The best property auction houses for UK landlords in 2026

The best property auction house for a landlord depends on which side of the room you are on and where the property is. For buying investment stock, Allsop and SDL Property Auctions list the most lots nationally, Auction House UK offers the widest regional spread through its franchise network, and Bond Wolfe, Barnard Marcus, Clive Emson, Pugh and McHugh dominate their regions; for selling a rental with certainty and speed, a traditional auctioneer exchanges on the fall of the hammer and completes in 28 days, while iamsold's modern method widens the buyer pool to mortgage buyers at the cost of a 4.2% buyer fee and a 56-day completion. Savills leads the September 2026 UncommonDeal Auction House Performance Index on 100 points, followed by Allsop on 94, SDL on 88, Auction House UK on 86 and Barnard Marcus on 82. This guide compares ten auctioneers on fees, format, regional strength and stock, with fees as published on 5 September 2026.

How to bid, what the legal pack contains and how pre-auction offers work are in our guide to buying property at auction; this article is about choosing the room. A property auction is defined in our dictionary.

Which auctioneer suits which landlord

How auction fees work

A buyer at a traditional UK property auction pays the hammer price plus a buyer's premium of about 1.2% to 1.5% (minimum £1,500 at the majors), an administration fee of £900 to £1,200, and 10% of the price as a deposit on the day, with the balance and SDLT within 28 days; the SDLT return is due within 14 days of completion (gov.uk). A seller pays commission of 2% to 4% plus VAT, typically with a £2,000 to £2,500 minimum, and an entry fee of £250 to £300. Under the modern method, the buyer pays a reservation fee of about 4.2% including VAT (minimum £6,000) instead of a premium, the seller pays no auctioneer commission but usually pays an estate agent 1% to 1.5%, and completion runs to 56 days. Compare the all-in cost per property, not the headline premium: a 1.2% premium with a £1,200 admin fee costs more on a £150,000 lot than a 1.5% premium with a £900 fee.

What we compared

We assessed each auctioneer on buyer's premium and admin fee, seller commission and entry fee, format, sale frequency, regional strength, typical stock, and its score on the UncommonDeal index where published. We did not rank on success rate alone, because a high success rate can mean low reserves.

The ten auctioneers compared

Fees as published on 5 September 2026 from auctioneer sites and a comparison dated 25 May 2026; several auctioneers publish fees per lot rather than a rate card, and the table says so. Confirm the fee sheet in the legal pack before you bid.

August's property insights show the EPC rating, council tax band and estimated value for any address, which is the five-minute check to run on every lot before you spend money on a survey.

1. Allsop: best for volume and portfolio buyers

Allsop is the largest UK property auctioneer by lot volume, running bi-monthly residential and commercial sales of 200 to 400 lots with the deepest buyer pool in the market and a strong London and South East book. Buyers pay a 1.2% premium with a £1,500 minimum and a £1,200 admin fee; sellers pay 2% to 3%. It is the first catalogue a portfolio landlord should read and the first room to sell a portfolio through. It is less competitive for sub-£100,000 regional residential lots.

2. Savills Auctions: best for prime and unusual lots

Savills runs lower-frequency traditional auctions with a bias to prime residential, probate, country property and land, and tops the September 2026 performance index. Buyers pay a 1.5% premium; sellers pay 2.5% to 4%. It is the room for a property above £750,000 or an unusual asset, not for typical investor stock.

3. SDL Property Auctions: best for residential investment stock

SDL sold more residential properties by auction than any other house in England and Wales in the year to January 2024 and scores 88 on the 2026 index. It runs monthly national online-led sales with a heavy weighting to tenanted and investor residential lots, and publishes fees per lot. It is the catalogue most likely to contain a two-bed terrace with a tenant in place.

4. Auction House UK: best for regional variety

Auction House UK operates about 50 regional branches, each a franchise, selling around 6,000 lots a year in both traditional and modern formats. Buyers pay 1.5% with a £1,500 minimum and about £900 admin; sellers pay 2.5% with a £2,000 minimum and a £295 entry fee. It lists more varied stock than any single specialist, and quality varies by branch, so check the local branch's results on similar properties.

5. Barnard Marcus: best for London residential

Barnard Marcus runs regular London sales with a residential bias and scores 82 on the 2026 index. It suits a landlord buying or selling flats and houses in the capital who wants a room smaller than Allsop's.

6. Bond Wolfe: best for Midlands HMOs and portfolios

Bond Wolfe holds bi-monthly traditional auctions of about 150 lots and dominates Birmingham, Wolverhampton and the Black Country, with strong residential portfolio, HMO and commercial stock. Buyers pay 1.2% with a £1,500 minimum and a £1,200 admin fee; sellers pay 2.5% with a £2,500 minimum. It has limited London presence.

7. Clive Emson: best for the South and East

Clive Emson covers Kent, Sussex, Essex, Hampshire and the West Country with regular traditional sales and sits in the 2026 index top ten. It is the regional room for a landlord south of London.

8. Pugh: best for the North

Pugh runs online-led traditional auctions across the North of England with residential, commercial and land lots. It is the northern equivalent of Bond Wolfe.

9. McHugh & Co: best for London residential volume

McHugh & Co was the third-largest auctioneer by residential lots sold in the year to January 2024, with a London and Home Counties residential book and regular sales. It is a strong alternative to Barnard Marcus for London stock.

10. iamsold: best for sellers who want mortgage buyers

iamsold is the largest modern method of auction operator, online only, listing through partner estate agents. Buyers pay a reservation fee of 4.2% including VAT with a £6,000 minimum and complete in 56 days, which lets mortgage buyers bid; sellers pay no auctioneer commission but usually an agent fee. Because the buyer fee is the highest in the market it can suppress hammer prices, and the fall-through rate of about 12% is higher than the 3% typical of traditional auction. It suits a landlord selling a move-in-ready property who wants a wider pool than the investor room.

Traditional or modern method

A traditional auction exchanges contracts the moment the hammer falls, takes a 10% deposit on the day and completes in 28 days, which is why most winning bidders fund the 28 days with a bridge; see the best bridging loan lenders for landlords. The modern method takes a reservation fee, gives the buyer 56 days to exchange and complete, and admits mortgage buyers, at the cost of a higher buyer fee and a higher fall-through rate. For buying investor stock, use traditional rooms. For selling a property that an owner-occupier would want, consider the modern method; for selling a tenanted or refurbishment property, traditional.

Buying at auction: what the fees do to your maximum bid

On a £150,000 lot at Allsop, the buyer's premium is £1,800, the admin fee £1,200, SDLT with the 5% surcharge about £9,500, legal pack review and conveyancing £1,500, and a nine-month bridge roughly £15,000 all in, so the property costs about £179,000 before a pound of refurbishment. Check the surcharge on the stamp duty calculator and the yield on the buy-to-let investment calculator before you set a maximum bid, and set the bid before the room opens. Instruct a conveyancer who reviews legal packs before the sale; see the best conveyancers for buy-to-let landlords. Tenanted lots transfer the tenancy with the property; see buying with tenants in situ. Vacant possession is worth a premium at auction, on both sides.

From working with landlords who buy at auction, the mistake we see most is treating the guide price as the price: the guide is set to draw bids and the reserve usually sits at or above it. Auctions are one of five sourcing channels compared in how to source property deals, and a portfolio landlord's sourcing channel of choice; see our page for portfolio landlords.

Selling a rental at auction

Selling at auction suits a landlord who wants certainty and speed over the last few per cent of price: a tenanted property, a property needing work, a probate sale, or a portfolio disposal. Whether to sell at all, and whether tenanted or vacant, is covered in selling a rental property and portfolio disposals in selling a property portfolio. Choose the room by region and stock, agree the reserve before the catalogue is printed, and have the legal pack complete three weeks before the sale; an incomplete pack costs bids.

How to verify an auctioneer

Check that the firm is regulated by RICS, that it belongs to a redress scheme such as The Property Ombudsman, that it is a member of the National Association of Valuers and Auctioneers, and that the trading entity on Companies House matches the one in the contract. Property auctioneering is more lightly regulated than estate agency, so those four checks are the whole of the protection.

After completion

The certificates in the legal pack become your compliance record from completion day, August's smart reminders takes their expiry dates and reminds you before each lapses.

Frequently asked questions

Which is the best property auction house in the UK?

Savills leads the September 2026 UncommonDeal index, Allsop lists the most lots and has the deepest buyer pool, and SDL sells the most residential lots. For a landlord, the best house is the one with the most stock in your region: Bond Wolfe in the Midlands, Barnard Marcus or McHugh in London, Clive Emson in the South, Pugh in the North.

What fees do you pay when buying at auction?

A buyer's premium of 1.2% to 1.5% with a £1,500 minimum, an admin fee of £900 to £1,200, and a 10% deposit on the day, plus SDLT and your own legal costs. Under the modern method, a 4.2% reservation fee replaces the premium.

How much does it cost to sell at auction?

Commission of 2% to 4% plus VAT with a £2,000 to £2,500 minimum, plus an entry fee of £250 to £300, at the traditional houses. iamsold charges the seller nothing directly but the estate agent typically charges 1% to 1.5%.

Do I need August to buy at auction?

No. You need a maximum bid, finance in place and a reviewed legal pack. August gives you the EPC, council tax band and value estimate for any lot in seconds and turns the certificates into a compliance calendar on completion. You can start for free.

This article is general information, not financial or legal advice. Auctioneer fees change; confirm the fee sheet in each legal pack before bidding.