Property Management Pricing Models Compared: What You Actually Pay

Property management firms in India price the same job three different ways, and the model matters more than the headline number. One charges a slice of every month's rent. One charges a multiple of the rent per tenancy cycle. One charges a flat yearly fee. Each model earns the firm money in a different way, and each pulls the firm's attention toward a different goal. This page compares the three with real, sourced examples, then explains the incentive each one creates for you as the owner. Every price links to its source.

Disclosure: 66 MG Road wrote this page. We use one of the models below. We named it and priced it the same way we described the others, with links so you can check.

How to read this comparison

Three questions cut through the brochures:

  1. What triggers the fee? Rent received, a tenant placed, or a year on the calendar. The trigger tells you what the firm is paid to make happen.
  2. What incentive does it create? Every model rewards one behaviour and ignores another. Find the behaviour before you sign.
  3. How is repair and vendor work billed on top? The management fee is rarely the whole bill. Vendor work is where margin hides.

Model one: percentage of monthly rent

The firm takes a fixed slice of the rent each month. NoBroker's property management service is the clearest published example: its launch announcement states a fee of "8 per cent of the monthly rent," and NoBroker bundles a rental guarantee under which it pays the owner even if the flat sits empty for a month or two between tenants. On a Rs 50,000 rent, 8% is Rs 4,000 a month, or Rs 48,000 a year.

The incentive it creates: the firm earns only while the flat is let and the rent is high, so it is pulled toward keeping the unit occupied and pushing rent up at renewal. That aligns with you on occupancy. It can misalign on churn, because a re-let often carries fresh charges, and on repairs, because the percentage rewards rent collected, not upkeep done. Ask how vendor work is billed before you read the percentage as the full cost.

Model two: tenancy-cycle fee

The firm charges a multiple of one month's rent each time it places or renews a tenant, not a monthly slice. Housewise publishes the clearest version. Its end-to-end management fee is 1.25 times one month's rent plus GST: Rs 5,000 plus GST is paid upfront and the balance falls due after the tenant moves in. Renewal with the same tenant costs 0.5 times a month's rent plus GST for the next year. If a new tenant is found mid-term, the owner pays 0.75 times a month's rent, the gap between the placement fee and the renewal fee. Housewise states these payments are non-refundable and that it finds a replacement tenant at its own cost.

The incentive it creates: the firm earns at placement and renewal, so it is pulled toward filling the unit fast and keeping the tenant long enough to renew. A long, stable tenancy is cheap for you under this model, because you pay the small renewal fee, not the full placement fee, each year. The watch-point is the opposite of model one: the firm has less standing income between placements, so confirm how ongoing management and repairs are handled once the tenant is in.

Model three: flat annual retainer

The firm charges one yearly fee for end-to-end management, regardless of the rent. PropTech Solutions states the model in its own words: "we don't work on a commission basis but on a retainer (yearly fee) basis." The retainer covers inspection, maintenance, tenant finding and verification, rent collection, advertising and document management, with monthly reports. PropTech Solutions does not publish the amount of the retainer, so you learn the figure after a call.

The incentive it creates: the fee does not rise with your rent, so the firm has no reason to churn tenants or inflate rent to grow its own income. That removes the model-one conflict. The watch-point is effort: a flat fee can reward doing less for the same money, so the report cadence and the proof-of-work standard matter more here than in either other model. And a retainer you cannot see before signing is hard to compare.

66 MG Road

Site: https://66mgroad.com/

We hold ourselves to the same test. 66 MG Road takes no commission on rent. Full management starts at 5% of monthly rent with a minimum of Rs 2,500 per property per month, and tenancy work starts from one month's rent, all published at /pricing. The part that sits outside the model above: vendor and repair work is billed at actuals with receipts, every rupee is a line item on an itemized bill, dated photo and video proof accompanies every job, and any spend above a set floor needs your approval before money moves. We charge for management, not for marking up repairs, because the repair mark-up is where most owners lose money they never see.

What we do not have: the client counts the older firms publish, or a testimonial wall. Our manifesto bars invented statistics, so those stay empty until real data exists. If you want a flat fee, PropTech Solutions publishes that model. If you want the clearest tenancy-cycle price in the market, that is Housewise. If you want vendor billing you can audit, that is us.

Comparison table

Model Real example What triggers the fee Published price The incentive to watch
Percentage of monthly rent NoBroker Rent received each month 8% of monthly rent, with rental guarantee Rewards occupancy and high rent; check repair billing
Tenancy-cycle fee Housewise Tenant placed or renewed 1.25x month's rent + GST; renewal 0.5x + GST Rewards fast placement and long tenancies; check ongoing service
Flat annual retainer PropTech Solutions One year on the calendar Retainer stated, amount not published No churn incentive; check effort and report cadence
No rent commission + actuals 66 MG Road Management fee, vendor at cost From 5% of rent, min Rs 2,500/mo; vendor at actuals Removes repair mark-up; verify the floor and proof standard

Details reflect each company's public pages as of August 2026. Companies change plans without notice: verify before you decide.

How to choose

Match the model to your situation, then ask five questions in writing. If your flat turns over often, a tenancy-cycle fee can cost more than a percentage. If it holds a stable long-term tenant, the tenancy-cycle renewal fee is cheap and the percentage keeps billing. If you want a predictable number, a retainer wins, once you see it. Whatever the model, ask: how is vendor work billed, what is the mark-up, what proof of work do I get, what needs my approval, and what does exit cost. The mechanics sit in what NRI property management costs, and the firms themselves are in the best NRI property management companies pillar.

FAQ

Which pricing model is cheapest for an NRI? It depends on turnover. A percentage of rent like NoBroker's 8% keeps billing every month the flat is let. A tenancy-cycle fee like Housewise's 1.25 times rent costs more at placement but drops to 0.5 times at renewal, so a long tenancy is cheap. A flat retainer is predictable but often unpublished. Run your own occupancy through each before deciding.

What is a tenancy-cycle fee? A charge tied to placing or renewing a tenant, not to the rent each month. Housewise's published example is 1.25 times one month's rent plus GST to place a tenant, and 0.5 times plus GST to renew the same tenant for another year.

Is a percentage-of-rent model bad? No. It aligns the firm with keeping your flat occupied. The conflict to watch is churn and repair billing: the percentage rewards rent collected, not upkeep, so ask how vendor work is charged on top.

Does a flat retainer save money? Sometimes. A retainer removes the incentive to churn tenants or inflate rent, because the fee does not move with your rent. The trade is effort: a flat fee can reward doing less, so the report cadence and proof-of-work standard matter more. And ask for the figure before you sign, since firms like PropTech Solutions state the model but not the amount.

Where does the real cost hide? In vendor and repair billing, not the management fee. A low headline fee with a marked-up repair bill can cost more than a higher fee with vendor work at actuals. Ask for a sample monthly statement with receipts.

How does 66 MG Road price? No commission on rent. Full management from 5% of monthly rent, minimum Rs 2,500 per property per month, with vendor work billed at actuals and receipts on every line. Rates are at /pricing.

Want a model with no repair mark-up? 66 MG Road bills vendor work at actuals, every rupee a line item. See pricing.

Saurabh Garg, founder, 66 MG Road

Sources