By Craig Smith

With some of us here at Castle Estates being Landlords ourselves, we understand how important it can be to keep any downtime of a rental property to a minimum. When a property becomes untenanted, the mortgage still needs to be paid along with insurance and, more so during the winter months, heating bills increase.

Breaks Between Tenancies

When marketing a property that is still occupied one of the biggest hurdles can be that the incoming tenant wants to move very quickly. We have instances such as this on a regular basis but sometimes have to be firm about the move in dates.

It is not as simple as one person moving out and another moving in the next day as there may be cleaning or decorating work that needs to be completed in between. By booking someone to move in the very next day or even within a few days later can cause the new tenancy to start on the wrong foot which then has a knock-on effect for the rest of the tenancy.

Best Presentation Always Important!

Some tenants are happy for works to be completed after they have moved in, usually small things such as a repair to a leaky tap. The biggest issues can be checking somebody in to a property that is unclean or needs the gardening tidying up as this can be used ‘as ammunition’ when something goes wrong further down the line.

We always recommend to our Landlords that their property is presented cleanly and, if applicable, gardens left tidy. This helps to stop any arguments at the end of the tenancy which can get very messy (no pun intended!) when trying to agree any deposit costs.

Extra Time to Ensure Safety

We had a tenant moving forward with a property a few weeks ago who needed to move quickly. This was fine but the property wasn’t quite ready and the move in ended up being delayed in order for the outstanding issues to be resolved. Luckily it wasn’t anything too major and the delay was only a few days but any more than this and the tenancy may have fallen through before it even began!

There are some examples where tenants don’t understand the reasoning behind delays, particularly when it could be a matter or breaking the law. If a property hasn’t had its annual gas safety check, for example, there is no way we could sign the tenancy agreements as without the pass on the certificate, we would be unable to do so. The reason is that the law states the gas safety certificate must be in place and to ensure the safety of any occupants. Not only would this be against the law, I also think it is morally wrong to place a tenant in potential danger.

Stuck in a Chain

The other common example that crops up regularly is when an outgoing tenant is purchasing a house and they are stuck in a chain. If a new tenant is already lined up to move in there is still nothing we can do to ask the current occupiers to leave as, even if they have given their correct notice, it can still be extended!

Best Advice

Going back to the start of this post, we understand how Landlords need to have the minimum amount of empty periods possible. Sometimes, a little extra time between moving out & in can prevent a lot of hassle later on!

2 Thoughts on “Property Landlord Advice: Quick Turnarounds Not Always the Best Way!

  1. Very useful blog. Keep up the good work.

  2. My properties are concentrated in London, and a lot of the areas I have purchased property local councils offer the guaranteed rent scheme. Not sure how long for but this enables me to reduce the risk of my properties not rent being paid. Even if empty – I still get paid. Worth checking out with your local council or estate agent if they offer this service. All the best, Andrew

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