Make it Shine!

16 Sep 2011

As a Sunderland landlord you’ll want to minimise the time your property is empty between tenancies (what we call the void period) so it is essential that your property is looking its best for showing to new tenants both in terms of condition and cleanliness.

Although a tenanted property should be redecorated from time to time, tenants are allowed fair wear and tear and it is rare to receive a property at the end of a tenancy in the same condition that it was at the beginning, especially if several tenants have passed through.

Whilst you may choose to avoid the expense of redecoration, the likely result is that it will take longer to find a tenant (a greater void) and even then, you could well achieve a lower rent than could otherwise have been obtained. Also, the taxman (hardly known for his generosity) allows you 10% of your rental income for repairs and maintenance, so it’s very unlikely that the sensible amount is anything less than this figure.

The intelligent landlord will also ensure that his or her property is clean and shiny throughout. Tenants do have obligations to clean the property to a decent standard before they leave and some will do a very good job indeed. But generally speaking they seldom do a good enough job to really maximise the property’s lettability and thus minimise the void and maximise the rent. A few more hours cleaning will probably be needed to make it gleam and really attractive to those potential new tenants that we’ll be bringing round.

Of course, a well-presented meticulously clean property also suggests that you are a responsible landlord, which in turn attracts responsible tenants!