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With huge competition for rental properties, and landlords feeling the pressure to make a profit on their buy-to-let investments, the more effort you can dedicate to your tenant landlord relationship, the better.
Maintaining open communication and a friendly relationship can help to encourage tenants to let your property for longer and to treat it as they would their own. It also means they’re more likely to cooperate and work with you if they find themselves struggling with finances.
No matter how many properties you let, it’s important that tenants and landlords maintain strong, honest relationships throughout a tenancy period. If you think about it, tenants who feel able to communicate openly with their landlord are likely to report any issues with the property sooner, allowing the landlord or letting agency to act quickly and keep the property in a better state of repair.
If, as a landlord, you’re little more than a name on a rental agreement, tenants may be more hesitant to contact you, allowing problems to escalate. If you can achieve a smooth relationship based on trust and mutual respect, you may find your tenants , reducing gaps in rental income and the inconvenience of finding new occupants.
Before welcoming new tenants, think about how you’ll feel comfortable communicating with them. If you’re happy for them to email you, or contact you directly on your mobile, you’ll be able to let them know from the start and ensure you stay in regular contact via a method that works for you.
One of the most important things you can do to avoid conflict or confusion down the line, is to ensure you have a clear and transparent rental agreement in place. This should be fair to both parties and leave no room for doubt about who is responsible for what. If the tenants are clear from the beginning of their tenancy on what’s expected of them and what they can approach you for, there is less scope for tensions to arise.
Make it clear in the rental agreement that the property will be inspected on a regular basis, and what you will be checking for. This should demonstrate to your tenants that you intend to keep the property in a good state of repair throughout their tenancy, and that a third party will be keeping an eye on things for you. Your rental agreement should also cover inventories, and the acceptable procedure for ending a tenancy.
If you’re new to the world of buy-to-let, take time to brush up on the current laws that will apply to you and your tenants. For example, you are obliged to keep your rental property safe from health hazards, and to ensure that all gas and electrical equipment is installed safely and well-maintained.
You will need to provide an Energy Performance Certificate for your rental property, and to place your tenants’ deposit in a protected scheme approved by the government.
You’ll also need to carry out appropriate checks to ensure any new tenants have the right to rent a property in the UK, and to provide them with a ‘How to rent’ checklist at the beginning of a rental agreement1.
It may sound obvious, but if you’re letting a property you need to ensure you have the time and resources required to keep it in a liveable condition – and to be a good landlord. Landlords who rent out large property portfolios or live far away from their properties may find this more of a challenge.
If you don’t have the availability to keep a close eye on each property you let, consider using a property management company to deal with the day-to-day issues that may crop up.
This will ensure your tenants receive support and any issues with the property are addressed in good time. This can also help to prevent frustration on the tenants’ part, which can escalate into disputes and weaken the landlord tenant relationship.
We provide landlord insurance for a wide range of properties and tenants including multi occupancy, students, local authority placements, unoccupied and much more. See our landlord insurance page or call 0333 060 0915 for more.
Note: Every effort has been made to ensure the above information is correct at the time of this article going online, however, we recommend that you seek professional advice if required.
This is a marketing article by Everywhen Insurance.
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