Example analysis, Rent-to-SA
Lomax Street, Ancoats: rent-to-SA that clears the rent
A two bed Ancoats apartment listed to let at £1,400 a month, modelled as serviced accommodation with Manchester's measured short-let data: the lease arithmetic, nightly rates and occupancy with their percentiles, ten named comparables with a year of real performance each, the itemised running costs, and the margin left after the rent is paid.
2 bedroom · Apartment · M1 2GD
The lease you would be signing
The landlord's advertised rent is £1,400 a month (£323 a week: £1,400 × 12 ÷ 52 = £323.08). The deposit is £1,673, which is 5.2 weeks of rent. Our own market rent estimate for this flat as a standard let is £1,395 a month, so the asking rent sits at market.
In a rent-to-SA deal this rent is a cost, not income: you lease the property, furnish it, and let it by the night. There is no purchase, no mortgage and no refurbishment budget in this model, which is why this example carries no valuation or works section. The deal lives or dies on whether the nightly income clears the rent and the running costs.
What the market says it earns by night
Modelled at £230 a night and 50% occupancy: £3,548 a month gross before costs. The rates, occupancy and comparables below are measured short-let performance data (source: AirROI, fetched 2026-09-13), not projections.
| Measured in this area | P25 | Median | P75 | P90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nightly rate | £173 | £217 | £270 | £336 |
| Occupancy | 35% | 49% | 65% | 76% |
| Annual revenue | £25,995 | £38,798 | £53,626 | £70,687 |
Modelled revenue by month, seasonality included:
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £2,816 | £2,536 | £3,050 | £3,211 | £3,411 | £3,796 | £4,344 | £3,672 | £3,576 | £4,106 | £3,856 | £4,201 |
The short-let comparables, named
10 live short-let listings near this property, with their trailing twelve month performance. This is what actual operators achieved, spread and all.
| Listing | Distance | Beds | 12mo revenue | Occupancy | Avg rate | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester Spacious 2 Bed | Balcony & Parking | 0 mi | 2 | £37,428 | 44% | £201 | 58 | 4.98 |
| Modern and Sleek 2 Bed Flat in Central Manchester | 0 mi | 2 | £38,408 | 60% | £136 | 25 | 4.68 |
| Stunning 2 Bedroom Apartment in Central Manchester | 0 mi | 2 | £21,689 | 36% | £127 | 24 | 4.83 |
| Stylish 2 Bed 2 Bath in Central Manchester | 0 mi | 2 | £33,534 | 50% | £164 | 22 | 4.91 |
| 2 BR Apt in Lomax Street Central Manchester | 0 mi | 2 | £32,296 | 48% | £140 | 16 | 4.56 |
| Modern 2BR Flat with Balcony in Central Manchester | 0 mi | 2 | £26,877 | 41% | £150 | 14 | 4.36 |
| Luxury 2BR I Private Balcony I City Centre | 0 mi | 2 | £35,941 | 56% | £149 | 26 | 4.65 |
| Wonderful 2BED Apartment in Central Manchester | 0.1 mi | 2 | £12,298 | 17% | £150 | 7 | 3.86 |
| Cosy 2-Beds 2-Bath in Manchester | 0.1 mi | 2 | £40,914 | 74% | £116 | 52 | 4.62 |
| Stunning characterful flat. | 0.1 mi | 2 | £14,621 | 34% | £110 | 17 | 4.65 |
The running costs, itemised
£3,548 gross becomes £2,531 after the operating costs below, before the rent to the landlord.
- Utilities£150/mo
- Internet£40/mo
- Short-let insurance£67/mo
- Accounting£25/mo
- Consumables£50/mo
- Maintenance£71/mo
- Platform fees£106/mo
- Cleaning£425/mo
- Laundry£40/mo
- Channel manager£20/mo
- Dynamic pricing£15/mo
- Smart lock£8/mo
Cash to open: £1,673 deposit plus £4,870 of furnishing and setup, £6,543 in total, at risk before the first booking.
Does it clear the rent?
£2,531 net short-let income against £1,400 rent to the landlord leaves £1,131 a month (£13,572 a year). At that rate the £6,543 deployed comes back in about 6 months. Occupancy is the lever: at £230 a night, one percentage point of occupancy is worth about £70 a month gross here, and the comparables above actually ran between 17% and 74% over the last year. The model assumes 50%.
What the model cannot decide for you: the landlord must consent to subletting, which many build-to-rent blocks refuse, and the occupancy you actually achieve depends on how well the unit is run. The comparables table above shows the honest spread between a well-reviewed operator and a struggling one in the same postcode.
A real analysis from our own account, published unedited on 13 September 2026. Method: how every figure is produced.