Before letting out your property, it would be helpful to know the different options available to you as a landlord and their various advantages and disadvantages.
What is a short-term let?
Short-term lets refer to rental agreements that are typically less than six months in duration, this could mean anything from one day, a few weeks or a couple of months. This type of rental agreement is usually popular with people temporary housing, such as travellers, students, or professionals on short-term work assignments.
Advantages:
- Higher rental income, especially in popular locations and in peak seasons.
- Gives you more flexibility to use the property for yourself or for friends and family.
- Typically, short-term lets require less maintenance and attract less damage to the property from tenants decorating.
Disadvantages:
- Can be more costly for landlords to get the property back to re-letting standard in between short-term tenants.
- Less stability since there is no guarantee of occupancy.
- Can be more time-consuming, especially if you choose to manage the property independently. You will need to take time to find new tenants on a regular basis and manage utility bills, council tax and TV licence.
What is a long-term let?
Long-terms lets on the other hand, refer to rental agreements that are typically six months or longer. This type of rental agreement is usually popular with people who are looking for more stable housing.
Advantages:
- Long-term lets provide landlords with a stable rental income over a longer period of time, which can be more predictable and less risky than short-term lets.
- Lower vacancy rates because the property is unlikely to sit empty.
- Require less maintenance, reducing the amount of time and money landlords need to spend on upkeep.
- Landlords have more control over their property since they can set specific terms and conditions in the tenancy agreement.
Disadvantages:
- Offer less flexibility for landlords in terms of when they can rent out their property and for how long
- Long-term lets may limit the amount of rental increases that landlords can impose on tenants, which can impact rental income over time.
- High turnover costs in-between tenancies.
- More wear and tear on the property which can require more frequent repairs and upgrades.
In general, short-term lets are more expensive on a daily or weekly basis, but less expensive overall compared to long-term lets. Short-term lets are also more flexible in terms of move-in and move-out dates, while long-term lets usually require a fixed lease term and may have stricter requirements for ending the lease early.
If you need help choosing which letting option is right for you and your property, speak with our expert team who can help find the right option to match your requirements. Call today on 01223 352 225 or send an email to cambridge@belvoir.co.uk.
