Landlords have a lot to think about and manage. Owning a property and renting it out is a challenge in itself, with the amount of time and effort that needs to go into advertising and property management, not to mention all of the additional legal and regulatory processes that need to be followed.
However, private landlords also need to ensure that they maintain an excellent relationship with their tenants, as a happy renter is far more likely to pay the rent on time and keep the property in excellent condition.
Here are a few common property management mistakes that landlords make which upset their tenants, leading to unnecessary hassle and complications.
Ignoring property management and maintenance issues
As a landlord, it is your responsibility to ensure that the fundamental utilities of the property are maintained to a high standard. Any water leaks or broken heating systems are up to you to repair, and it can be very frustrating for tenants when landlords take a long time to fix problems such as these or even ignores them all together.
Not only will this cause the relationship between you and your tenant to quickly deteriorate, but it also may cause long-lasting damage to your property; neglecting to fix that leak may cause bigger problems in the long run, leading to greater costs and may even make the property uninhabitable for a period of time.
If the property management issue is an emergency i.e. it relates to heating, plumbing, sanitation, electrics, gas or fabric of the building, it is very handy to have a Home Emergency Cover in place to help landlords with the cost of repair. HEC is included in our Rent on Time package and covers landlords up to £500 per call-out.
Not allowing tenants a bit of flexibility
While landlords must ensure that their relationship with a tenant remains strictly professional at all times, it is also important to remember that they are individuals who are currently using your property as their home.
As such, offering a little bit of flexibility when it comes to changing the interiors, such as repainting the walls or changing the inbuilt fireplace can go a long way to making tenants happier. It may also have the added benefit of making the property more modern too, meaning that you can increase the rental price in the future.
Having the wrong insurance
Standard home insurance is not designed for landlords or rental properties, and as such landlords will need to take out specific landlord insurances that cover their needs.
Specialist buy-to-let insurances can cover buildings and contents policies, as well as public liability insurance, is needed instead, allowing a landlord to be covered against all possibilities of claims.
Landlords can also choose to take out rent guarantee insurance which is included in our Guaranteed Rent package, which covers unpaid rent if a tenant remains in the property but hasn’t made their payment.
Not familiar with property management & legal requirments
Many landlords choose not to use a property management agent, which may save money in the short term, but often leads to greater expenses in the long run – not only financial but in terms of time and resources too.
A good property management agent will take care of all the legal and regulatory obligations on behalf of the private landlord. By having a good letting agent handling the administration and legal documentation, the landlord can take more of a back seat on their property, focusing on other areas and enjoy the monthly rent coming in.
Lettingaproperty.com is a highly respected online letting agency, which prides itself on providing landlords with all of the services a high street letting agency does, but at a lower cost, without any compromises in the quality of the services offer.
We provide letting packages for landlords, property marketing, referencing, rent collection and deposit services, and property law and property legislation services, amongst many other services that landlords require.
For more information about the services that we offer, please visit https://www.lettingaproperty.com/landlord/landlord-services, or contact us at https://www.lettingaproperty.com/contact to find out exactly how we can help you.
