If you run an estate agency in the UK, you already know how much of your monthly budget goes to Rightmove. For many agents, especially smaller independent ones, those fees have quietly become one of the biggest costs in the business. Now, thousands of agents across the country are pushing back, and a major legal case has put Rightmove’s pricing firmly in the spotlight.
If you are an estate agent reading this, what follows probably is not news to you. You are living it every month. But we wanted to write this post because we think it is important to be clear about where we stand as an online marketing company, and because we want our wider client base to understand the real impact Rightmove’s pricing decisions are having on local estate agents across the country.
We are not neutral on this. We work with small and family-run businesses every day, and we believe local estate agents are a valuable part of local communities. When a dominant platform makes choices that push independent agents out of the market, that is bad for agents, bad for the people they serve and bad for the towns and cities they operate in.
What we are seeing in our own enquiries reflects something bigger. Demand from estate agents for independent online marketing has grown significantly over the past year. Agents are investing in their own websites, their local SEO and their digital presence because they want to reduce their dependence on Rightmove and compete on their own terms. That shift is real, and it is accelerating.
In April 2026, a £1.5 billion class action was filed against Rightmove at the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal. The claim is being led by Jeremy Newman, a former panel member at the Competition and Markets Authority, and is funded by litigation specialist Innsworth Capital Limited, supported by law firm Scott+Scott UK LLP.
The claim alleges that Rightmove has abused its dominant position in the UK property portal market by charging estate agents and new home developers excessive and unfair subscription fees. According to the BBC, which broke the story, agents told reporters their costs have more than doubled in recent years, while the services they receive have remained largely unchanged.
Newman said the financial pressure is already affecting how agencies operate. “Estate agents are having to employ fewer people because they can’t afford them alongside their fees to Rightmove,” he told the BBC. “As a result, their services can’t be as effective.”
The claim covers subscription fees paid between 1 April 2020 and 1 April 2026. Because it is an opt-out collective action, any UK-based Rightmove subscriber who paid fees during that period is automatically included in the proposed class. You do not need to do anything to be part of it, though you can register for updates at rightmovefeesclaim.com. A certification hearing at the Competition Appeal Tribunal is scheduled for November 2026 to determine whether the case proceeds as a collective action.
Rightmove’s own figures tell part of the story. According to the company’s published data, 80% of all time spent on UK property portals is spent on Rightmove. The platform’s underlying operating profit margin for 2024 was 70%, according to its annual financial results. That is an extraordinary figure by any measure, and one that puts Rightmove among the most profitable companies in the FTSE 100.
For estate agents, the frustration is that this profitability has come on the back of fees that have risen sharply while the market has been difficult. Flat property prices in many parts of the country, higher mortgage rates and a slower transaction market have squeezed agent revenues, but Rightmove’s subscription costs have continued to climb regardless.
The problem runs deeper than the headline numbers, though. The way Rightmove’s pricing works creates a real unfairness for smaller and regional agencies.
Consider the difference between an agent with five active listings and one with 25. On a property portal, those two businesses are using the service in very different ways and generating very different levels of activity. Yet their subscription costs can be remarkably similar.
The same issue applies geographically. An agency in London where individual properties might be worth hundreds of thousands or even millions of pounds is listing high-value assets that generate meaningful commissions when they sell. An agency in Plymouth, where property values are considerably lower, is paying comparable portal fees but working with much smaller transaction values. The cost burden, relative to revenue, is simply much heavier for smaller regional agents.
Big corporate agencies and national chains can absorb Rightmove’s fees across dozens of branches and large volumes of stock. For a family-run agency with one or two offices, it is a different calculation entirely. Those agents have fewer options and less room to absorb rising costs, which means Rightmove’s fees take up a disproportionate share of their income.
One response to Rightmove’s pricing has been the growth of listing aggregator services. Some companies now offer access to Rightmove, Zoopla and other portals for a flat fee of around £350 per month, operating under a single branch account on Rightmove. For anyone who cannot justify paying Rightmove’s standard agency subscription, this can look like an attractive workaround.
These services are finding a market because they fill a genuine gap. They are a direct response to fee levels that many agents consider unjustifiable, and in that sense, they represent the market pushing back. But they also create a problem for established, independent estate agencies.
A legitimate local agent, with a proper office, local knowledge, professional qualifications and a genuine relationship with their clients, can end up competing for the same listings against aggregator-listed operators who are paying a fraction of the portal costs. It is not a level playing field, and it makes life harder for the honest, committed agents who are the backbone of local property markets.
The legal action against Rightmove is not a quick fix. Cases of this nature typically take several years to reach a conclusion, and there is no guarantee of a particular outcome. The claim may settle before it reaches trial, which could mean compensation becomes available sooner. The important thing to know is that if you paid Rightmove subscription fees between April 2020 and April 2026, you are already part of the proposed class. You do not need to opt in.
In the meantime, the pressure on independent agencies to compete effectively and control costs is very real. One area where smaller agents can really differentiate themselves is through having a strong, professional online presence of their own. A well-built estate agent website that ranks well in search, showcases your local expertise and makes it easy for buyers and sellers to contact you is something no portal can replicate.
At b:web, we build websites specifically for independent estate agents who want to stand out from the competition. We understand the pressures you are working under, and we build websites that work hard for your business. If you would like to talk about what a new website could do for your agency, get in touch with our team.
