Tenant screening
Ensuring your property is in reliable and responsible hands is the first step as a landlord. You should perform background, employment credit checks to assess the financial stability of your tenants, which will reduce the likelihood of late and irregular payments, or any property damage and misbehaving that may occur.
Lease agreements
Draw up a straightforward and transparent lease agreement that sets out the duties of both the landlord and tenant. This should include important factors such as the sum of the rent, due dates, maintenance procedures, policies for late payments and guidelines for pets and children. Make sure your tenants have hard copies as well as digital versions of these documents!
Communication is key
The best relationships between landlords and tenants are those that are honest, prompt and respectful. Pick your preferred way to correspond — whether that’s emailing, Whatsapp or phone calls – and let that become a channel for streamlined conversation.
Legal matters
It’s wise to stay as up-to-date with landlord and tenancy laws as possible; these are often subject to change. These could be to do with health and safety, eviction procedures, deposit protection or rent control matters. Educate yourself on the small print — you’ll want to avoid any fines or unnecessary investigations!
Regular inspections and maintenance
Having established rapport with your tenants, it’s helpful to pay routine visits to the property and check out any potential issues and necessary repairs. Not only will it benefit those living there to have things in working order, but it’ll reduce the risk of an unexpected cost attached to a major property defect. These can be done at reasonable intervals; you don’t want to infringe on the privacy of your tenants! Likewise, if you receive any maintenance requests from tenants, it’s sensible to act promptly with reliable contractors who offer an efficient service.
Fair rental rates
As well as taking into consideration the value of your property, conduct research into your local lettings market and use that information to set appropriate rental fees. It’ll help attract reliable tenants and ensure a steady stream of income; excessive or unfair rent increases may lead to a higher tenant turnover. You might also want to include incentives like lease renewals to encourage tenants to stay for a longer period of time.
Network of tradespeople
You’ll want any necessary repairs and renovations to be carried out professionally and quickly. Secure yourself a group of trusted service providers that you can rely on to carry out these tasks — hiring competent tradespeople will minimise any additional hassle for you and your tenants.
We support all our landlords with a series of tailor-made service packages, as well as ongoing advice and communication. Speak with a member of the team today to find out more about our hands-on rental process.
