By Craig Smith
At last, a chance to update you all on the latest goings on in the letting world! This month seems to be going so quickly there is a lot to write about, so lets get on with it!
Increasing Number of Viewers Making Offers
With the slow down in the property market over the last few years a number of people are still struggling to sell their homes. This leads some to consider letting their property instead in order for them to move on with their lives but take care of the ‘unable to sell’ situation at the same time. Whether this is the case or whether an investment Landlord has a property coming empty, everyone is keen to get their property let sooner rather than later!
If you are in the market to purchase a property it is common practice to make an offer on the asking price to get a better deal. Today the situation is much the same in the rental market with many prospective tenants making offers on the asking price. Couple this with the huge supply of rental stock that is available at the moment and many Landlords find themselves without any rent increases.
Too Much Choice for Prospective Tenants!
The huge amount of choice that a prospective tenant has when looking for a property has increased the amount of viewings booked for a property. Instead of being able to find only 2 or 3 potential new homes and making a decision in a few days, tenants now have the possibility of a dozen that may be suitable. This, in turn, does lead to more people offering lower rents and trying to get more for their money (it makes sense!) but also increases the number of viewings that might be needed on a property before it is finally let!
In what seems like a distant memory of times gone by, a Landlord could expect perhaps 4 or 5 viewings on a property before it goes under offer. One property that we have been marketing has had over 20 viewings and has now been taken.
Rent Review Time
Increasing the rent is a tough decision at the moment and should be well thought about by any Landlord. We are currently advising our Landlords of properties that have been let for around 12-18 months if we consider a rent increase to be feasible. Given the choice, I’m sure 99% of Landlords would like an increase but putting the rent up too much could force the existing tenant to look around and see what else is available.
Look back at the first section of this post and if a tenant can make an offer on a property that is in the same price range they could just be tempted to move! By keeping the rent at the same rate a Landlord might lose perhaps £10 a month but this is still a lot better off than having a property sat empty for a month between tenancies!
Change of Deposit Legislation
Regular readers will remember my post from back in March regarding the change in Deposit Protection Rules. We’ve been busy organising the new Prescribed Information forms and have issued them to all of our tenants who need them. (By the way, if you are a tenant of ours who hasn’t got them back to us yet please don’t forget!)
If a Landlord hasn’t ensured that they have their paperwork up to date it could come back to bite them in the future. Any deposit taken for an Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement must now be registered with one of the approved deposit schemes. If the deposit has not been protected then the Landlord is unable to serve a Section 21 notice on the tenants to leave the property (and wouldn’t be able to do so until the deposit is registered) and could find themselves ordered by a court to repay up to 3 times the deposit amount to the tenant. This is regardless of any rent arrears or damages that a tenant may already have accrued!
What Next?
There are further changes on the horizon including the way in which Energy Performance Certificates need to be presented on property details. If anyone tells you that employing a managing agent for your property is a waste of money then just tell them to see how busy we are in looking after our Landlords!
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