A Widening Skills Shortage in the Property Sector

Recruiting in the UK property industry has never been straightforward — but over the past two years, it’s become a major operational hurdle.

From lettings administrators to property managers and compliance coordinators, firms across the country are struggling to fill critical roles. According to Totaljobs Hiring Trends Report 2024, 74% of property employers say they’re facing hiring challenges, with skills shortages and wage expectations being the two biggest pain points.

Meanwhile, many job seekers are seeking flexible or remote-first opportunities — something traditional agencies haven’t been set up to offer.

The True Cost of a Vacant Role

Every unfilled role creates downstream effects: delayed viewings, missed maintenance follow-ups, overloaded team members, and unhappy tenants or landlords.

The average time to hire for a property manager or lettings role now exceeds six weeks, according to Reed.co.uk, with average salaries sitting between £30,000–£38,000. That’s before factoring in recruitment fees, onboarding costs, and the risk of early turnover.

And when staff do leave, the cost of replacement can reach up to £5,433 per employee, as estimated by the CIPD.

Why Traditional Hiring Isn’t Working

Let’s look at what’s driving the talent gap:

• Burnout and attrition: High workloads and low flexibility drive staff out of the sector
  
• Geographic limitations: Hiring only from your local area restricts your talent pool
  
• Changing expectations: Many skilled professionals now prefer remote or hybrid roles
  
• Delayed returns: New hires require training, shadowing, and ramp-up time
  

This leads to an environment where teams are chronically understaffed, overworked, and unable to deliver the level of service today’s landlords and tenants expect.

Remote Support as a Recruitment Alternative

More agencies and property firms are solving this challenge by reframing the hiring question entirely. Instead of recruiting locally, they’re integrating remote property professionals — skilled, full-time team members who operate from outside the UK but are trained in UK processes, legislation, and systems.

These professionals can fill roles such as:

• Lettings administrator
  
• Maintenance coordinator
  
• Compliance assistant
  
• CRM and inbox manager
  
• Renewals and arrears specialist
  

Because they’re remote, they can be onboarded in days, not weeks — and at a lower total cost than hiring locally.

Platforms like Arthur, Fixflo, and Reapit allow seamless collaboration across borders, meaning there’s no drop in productivity or oversight.

Why Property Firms Are Making the Shift

The benefits of remote hiring include:

• Access to broader talent pools — beyond your immediate geography
  
• Faster onboarding — remote professionals are trained and ready to go
  
• Cost-efficiency — save up to 40% compared to local hires
  
• Staff retention — reduce pressure on in-house teams and avoid burnout
  
• Business continuity — no disruption during holidays, illness, or turnover
  

According to The Letting Partnership, firms using remote admin support reduce internal workloads by up to 32%, leading to improved team wellbeing and client service.

The Seamless Advantage

At Seamless, we provide UK-aligned remote professionals who specialise in the property sector. Our team members:

• Understand UK compliance, lettings, and sales workflows
  
• Integrate directly into your systems and communications
  
• Work full-time in your business — not as freelancers, but as true team members
  
• Are onboarded quickly, with no recruitment fees or long ramp-up
  

We help you build a stable, capable team — even when local hiring becomes impossible.

Final Thought

The talent gap in the UK property industry isn’t going away — but it doesn’t have to stop your growth. By embracing remote support, property firms can fill critical roles, stabilise operations, and stay competitive without the delays and costs of traditional recruitment.

📍 Explore how Seamless helps property companies scale without hiring headaches at goseamless.uk