and signed
- Advice on the certificates the property needs, arranged on request
Full management
For landlords who want the tenancy, the compliance and the maintenance off their desk entirely.
- Everything in Tenant Find
- Rent collection and arrears chasing
- Inspections every four months, with digital photo reports
- Compliance held current — gas, EICR, EPC, alarms, Legionella, deposit protection
- 24/7 access to vetted, insured contractors, with quotes checked before work starts
- Renewals and annual rent reviews handled to the notice periods
- A named property manager who knows the property
Fees for both, and the full list of compliance costs, are published in the questions below — Bowson would rather you saw them now than at the end of a meeting.
Four changes. Two of them change how you run the property from day one.
Worth knowing whether or not you ever speak to Bowson — the timing decisions this creates are the ones landlords most often get wrong.
Section 21 is gone
Possession now needs a stated ground and the evidence to support it. The paperwork that used to be a formality is now the case itself.
What it meansRecords, notices and dates have to be right from the first day of the tenancy, not assembled at the end of it.Fixed terms no longer exist
Every tenancy is periodic. A tenant can give two months’ notice at any point, including two months in.
What it meansAverage tenancies shorten and voids get harder to plan around. Most landlords feel this before anything else in the Act.Rent rises once a year
Increases go through a Section 13 notice, once in any twelve months, and the tenant can challenge them at tribunal.
What it meansThe tribunal can’t set a rent higher than you asked, so the exposure is delay rather than a worse number — but guess the market wrong and you carry it for a full year.Registration and paperwork
Landlords and properties have to be registered, and the compliance record has to be current and evidenced.
What it meansAdministration that used to be annual is now continuous. Bowson handles both on managed properties.The practical consequence for most Newcastle landlords is a pricing decision you now only get to make once a year, made against tenancies that end sooner and with less warning than they used to. Getting the rent right at the start matters more than it ever has.
Three stages, and a name attached to each one.
Valuation and strategy
A market appraisal at the property, a rent figure with the comparable evidence behind it, and a straight answer on what the property needs before it can legally be let.
If the honest advice is to spend £400 on the property before marketing it, you get that advice rather than a listing.
Marketing and referencing
Professional photography, written copy, and coverage across the major portals and social channels. Viewings are accompanied.
Every applicant is referenced properly — employment, credit history, previous landlord, and guarantor verification where the numbers call for it. The tenant is the single biggest variable in the investment.
The managed tenancy
Tenants get welcome documents, a 24/7 emergency contact and a clear statement of what they’re responsible for. Inspections run every four months with a digital photo report to you.
At the end, a full check-out assessing condition against fair wear and tear — plus pre-marketing advice in advance, so the property isn’t sitting empty while it’s being photographed.
You don’t have to wait for the tenancy to end.
Switching mid-tenancy is routine. The deposit registration moves, the compliance file transfers, rent collection changes over, and the tenant gets new contact details and the 24/7 emergency line. In most cases the tenant notices very little beyond a new name on the statement.
The one thing to get right is the notice period in your current management agreement. Most run to a month or a quarter, and serving late means paying two agents for the same period — so read that clause before anything else. Bowson will read it with you if it’s easier.
If the honest conclusion is that your current agent is doing a good job on a fair fee, you’ll be told that too. There’s no value to Bowson in taking on a landlord who leaves again in six months.
What to have to hand
- Your management agreement — specifically the termination clause
- The tenancy agreement and when it started
- Deposit scheme and reference number
- Current certificates — gas, EICR, EPC — and their expiry dates
- The current rent, and when it was last reviewed
Jesmond office, checked 19 August 2026. The last of these four is from a tenant rather than a landlord — it’s here because a tenant who stays five years and can name their property manager is the clearest evidence there is that the management works.
…organising repairs quickly and efficiently and keeping me up to speed. And when it came to the student cycle they had all mine let by the end of October at great rents. Thoroughly recommended if you’re a landlord or a tenant.
Neil Patterson · student portfolio landlord · Google, 2025
The best letting agents I’ve used as a landlord in 16 years. Very efficient, reliable and personal. Highly recommend them to landlords and tenants looking to rent.
Jill Brewer · landlord of 16 years · Google, June 2025
So far so good. Prompt and polite service and they do what they say they’re going to do. I’ve been using them for around four months so far to run my rental property.
Marylou Booth · landlord, first few months · Google, December 2025
I have been renting a property which Bowson manage for over 5 years now and I have been incredibly happy with the management and running of things and particularly the speedy responses should I have any issues. Nadine is the property manager for my building and she is always fantastic, keeps in touch with anything we need to know, is informative friendly and professional.
Dane Pinkney · tenant in a Bowson-managed building · Google, May 2026
Straight answers, fees included.
What does Bowson charge?
Tenant Find — from 72% inc. VAT of one month’s rent, per let.
Fully Managed — from 66% inc. VAT of one month’s rent to find the tenant, then from 12% inc. VAT of the monthly rent (10% + VAT) thereafter.
Those are starting points. The rate moves with property type, rental value, portfolio size and service level, and a written quote for your specific property follows the market appraisal. If you also sell through Bowson: 1.2% inc. VAT sole agent, 1.8% inc. VAT multi-agent.
What do the compliance certificates cost?
Published, so you can budget before you instruct anyone. All figures include VAT.
| Service | When it applies | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Legionella risk assessment | Legal duty on every rental property | £50 |
| EICR — 1–2 bed | Required every five years | £180 |
| EICR — 3–4 bed / 5+ bed | Required every five years | £204 / £228 |
| Inventory — 1–2 / 3–5 / 6+ bed | Prepared before move-in | £120 / £156 / £180 |
| HMO licence application | Handled with the council for you | £360 |
| Bowson in-house maintenance | Repairs, improvements, gardening | £60 / hour |
| To Let board | Where applicable | No charge |
What will my property actually let for?
That comes from comparable evidence — what similar properties in the same part of Newcastle have let for, not what they were advertised at. The gap between the two is where most over-pricing starts.
Bowson gives you the figure with the comparables behind it, so you can judge the reasoning rather than take the number on trust. Since rent can only be reviewed once a year now, the opening figure carries more weight than it used to.
Can I switch agent while my property is tenanted?
Yes, and it’s common. The deposit registration, compliance file and rent collection all transfer. The step that matters is the notice period in your existing management agreement — serve it late and you pay two agents for the overlap.
Who deals with repairs, and how are costs controlled?
On managed properties, a trusted network of qualified, insured contractors available 24/7, plus Bowson’s own in-house maintenance team. Quotes are vetted and standards checked before work is signed off.
Most day-to-day issues are resolved quickly, often over the phone, which is the cheapest repair there is.
What compliance does my property actually need?
A valid gas safety certificate, an EICR renewed every five years, a current EPC, working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, a Legionella risk assessment, and a protected deposit. HMOs and licensed properties carry more — PAT testing and alarm servicing become mandatory in licensed HMOs with five or more tenants.
On fully managed properties Bowson arranges and tracks all of it. On Let Only you get the advice and can have the certificates arranged on request, but deposit protection stays with you — and the deadline for registering it doesn’t move.
Do you handle HMOs and student property?
Yes — HMO licence applications are handled with the council, and Bowson lets student accommodation across Newcastle alongside standard residential. Student stock runs on a different calendar to the open market, so timing the marketing is a separate conversation worth having early.
How quickly can the property be on the market?
Once the appraisal is done and the compliance certificates are in place, photography and listing follow quickly. The usual hold-up isn’t Bowson’s diary — it’s an expired EICR or a missing gas certificate, which is exactly why the valuation includes a check of what’s outstanding.
Find out what the property should be letting for.
A market appraisal, a rent figure with the evidence behind it, and a list of anything outstanding on compliance. Whether you instruct Bowson afterwards is a separate decision.
Prefer to call? The lettings team is on 0191 212 8100.
Book a rental valuation
That’s with the lettings team.
Bowson will come back to you with a rent figure for the property and anything it needs before it can be let.
If it’s urgent — 0191 212 8100