
Now might be the best time to start preparing your property to be rented out. Here in the UK, the demand in the rental market is rising and will continue to rise over the next decade. It is projected that over 230,000 rental homes are needed to meet the current demands.
With that said, you should think about the things you need to accomplish before your property is tenant ready. What are tenants looking for in their homes? And what exactly are the things you need to address before renting your property? These are the questions we’ll be answering in this article.
Get the Required Permits
Before starting to think about the repairs you need to do, you need to determine what permits you need. Generally, you need a house in multiple occupation (HMO) license to rent out your property. You can also check in with your council to see if you still need it. England and Wales share the same HMO license guideline but Scotland and Northern Ireland have different licenses, so it’s best to check.
You need to decide on your deposit and how to protect it, of you have a letting agent then they will take care of all of the paperwork but if not, you will need a tenancy agreement and to agree the initial length of the tenants stay. It is important to get all paperwork and permits out of the way, signed and agreed before the tenant moves in.
Do the Necessary Repairs
Making your property suitable for rent is a condition under the HMO license. For this, it would be better to make a list of all the necessary repairs you need to do around your property. You may decide to change the layout of your house to accommodate your tenants or you might need to fix leaks. Address the basic maintenance first before undertaking more expensive and bigger repairs.
If you don’t do them initially they may come back to haunt you at a later date. Making repairs whilst the property is empty is always a good way to make use of the void period and with everything in working order, you’ll have assurances ahead of the tenant moving in that things should be fine from the off.
Deep Clean Your Property
Once you have done all the necessary repairs, it’s time to clean! And by this, we mean that you have to deep clean your property. You can choose to hire a cleaning crew or do all the cleaning by yourself. Be particularly careful about cleaning AC units because the internals should be cared for to prevent any additional maintenance costs. Moreover, dust can build up on the filters if not properly cleaned. Make sure to also clean your walls, ceilings, and vents since these are often overlooked.
Painting is also good although some tenants prefer to do this on arrival. Perhaps liase with them if this is something they would like to do. If you are not keen on them adding their own touch on the property please state this in the agreement. Most agreements will request once the tenant hands back the property, it is near to how it was found in the first place. If clean and tidy upon them moving in, it’ll always be in their best interests to leave it clean and tidy when they move out.
Throw in Some Upgrades
Now is the time to execute your aesthetic plans for your property. Add some nicknacks to attract tenants into renting your property. Keyless entry or smart appliances are all the rage right now, and if you have room in your budget, you could update your outdated appliances. You might even want to consider making your property more eco-friendly for people who prioritize green living.
A bottle of wine or some flowers and a moving in card is an affordable but kind touch that you can leave to start relations well. A happy tenant is of course a paying tenant.
2022 is going to be a huge year for the rental sector. More people are wanting to have their personal space and you can be someone that helps them achieve this! Before listing your property and looking for tenants, run through all your lists. Remember that you need the required permits before you rent out your property. More importantly, you need to do the repairs and deep clean your property before you let anyone in there.
Exclusively supplied for propertysecrets.org by JBriggs.
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Daniel Peacock