How quickly will you start receiving rent?

When you first buy a rental property, you need to factor in that you won’t get the keys and instantly start receiving rent (unless you buy with tenants in-situ).

It is likely that you’ll first need to undertake some maintenance or refurbishment to the property. You will also need time to advertise the property, conduct viewings, reference the chosen tenants and complete all of the relevant paperwork and safety checks before finally moving them in and starting to receive some return on your investment.

Being pro-active can help to minimise this initial void period. I try to advertise the property as soon as I am allowed to by the seller, have confirmed the ‘earliest move-in date’ and can take representative photographs that show the property off well. 

Ideally you would conduct viewings at this stage too i.e. between exchange and completion. If that’s not possible, marketing it early still enables you to take prospective tenants names, numbers and details so that once you are in a position to conduct viewings you have a shortlist of interested parties ready to go on day one.

Letting agents or landlords with multiple properties may also have a head-start as they will often have tenants on a waiting list or who ‘missed out’ on a previous property but may find yours of interest.

It is also important to advertise the property at the correct rental price. You may even consider offering the property below the ‘going rate’ so as to attract more interest, rent the property quicker and thus minimise your initial void period on your first let (when the property is earning you nothing). 

Ideally the first batch of viewings will lead to suitable tenants who wish to rent the property. The next issue then becomes when they can move-in. It’s unusual for someone to be able to move-in immediately, as they will typically have a notice period to honour with their current landlord.

Property type can play a part here - smaller properties may be filled quicker as the tenants are naturally of a more transient nature, whereas larger family homes often come with tenants that have more commitments (and stuff to pack!) before they can move.

 In normal circumstances, if a property is advertised and a tenant is not found within a couple of weeks (not necessarily moved in, but scheduled to do so)  then I would say something is wrong - normally the price, property or marketing. One key proviso for a landlord is that the objective should always be to get the best tenants possible, not necessarily the first ones that come along. 

If you are buying a rental property and would like someone to help you find the right tenants as quickly as possible, please get in touch.

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Avoid having your house ‘stolen’

Scammers are getting increasingly sophisticated and property is an area they target due to the high transactional values. You may be aware of ‘phishing’ attacks, whereby fraudsters impersonate your solicitor to try and intercept the transfer of funds into their own pockets, but have you heard about the tricksters who attempt to impersonate you so as to steal your property!?

The theft occurs with the criminal impersonating the owner of a property so that they can then sell or re-mortgage it. Buy-to-let properties without a mortgage are a prime target here, as the owner won’t live at the property and there isn’t a mortgage company double-checking things or receiving any of the sale proceeds.

As title deeds are a publicly available document (they cost £7 to download online), it is very easy for anyone to get the name of the owner of a property. The title deed will also show whether there is a ‘charge’ against the property i.e. a mortgage. With this information the fraudster, who often first poses as a tenant, will simply change their name by deed poll to match the property owner’s name. Now living at the property with the same name as the true owner, it becomes very easy to build up identification documents and paperwork that would see that person passed off as the ‘owner’.

That’s exactly what happened to a property in Luton in 2021, with a fraudulent tenant selling the property without the landlord even knowing! Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident, with the Land Registry paying out millions in compensation each year due to fraudulent transactions. Another case saw a previously unencumbered property in London become subject to a £1.2million bridging loan, which was paid out to a mother and daughter who had changed their name to match the registered owners.

Fortunately, there is a solution to this; which is to enter a restriction on your title deed. This will then state that any application to change the register must be accompanied by a solicitor’s certificate verifying your identity as that of the legal owner. This can cause a slight delay when you actually want to sell or mortgage your own property, but that’s surely better than falling victim to this crime.

Another option is to sign up to the Land Registry’s free property monitoring service. You’ll receive an email if an application is made to change the register; so, whilst it won’t prevent changes being made, at least you’ll know straight away so you can take prompt action.

As ever, prevention is better than cure. So, whilst the above is rare, it pays to be aware of such matters so you can put measures in place to ensure you are protected. Thorough tenant referencing will also put off any chancers with such misdeeds in mind, as they will seek an easier target if asked too many questions. 

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Chichester named least affordable area outside London

Homes for first-time buyers in Chichester have been labelled the least affordable outside of London, according to data from Nationwide. The average home in the city costs 8.5 times the annual earnings of the typical local full-time worker.

A “modest improvement” in affordability across the UK was noted using the data, as wage increases had outpaced house price growth in the past 12 months, whilst mortgage rates had also come down slightly.

Nevertheless, affordability remains stretched by historical standings, with first-time buyers across the country typically faced with paying around five times their earnings for a home, compared to a long-run average of around four times.

The least affordable area in the UK was Kensington and Chelsea in London, where first-time buyers have to pay an average of 13.6 times earnings. On the other end of the scale, Aberdeen was the most affordable area to buy, with homes costing an average of 2.5 times local salaries.

Rising rents have made it especially difficult to save the necessary deposit to buy a home. It is thought that 40% of first-time buyers have some assistance in raising a deposit; either from an inheritance or a gift/loan from family. 

Further research by The Telegraph noted Chichester and Bognor Regis (as a combined area) as being the least affordable place in Sussex to live and work, when factoring in that 33.1% of a person’s income is spent on food, household bills and commuting costs.

The unaffordability of homes does not just affect youngsters of course. Older people who bought later in life can struggle to pay their mortgage before retirement. Then there are those who have never gotten on the ladder and need to keep a roof over their head when retired.

Despite these affordability challenges, house prices and mortgage market activity were resilient in 2024. House prices ended the year up by 4.7%, whilst mortgage approvals returned to pre-pandemic levels (despite average mortgage rates being around three times higher). 

Given all of the above, it is amazing to note that first-time buyers share of mortgages was higher in 2024 (54%) than before the pandemic in 2019 (51%); further reflecting a drop in landlords purchasing new rental properties.

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Five tips to avoid ‘slum landlords’

Despite mainstream perception, the majority of rental properties are let by landlords who wish to provide safe and pleasant accommodation to their tenants, in exchange for receiving a fair rent. Unfortunately, like in any industry, there are rogues that don’t follow this convention and instead treat their tenants (and property) poorly. Here are five tips for tenants to try to sniff out and avoid these so-called ‘slum landlords’. 

1. Check the basics are in place

All rental properties should have an Energy Performance Certificate, Gas Safety Certificate (if there is gas at the property) and an Electrical Installation Condition Report. These three documents ensure the property is suitable in regards to energy efficiency and safe in regards to the gas and electrical installations. If a landlord doesn’t have or know about these, they are illegally letting the property and clearly don’t understand even the most basic of their responsibilities.

2. Check the property’s condition

Don’t just rent a property based on photos or an online advert - be sure to see it in the flesh! Feel free to check fixtures and fittings at viewings; I’m used to prospective tenants checking the shower pressure to ensure it’s adequate before they move-in. Whilst sometimes there will be works scheduled to be done to the property between a viewing and your move-in, be wary if there are structural or troublesome-looking damp problems, as these can be harder to resolve and there’s no guarantee it will be done to your satisfaction (or in the case of a real slum landlord, done at all!).

3. Check where your money goes

Letting agents must have Client Money Protection, whereas dealing with a landlord directly does without this safeguard. Most transactions will be done via online banking nowadays, so at least there’s a trail of what has been paid. Cash in hand payments should be avoided for this reason and may also point towards a landlord with something to hide (you should at least insist on a receipt). 

You may wish to do a Land Registry search on the property you intend to rent (it only costs £3) to ensure the named owner of the property matches the person you’re about to hand your money over to. 

Meanwhile you’ll most likely pay a security deposit (typically five week’s rent), for which it has been mandatory since 2007 for the landlord to register it into a government-approved scheme. Ask them which one they use - any that respond they “don’t bother with that” should be avoided.

4. Check what the service will be like

Online reviews are easy to find for letting agents and should give you a good idea of the level of service you’ll receive. Whilst this is more difficult when renting from landlords, a quick ‘Google search’ of their name should throw up anything particularly nefarious.

Consider the property as it is now - if it’s been left to get run down then that is quite possibly how it will be managed after you’ve moved in too. You might also like to ask the current tenants how they’ve found things at the property and with the landlord.

5. If the landlord isn’t worried, you should be

Landlords are likely to be as anxious of renting to a bad tenant as you are of renting from a bad landlord. Any who seem too relaxed and eager to simply get you to sign on the dotted line may not be as friendly as they first appear. 

Legitimate landlords will typically want proof of your earnings via bank statements and ID (to conform with the ‘Right to Rent’; another legal requirement on their part). If a landlord isn’t concerned about this it might also point towards an overly-relaxed attitude when it comes to                                        their basic legal requirements and resolving ad-hoc maintenance issues.

So, whilst most tenants simply consider the property when they are searching for their new home, it is equally as important to consider who you’ll be renting it from. Consider whether you are confident that you can trust and communicate with your landlord or letting agent openly. Hopefully the tips above will go some way to ensuring you don’t get trapped in a property that looks ok on the surface but is run by someone who turns out to be a ‘slum landlord’.

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Five tips to avoid ‘nightmare tenants’

Most tenants simply want to live in peace in a home that they can treat as their own, whilst happily paying the going rate to do so. A very small percentage, however, will set out to either mistreat the property or purposely not pay the rent. Here are five tips to avoid these so-called ‘nightmare tenants’:

1. Offer tenants a nice home

If you offer a neglected property in poor condition, you are likely to attract less interest and will have to settle for tenants who are perhaps unable to secure a ‘nicer’ home. Meanwhile, if the property is well-presented, it will attract a wider pool of tenants to choose from and they will most likely take pride in keeping it in good condition. 

This applies to ongoing maintenance issues too; afterall, if you don’t care about the property, why should your tenants? Furthermore, tenants will feel aggrieved paying full rent for a property that isn’t fully-functional or being maintained as it should be. 

2. Match the property to the right tenants

It’s hard to say no sometimes, but a property needs to suit its occupants. For example, most blocks of flats won’t accept pets as it is part of the head lease. This isn’t unreasonable if you think about trying to live with a dog in a small second-floor flat with no access to outside space and with neighbours on all sides of you. It might also be unwise to allow two adults and three children to rent a two-bedroom flat; they simply need more space and amenities than that to live comfortably and to be able to keep the property in good order.

3. Reference thoroughly

This is probably the most critical step in ensuring you avoid ‘nightmare tenants’. Helpfully, referencing is something that prospective tenants with something to hide will try to avoid. Do not take shortcuts because a tenant wants to let the property quickly, can offer monies upfront or because a ‘friend of a friend’ says they’re “good for the rent”. Genuine tenants won’t quibble about you undertaking credit checks and asking for documentation, such as payslips and bank statements, so as to give you a full picture of their financial standing and rental history.

Furthermore, (and similar to point 2) you aren’t doing someone any favours in allowing them to commit to a rental property that is simply too expensive for them in the first place.

4. Ensure all the paperwork is in place

Tenancy agreements should contain clauses relating to sub-letting, noise, pets and other common do’s and don’ts, which will help avoid conflicts later on (and can become grounds for eviction if they are ignored). A detailed inventory, including photos, not only serves as a record if there is a dispute over the deposit at the end of the tenancy, but acts as a deterrent in the first place (as the recording is so detailed) and a guide for tenants at the end of tenancy (so they can check how the property should be left so as to receive their deposit back).

Ensuring all the paperwork is completed and provided to the tenants in the correct manner will also avoid problems later on. For example, if not served correctly, you open yourself up to fines, compensation claims and difficulty in progressing eviction notices if necessary; all of which a ‘nightmare tenant’ could use against you.

5. Keep in touch

Maintaining an open dialogue with tenants and responding to tenancy-related and maintenance queries promptly will encourage a good relationship. Visiting the property regularly will allow you to spot problems early, as well as checking all is ok with the tenants so as to maintain and prolong their tenancy. It also shows you are pro-active and haven’t just ‘left them to it’; tenants are more likely to take liberties with absent landlords. 

There are many other ways to minimise the risk of letting your property to problematic tenants, some of which are quite subtle and come via experience. Ultimately there is no fool proof way to avoid a ‘nightmare tenant’, although these five tips will go a long way to avoid those who seek to enter a tenancy agreement with bad intentions from the outset.

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Buy-to-let: home or away

Opinions are divided over whether you should invest in buy-to-let locally or venture further afield in an attempt to achieve better returns.

The area you invest in should be considered alongside your strategy and goals. Certainly if you’re looking to invest in student lets you’ll want to buy near a large, vibrant and growing University. Budget may also be a factor, whereby local house prices are simply too high for you to buy an appropriate property. Many Londoners have to buy outside the city because of this, although many will now rue missing out on the spectacular capital growth London property has seen.

When I began investing in property I spent a long time deliberating on where I should buy. Trying to find the next up and coming area to invest in that offered the holy grail of high yields and strong future capital growth appeared elusive. In the property boom years I researched city centre apartments up North as well as foreign property in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Florida and Las Vegas.

Whilst the glossy brochures promised quick riches, ultimately I decided that the grass wasn’t actually greener elsewhere. There are in fact many reasons why I believe you should keep it simple and invest close to home.

Familiarity is often the biggest reason why many landlords buy locally. You’ll know where the best areas are, which are the decent schools and the good transport links, along with a knowledge of the upcoming developments that will impact the area. 

You could spend time walking the streets and meeting with local agents. Nothing beats face-to-face contact and building rapport with people who can advise and support you. It’s easier to spend more time in a local area so you can work out the facts as opposed to relying on third party information.

It is obviously far more convenient to manage a buy-to-let close to home. Whether that be overseeing a refurbishment, the on-going maintenance or managing tenants. Having a property nearby saves a lot of time and this is perhaps why over 50% of landlords choose to buy within 10 miles of where they live.

Buying locally might mean you decide to self-manage the property and therefore save yourself the letting agent’s management fees. Even if you do hand the keys over to an agent, there’s certainly some peace of mind knowing the property is within easy reach should something go wrong or you simply want to keep an eye on things.

If you’re thinking of investing in buy-to-let and would like some free advice about whether your local area can meet your needs, please get in touch.

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Is it time to turn the heating on?

With temperatures soaring outside you may think this article has been posted at the wrong time of year. Bear with me though, as it could pay to turn your heating on now despite the logical preference for some air conditioning!

You see, much like a car needs to be run every so often, so should a boiler. If it’s not there are several things that might happen, all of which could lead to a breakdown when you actually need it the most. 

The obvious one would be if the boiler or heating system has developed a fault, for which you’ll only find out when you turn it on (presumably because you are cold). Whereas checking it periodically should mean when the time comes you’ll remain nice and toasty (although perhaps not quite as much as we are now!).

‘Combi’ boilers, which provide both the heating and hot water, may still be ‘on’ during the warm weather (to supply the hot water) but they aren’t fool proof either. They contain a valve that shifts the demand between the heating and hot water, depending on what the control unit is requesting. These valves can get stuck if they aren’t moved for a long period of time (say, the six months of the year you don’t need the heating so have it constantly in hot water mode). Selecting the heating function instead of the hot water every so often can therefore aid the smooth motion of the valve.

Be aware that heating engineers are more in demand come the colder weather too. You can guarantee when the cold weather comes and everyone starts turning their heating on (many for the first time in months), they will be rushed off their feet with repairs. If you’re amongst this crowd you may have to wait (or pay more), whereas keeping on top of it could help identify and rectify any issues before the rush. It’s for this reason that it can also pay to service or replace your boiler during this quieter time, if that’s on the cards for you. 

So, whilst it may seem counter intuitive, turning up the thermostat (briefly) once a month or so can help keep your boiler running, ensuring it is ready for when you need it whilst avoiding niggly breakdowns caused by lack of use. 

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How quickly will you start receiving rent?

When you first buy a rental property, you need to factor in that you won’t get the keys and instantly start receiving rent (unless you buy with tenants in-situ).

It is likely that you’ll first need to undertake some maintenance or refurbishment to the property. You will also need time to advertise the property, conduct viewings, reference the chosen tenants and complete all of the relevant paperwork and safety checks before finally moving them in and starting to receive some return on your investment.

Being pro-active can help to minimise this initial void period. I try to advertise the property as soon as I am allowed to by the seller, have confirmed the ‘earliest move-in date’ and can take representative photographs that show the property off well. 

Ideally you would conduct viewings at this stage too i.e. between exchange and completion. If that’s not possible, marketing it early still enables you to take prospective tenants names, numbers and details so that once you are in a position to conduct viewings you have a shortlist of interested parties ready to go on day one.

Letting agents or landlords with multiple properties may also have a head-start as they will often have tenants on a waiting list or who ‘missed out’ on a previous property but may find yours of interest.

It is also important to advertise the property at the correct rental price. You may even consider offering the property below the ‘going rate’ so as to attract more interest, rent the property quicker and thus minimise your initial void period on your first let (when the property is earning you nothing). 

Ideally the first batch of viewings will lead to suitable tenants who wish to rent the property. The next issue then becomes when they can move-in. It’s unusual for someone to be able to move-in immediately, as they will typically have a notice period to honour with their current landlord.

Property type can play a part here - smaller properties may be filled quicker as the tenants are naturally of a more transient nature, whereas larger family homes often come with tenants that have more commitments (and stuff to pack!) before they can move.

 In normal circumstances, if a property is advertised and a tenant is not found within a couple of weeks (not necessarily moved in, but scheduled to do so)  then I would say something is wrong - normally the price, property or marketing. One key proviso for a landlord is that the objective should always be to get the best tenants possible, not necessarily the first ones that come along. 

If you are buying a rental property and would like someone to help you find the right tenants as quickly as possible, please get in touch.

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Avoid having your house ‘stolen’

Scammers are getting increasingly sophisticated and property is an area they target due to the high transactional values. You may be aware of ‘phishing’ attacks, whereby fraudsters impersonate your solicitor to try and intercept the transfer of funds into their own pockets, but have you heard about the tricksters who attempt to impersonate you so as to steal your property!?

The theft occurs with the criminal impersonating the owner of a property so they can then sell or re-mortgage it. Buy-to-let properties without a mortgage are the perfect storm here, as the owner won’t live at the property and there isn’t a mortgage company double-checking things or receiving any of the sale proceeds.

As title deeds are a publicly available document (they cost £3 to download online), it is very easy for anyone to get the name of the owner of a property. The title deed will also show whether there is a ‘charge’ against the property i.e. a mortgage. With this information the fraudster, who often first poses as a tenant, will simply change their name by deed poll to match the property owner’s name. Now living at the property with the same name as the true owner, it becomes very easy to build up identification documents and paperwork that would see that person passed off as the ‘owner’.                                                                                                                                              That’s exactly what happened to a property in Luton in 2021, with a fraudulent tenant selling the property without the landlord even knowing! Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident, with the Land Registry paying out millions in compensation each year due to fraudulent transactions. Another case saw a previously unencumbered property in London become subject to a £1.2million bridging loan, which was paid out to a mother and daughter who had changed their name to match the registered owners.

Fortunately, there is a solution to this; which is to enter a restriction on your title deed. This will then state that any application to change the register must be accompanied by a solicitor’s certificate verifying your identity as that of the legal owner. This can cause a slight delay when you actually want to sell or mortgage your own property, but that’s surely better than falling victim to this crime.

Another option is to sign up to the Land Registry’s free property monitoring service. You’ll receive an email if an application is made to change the register; so, whilst it won’t prevent changes being made, at least you’ll know straight away so you can take prompt action.

As ever, prevention is better than cure. So, whilst the above is rare, it pays to be aware of such matters so you can put measures in place to ensure you are protected. Thorough tenant referencing will also put off any chancers with such misdeeds in mind, as they will seek an easier target if asked too many questions. 

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Rents up 10% in a year

Rents have increased by 10% on average in the past 12 months across the UK. Interestingly, the greatest increase (+13.6%) has been in Scotland…where government-imposed rent controls are in place! 

Who could have possibly anticipated that all of the government's meddling would negatively impact those it was supposed to help (i.e. tenants).

Maybe said Government should read my newsletter!....

In December 2015, when the stamp duty surcharge to landlords was announced, I wrote:

“The tax changes announced in the Summer budget and now the additional 3% stamp duty to new buy-to-let properties will reduce investment in rental properties. There is already a shortage of rental properties on the market and the new legislation will further limit the options available to tenants, which will ultimately increase rents.”

In April 2017, when ‘section 24’ tax changes first took effect, I wrote:

"The impact of all this is likely to translate into some landlords selling up, alongside fewer people entering the market. The resulting drop in the supply of rental properties, coupled with landlords needing to earn more to make the venture worthwhile, suggests rents are likely to increase."

A couple of months later in June 2017, when a ban on fees to tenants was announced, I wrote:

"I believe the letting fees ban will lead to rents rising; meaning any short-term savings for tenants will be more than offset by the monthly increase in rent. Perversely this will penalise those tenants wanting to create a long-term home the most, which is something I thought the government was in favour of?"

In February 2019, when the previously announced tax changes started to bite harder, I wrote:

"Some landlords are already exiting the market as they’ve calculated it just isn’t worth it for them anymore. Whilst that may create some opportunities for people looking to buy, it will mean a further reduction in the number of properties available to rent and, as a consequence, an increase in rents for those that remain."

In June 2019, when ‘the other stuff’ bolted on to the Tenant Fees Act was better understood, I wrote:

“Security deposits will be capped at five-week’s rent (for rents up to £50,000pa). Whereas tenants with credit issues, who are self-employed (with income that’s hard to prove) or with pets used to be welcomed simply by asking for an increased security deposit, now this is not an option. Instead, many will be rejected outright and will thus find renting a home even more difficult than it already is. They may alternatively be asked to pay an enhanced rent (which is allowable under the guidance of the Act).”

as well as:

“Unfortunately, I believe these changes will lead landlords to be pickier than ever as to who is allowed in their properties, as well as being less flexible (and perhaps less helpful) than they were before the Act came into force.”

The renters reform bill has now started to take shape; so, do I think it will ultimately prove to be good news for tenants? In a word…no.

The problem with all of the government’s meddling and the theory that ‘good landlords should not be worried about the changes’, is that the good landlords (and letting agents) are the ones burdened by trying to do things right. This can become an onerous task, to which many decide the easiest solution is simply to exit the market. Meanwhile, the rogue landlords will continue to ignore or sidestep the rules like they always have. I believe this will ultimately lead to a drop in the supply of rental homes, which will lead to a rise in rents, alongside a decrease in the quality of the operators who remain in the industry. 

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How does stamp duty work?

I made one of my former landlords a five-figure sum this week, just by knowing a little about stamp duty. With that in mind, I thought I’d provide an overview of how stamp duty is calculated and, perhaps more interestingly, how you might be able to claim some of it back!

You usually pay Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) on increasing portions of the property price when you buy a residential property:

Some exemptions and reliefs apply; most notably for first-time buyers, whereby the first £425,000 is subject to no stamp duty (assuming the purchase price is below £625,000).

Unfortunately for many since April 2016 though, if buying a new property means you’ll own more than one property (anywhere in the world) and you have not sold your current main residence, then you must pay a further 3% of the purchase price as additional SDLT. Most commonly this will apply to those buying a second home or a buy-to-let property, but others can get caught out by the surcharge too. In short, if you have not sold your main residence on the day you complete your new purchase, you’ll have to pay the extra 3%.

This is clearly a great financial advantage to first-time buyers, but a deterrent to those wanting to invest in buy-to-let property. This is just one of the reasons why landlords sold 35,000 more properties than they bought in 2022, for which the supply/demand imbalance is being seen through rapidly rising rents.

Crucially for some though, it is possible to reclaim the 3% SDLT surcharge in certain circumstances. The most common (but still not widely known) is if you sell your former main residence within three years of having paid the additional SDLT.

So, when I saw the previous home of a former landlord of mine pop up for sale just two and a half years after they had moved, I gave them a quick call for a catch-up and mentioned the substantial refund due to them…which they had no idea about! I knew when they had purchased their new property and duly moved in that they had kept their old home (initially so a family member could live in it). This would have meant paying the 3% surcharge on their new property purchase as it meant they then owned more than one property and were not selling their former main residence. Having sold their old home within three years of this though, they can now claim back the additional 3% SDLT they had previously paid.

Many see stamp duty as an archaic and unjust tax grab that should either be reformed or scrapped altogether. It raises approximately £10 billion for the Treasury every year though, so a fair chunk of change would need to be found elsewhere to balance the books. With such large sums at stake though, it definitely pays to have a little knowledge on such matters.

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If you are looking for an agent that is well established, professional and communicative in Chichester, then contact us to find out how we can get the best out of your investment property.

E-mail me on clive@crjlettings.co.uk or call 01243 624 599.

Don't forget to visit the links below to view my previous buy-to-let deals and Chichester Property News articles:

• Follow The Buy-To-Let Property Investment Market in Chichester
• Chichester Property Market LinkedIn Page for Clive Janes
• CRJ Letting Agents Chichester Facebook Page
• CRJ Letting Agents Chichester Twitter Page
• Chichester Investment Property Management Specialist CRJ Letting Agents Website

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Five tips to avoid ‘nightmare tenants’

Most tenants simply want to live in peace in a home that they can treat as their own, whilst happily paying the going rate to do so. A very small percentage, however, will set out to either mistreat the property or purposely not pay the rent. Here are five tips to avoid these so-called ‘nightmare tenants’:

1. Offer tenants a nice home

If you offer a neglected property in poor condition, you are likely to attract less interest and will have to settle for tenants who are perhaps unable to secure a ‘nicer’ home. Meanwhile, if the property is well-presented, it will attract a wider pool of tenants to choose from and they will most likely take pride in keeping it in good condition. 

This applies to ongoing maintenance issues too; afterall, if you don’t care about the property, why should your tenants? Furthermore, tenants will feel aggrieved paying full rent for a property that isn’t fully-functional or being maintained as it should be. 

2. Match the property to the right tenants

It’s hard to say no sometimes, but a property needs to suit its occupants. For example, most blocks of flats won’t accept pets as it is part of the head lease. This isn’t unreasonable if you think about trying to live with a dog in a small second-floor flat with no access to outside space and with neighbours on all sides of you. It might also be unwise to allow two adults and three children to rent a two-bedroom flat; they simply need more space and amenities than that to live comfortably and to be able to keep the property in good order.

3. Reference thoroughly

This is probably the most critical step in ensuring you avoid ‘nightmare tenants’. Helpfully, referencing is something that prospective tenants with something to hide will try to avoid. Do not take shortcuts because a tenant wants to let the property quickly, can offer monies upfront or because a ‘friend of a friend’ says they’re “good for the rent”. Genuine tenants won’t quibble about you undertaking credit checks and asking for documentation, such as payslips and bank statements, so as to give you a full picture of their financial standing and rental history.

Furthermore, (and similar to point 2) you aren’t doing someone any favours in allowing them to commit to a rental property that is simply too expensive for them in the first place.

4. Ensure all the paperwork is in place

Tenancy agreements should contain clauses relating to sub-letting, noise, pets and other common do’s and don’ts, which will help avoid conflicts later on (and can become grounds for eviction if they are ignored). A detailed inventory, including photos, not only serves as a record if there is a dispute over the deposit at the end of the tenancy, but acts as a deterrent in the first place (as the recording is so detailed) and a guide for tenants at the end of tenancy (so they can check how the property should be left so as to receive their deposit back).

Ensuring all the paperwork is completed and provided to the tenants in the correct manner will also avoid problems later on. For example, if not served correctly, you open yourself up to fines, compensation claims and difficulty in progressing eviction notices if necessary; all of which a ‘nightmare tenant’ could use against you.

5. Keep in touch

Maintaining an open dialogue with tenants and responding to tenancy-related and maintenance queries promptly will encourage a good relationship. Visiting the property regularly will allow you to spot problems early, as well as checking all is ok with the tenants so as to maintain and prolong their tenancy. It also shows you are pro-active and haven’t just ‘left them to it’; tenants are more likely to take liberties with absent landlords. 

There are many other ways to minimise the risk of letting your property to problematic tenants, some of which are quite subtle and come via experience. Ultimately there is no fool proof way to avoid a ‘nightmare tenant’, although these five tips will go a long way to avoid those who seek to enter a tenancy agreement with bad intentions from the outset.

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If you are looking for an agent that is well established, professional and communicative in Chichester, then contact us to find out how we can get the best out of your investment property.

E-mail me on clive@crjlettings.co.uk or call 01243 624 599.

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