{"id":6086580,"date":"2022-05-04T08:50:58","date_gmt":"2022-05-04T07:50:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.buyassociation.co.uk\/?p=6086580"},"modified":"2022-05-04T08:50:58","modified_gmt":"2022-05-04T07:50:58","slug":"get-good-tenants-keep-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-hk\/2022\/05\/04\/get-good-tenants-keep-them\/","title":{"rendered":"How to get good tenants… and keep them for longer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Any conscientious buy-to-let landlord knows that good tenants can be the key to a successful rental property over the long term.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The private rented sector<\/a> in the UK, made up of buy-to-let landlords and private tenants, is a key element of the UK housing market. People are renting for longer than ever in their lives, and rental housing standards are being held under the spotlight.<\/p>\n

While some still use renting as a stop-gap between living with parents and owning their own home, growing numbers of households rent well into their 30s, from individuals to families and professional couples.<\/p>\n

For buy-to-let landlords<\/a>, securing good tenants can make a significant difference, which is why so many property investors are offering more than ever to attract tenants to their homes.<\/p>\n

Once a tenant is in, keeping them for as long as possible reduces the amount of time a property sits empty, maximising rental income. What’s more, changing tenants over can be time-consuming and expensive, with the property having to be emptied, cleaned, possibly re-photographed and re-advertised.<\/p>\n

Tenants are staying put for longer<\/h4>\n

According to a new Private Rented Sector report from Propertymark<\/a>, tenants are currently staying in properties for longer periods of time – up to 23 months, compared to 21 months in February.<\/p>\n

It also reported a small increase in housing stock across its member branches, with an average of eight rental homes per branch that were empty and freely available in March. While this figure still demonstrates a lack of supply, it is up from February’s figure of five.<\/p>\n

On the other side of the coin, the number of new tenant applicants per member branch remains extremely high. In March, there were an average of 93 tenants registered per branch, compared to just 78 in February although down from January’s peak of almost 120.<\/p>\n

Nathan Emerson, Propertymark CEO, says part of the reason tenants are staying for longer is this imbalance of stock available. This combines with “fierce competition” putting prices up.<\/p>\n

Good tenants and good landlords<\/h4>\n

Both demand and rental levels<\/a> have been on the rise across the UK rental market in recent months. Data from Rightmove shows that rental demand is up by around 6%, while national asking rents outside London are at an all-time high of \u00a31,088 per month.<\/p>\n

The property portal has also noted that tenants are signing longer leases, which prevents some stock from coming back onto the market when it normally would have done in the past. A number of buy-to-let landlords have also left the market, driving competition.<\/p>\n

Emerson adds: “When an increase in tenants staying put for longer occurs, the churn of properties that would normally come back into the market begins to stagnate, feeding the issue further. Agents have been warning of the adverse effects of landlords leaving what they feel to be a hostile market.<\/p>\n

“Property investment, like any form of investment, needs to be financially viable and with adequate risk mitigation. Many landlords feel their rights are being eroded, meaning they are more likely to sell.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For both the individual landlord and the tenant, though, a longer lease means more stability. When seeking good tenants who pay the rent on time and are looking for a more long-term accommodation option, this can be a good way of attracting more applicants.<\/p>\n

Ways to make tenants want to stay<\/h4>\n