New research has revealed that young adults are less likely to own their own home than ever before, reinforcing the importance of the private rented sector. With approximately 4.7 million households renting privately today, landlords have been urged to improve their relationships with tenants to keep their properties tenanted for longer.
Communication
This is vital when it comes to building a good relationship with tenants. Communicating clearly should start from the very beginning when processing applications, discussing leases and negotiating rent prices. Giving tenants plenty of notice before entering the property for inspections and viewings also goes a long way when building trust with tenants.
Be flexible
There are some landlords who have rental agreements which insist that pets are not allowed in properties but under the 2015 Consumer Rights Act, a landlord can only refuse permission if it reasonable to do so, taking into account the size of the animal, the amount of damage it could cause and its impact on the property’s rental prospects in the future. Whilst tenants can ask for permission to keep pets when they move into their new rental home, Labour recently proposed that tenants should be allowed to have pets as default in the future.
Offer facilities
According to new research from Your Move, tenants are prepared to pay more for facilities that would benefit their families, for example a creche. In comparison, tenants were only prepared £20 extra per month for on-site gym facilities.
Renters aged between 36 and 45 would spend the most on communal facilities as many within this age group tend to have young children and already spend up to 45% of their income on childcare costs.
There has been a considerable increase in the proportion of people between 35-44-year-old in the private rented sector, from 11% in 2006/7 to 29% in 2016/17. With this in mind, it is certainly worth taking into account the type of facilities on offer when deciding on a new property investment or marketing your existing property to new tenants.
With more and more households becoming reliant on the private rented sector, it is important to maintain good relationships with tenants and provide them with a home that they would be happy to settle down in. If the correct processes are in place, landlords will be able to keep tenants satisfied for longer and keep void periods to a minimum.
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