Letting agency Bramley’s has surveyed landlords to produce a league table of their biggest bugbears. Renting out a property can be the perfect investment and provide a good source of income, but it comes with its potential for a great deal of stress. I thought it would be helpful to go through some of these and talk about how to minimise these stressors on your landlord journey.
1.Not showing up for viewing – More often than not, landlords will have a full-time job and work around a schedule to fit time in for property viewings. So, when they get a ‘no-show’, they will have wasted valuable time that could have been spent with family and friends or simply time to relax after a hard day’s work.
Belvoir will do all viewings for you at a time that is suitable for the viewers so you don’t have to waste your precious time
2. Rent arrears / no payment – When and how much a tenant pays should be outlined and explained in the signed tenancy agreement. If you are a private landlord and your tenants are late with the rent you can begin getting the rent yourself, but you must do so legally. Firstly, contact the tenant followed by any guarantor to find out if this was a technical issue or genuinely a mistake. If you still can’t resolve payment, you can serve a Section 8 notice informing the tenant that if they don’t pay within a further 14 days from this written communication, you intend to take them to court. You can find out more over at GOV.UK.
As a landlord to find that you’re missing payments can cause a lot of stress and worry, especially if the rent is your only source of income At Belvoir we take care of all of this for you so you do not have to stress or spend any time contacting tenants of the courts. We highly recommend taking out rent guarantees which protects your income should the tenant fail to pay. Read our section on this vital income protector – Rent Guarantee – Northwich (belvoir.co.uk)
3. Properties left a mess when moving out – When you rent out your property to a tenant it effectively becomes their home for the duration, meaning they’re entitled to live how they choose to. However, when returning the property, you expect to receive it in the same condition as when you let it out (minus wear and tear). Sometimes, this is not the case, and landlords are left to fix the mess.
Dealing with messy tenants can be an excruciating experience; that is why you should conduct regular inspections to minimise the repairs and works at the end of the tenancy. We would also recommend using the tenant’s deposit to pay for cleaning services. Cleaning charges are a common reason for deposit deductions, and covering those costs is precisely what the deposit is designed for.
This can both be very time consuming and stressful which is a great reason to have your property managed for you. Here at Belvoir to minimise this issue and support tenants to keep the property as it should. We conduct a thorough inventory before move on, regular inspections throughout the tenancy and the vital checkout at the end of the tenancy. We ensure that we work with you to ensure the property is initially well presented to encourage the tenant to maintain this standard for us to monitor throughout the tenancy. This process is a vital part of property management and should be done with care and attention, which is why as a lettings specialist we can confidently say these are conducted by our experienced team who have great attention to details to protect both tenant and the landlord.
4. Not attending to the garden – Garden maintenance is one of the most common cause of disputes between a tenant and landlord. Tenants often assume it’s up to the landlord to take care of gardens and landlords expect the tenant to do the work. But, who’s right? We recommend landlords clarify all garden maintenance responsibilities in the tenancy agreement and make sure this is highlighted before signing. Tenants are expected to abide by whatever is in their tenancy agreement, so if it’s not included in there, it will be left down to you, the landlord.
At Belvoir we take care to assure our tenancy agreements are extremely clear and contain clauses specifically detailing the expected maintenance of all outside areas including ground and gardens. Tenancy’s are made very aware what is their responsibility. We thoroughly inspect and report on all these areas during inventory, periodical inspections and checkout. The outside areas may not be used all year round but they can still suffer damage and wear and tear, so need to be checked and maintained throughout. We are keen to support out tenants to ensure they know what is required so will communicate any needs with them and offer advice where appropriate.
Here is an example of a part of one of our property inspections “Patio area is clean and free from weeds. Loose slate is in good condition and free from weeds. Borders are very well maintained and must be maintained throughout tenancy. Grassed area is just about ready to be cut if the tenant could do this and maintained throughout tenancy the patch in the middle should grow back if not I would suggest a little seeding. Shrubs are in very well maintained condition the tenant must look after these during tenancy.”
Other bugbears highlighted included not ventilating the property properly, resulting in mould and dampness, decorating without giving notice or asking for permission, reporting repairs but not allowing access to contractors, tenants performing poor repair jobs and complaints from neighbours. All of which Belvoir minimise through high quality property management and maintaining good relationships with our tenants. We are -as one of our most recent reviews stated “about people as well as property”.
So Landlords please don’t overlook the prospect of using a property management specialist. The assistance of a professional could be hugely beneficial to support you with managing point of contact for tenants, ensuring that rent is paid on time, providing regular inspections, dealing with legal problems and you will often find less chance of tenant turnover. Make tenant retention a priority this year.
Call us today to discuss putting together the perfect Landlord Package for you 01606 783599.
