A co-operative membership giving Nottingham landlords direct access to full-time, salaried tradespeople — at wholesale labour rates, with no managing agent markup.
The problem
Landlords now face strict timelines on maintenance and void turnarounds. Contractors know it — and they're pricing accordingly.
A self-employed tradesperson can never guarantee a full day's work. A 2-hour job leaves 6 hours potentially unfilled. Those empty hours get priced into your invoice — you pay for more than the work itself.
Most agents add a 10–12% maintenance markup on top of already-inflated contractor invoices. You pay twice for the privilege of not choosing your own trades.
Even when you can afford retail, finding consistent, trustworthy multi-trade contractors in Nottingham is a recurring headache for landlords of every portfolio size.
About us
LandlordTrades was founded by a private landlord with a mid-sized portfolio concentrated across Nottingham. With an annual maintenance, compliance, and redecoration bill exceeding £50,000, the problem was impossible to ignore: the system is structurally designed to extract money from landlords at every step.
Retail contractors charge a premium because a self-employed tradesperson can never guarantee a full day's work. A 2-hour job leaves 6 hours of the day potentially unfilled — and those empty hours have to be covered somehow. The result is an hourly rate that prices in downtime, availability risk, and the cost of running a sole-trader business. You pay for more than the hours worked. Managing agents then add their own markup on top. And with the Renters' Rights Act now in full effect, landlords no longer have the luxury of waiting weeks for a competitive quote — which means contractors can charge whatever the market will bear.
The root cause is simple: Nottingham has thousands of private rental properties — but every landlord operates in isolation. Each one books their own trades, pays retail rates, and absorbs the inefficiency alone. There is no collective purchasing power, no shared infrastructure, and no alternative to the retail market.
We exist to change that. By pooling demand across a vetted group of Nottingham landlords, we can justify hiring full-time, salaried tradespeople — and pass the structural cost saving directly to members at a transparent wholesale rate. We are launching in Nottingham first, with other East Midlands cities to follow once our model is proven.
Nottingham has over 30,000 private rental properties. Each landlord pays retail. None of them have to.
When landlords pool their maintenance demand under a single employer, the maths changes entirely: full-time salaried trades become economically viable, and the cost of that employment is shared — not borne by any single portfolio.
This only works if the membership base is large enough to keep the team fully utilised, and disciplined enough to maintain service quality. That's why we operate with two deliberate constraints:
LandlordTrades was built on a simple belief: good maintenance shouldn't come at the expense of anyone in the chain. Our tradespeople get stable, salaried employment and the security of knowing where they're working next week. Our landlord members get reliable trades at a fraction of retail cost. And tenants — often the forgotten party in the maintenance equation — get faster repairs, better finishes, and a home that's properly looked after. When the model works, everyone wins. That's not an accident — it's the point.
How it works
Rather than hiring full-time employees individually — too expensive for most landlords with less than 100 rental units — we pool the cost of full-time, salaried tradespeople across a small group of vetted local landlords.
Pay a flat monthly subscription per property in your portfolio. This covers our overhead: admin, vehicles, scheduling software, and your guaranteed priority status.
When you have maintenance, compliance work, or a void to refresh, book directly through our system. No middlemen. No inflated quotes. Just our in-house team dispatched to your property.
Any materials required for your job are billed at our purchase cost — trade pricing, passed straight to you. We don't mark up materials. We never will.
Transparent pricing
No hidden fees. No bundled hours you didn't need. No emergency call-out insurance you're paying for but can't use on redecorations.
Our trades
We're transparent about our current capability. We launch with the two trades that cover the majority of lettings maintenance work, and expand the team as membership grows.
Why it works
Our tradespeople are salaried employees, not freelancers fitting you in between other clients. They show up when scheduled. Every time.
Labour rates are reviewed annually in line with CPI — no surprise increases, no surge pricing. Founding members also benefit from 20% off the subscription fee for their first 3 years.
Our team covers insulated plasterboard, EPC-related works, and routine compliance — exactly the jobs that eat a landlord's budget without adding visible value.
This service was designed to solve our founder's own £50,000/year maintenance bill across a Nottingham portfolio. We know exactly what Nottingham landlords need — because we are one.
Membership is intentionally limited to a small cohort of landlords. This keeps work volumes stable, team utilisation high, and rates low for everyone.
You book directly. No intermediary, no percentage cut, no inflated invoice passing through three sets of hands before reaching your accountant.
Who it's for
Membership is not for everyone. It works best for landlords with the following profile:
Founding membership
We're accepting founding members in Nottingham now. The first 100 properties enrolled pay £20/month per property for 3 years — a 20% saving on the standard rate. Once 100 properties are enrolled, this offer closes.
Fill in the short form and we'll be in touch within 48 hours to discuss whether LandlordTrades is the right fit for your portfolio.
No commitment required. We'll review your application and be in touch within 48 hours.
Thanks for your interest in LandlordTrades. We'll review your application and be in touch within 48 hours to discuss next steps.