Guidance for Landlords: Things to Consider Before Renting To Tenants

Homeowners contemplate deeply about a lot of things before renting out their property. Some feel renting out to tenants could be quite advantageous due to the extra cash coming in from the tenants. Several homeowners have different reasons for putting up property for rent. Rents ease tax breaks for landlords. However, renting out a household to tenants without proper planning could lead to a myriad of problems for a landlord.

Being a landlord is an extra responsibility in addition to the obligations you already have. To prevent that responsibility from becoming a burden to you, there are some factors you have to consider before renting out your property to tenants.

1. Having Knowledge of the Rental Income in Your Region

As a landlord, you have to research the average amount of rent in your area for your residential property before settling on how much you’ll charge your tenants. You can start by searching online for similar properties to see what other landlords are charging. By observing them for a while, you’ll get to know which properties get rented faster. When checking out these properties, compare them to the one you want to rent out. If yours can be determined to be fancier, you can charge slightly higher rent than that of other landlords.

Before concluding on the amount of rent you want to charge your potential tenants, you also need to calculate the estimated costs you’ll have as a landlord. If you’re calculating annual charges, you can divide the estimated cost by 12 to get a monthly estimate. This way, you’ll be able to factor the expenses into the rent to be received from your tenants.

2. Getting an EPC for Your Property

Since 1 October 2008, an energy performance certificate has been required for UK landlords before they can put up their property for rent. An energy assessor would have to carry out a survey on your property and present with an energy performance certificate based on how energy efficient your property is. EPCs contain information about how you can enhance your property’s use of energy. The certificate is rated from A to G. A rating of ‘F’ or ‘G’ renders a property not fit for rent as from the 1^st April 2018.

Getting an EPC in Manchester takes about 48 to 72 hours for customers. An EPC lasts for 10 years and doesn’t need to be renewed afterthe tenancy ends.

3. Repair and Redecorate Anything Necessary

Sometimes if an appliance gets broken or something goes wrong in the property, it would be your responsibility to pay for it. You’ll want to have everything in your apartment running smoothly for your new tenants before they move in. Otherwise, you’ll have serious issues with them. Always remember to store your receipts in a safe, clean place as they could be tax deductible.

4. Making Sure your Property Abides with Regulations

You’ll need to ensure that the necessary fittings are available on the property. Buildings need to have smoke alarms on all floors, carbon monoxide alarms for rooms that use wood or coal as fuel and others. All these need to be installed before putting up your property for rent and checked regularly by your tenant and at the start of each new tenancy.

5. Know Your Tenant

As a landlord, one of the most disastrous things you can encounter is to have an irresponsible tenant. You’ll need to check your potential tenant’s credit by getting a credit check. This way, you’ll be able to get tenants who are likely to remit their rents on time. Rent defaulters could seriously run down your rent profits.

Going through your applicant’s form can also save you the trouble of having to let out your property a short while after renting it out. Application forms contain the employment history and previous addresses of the applicant. You’ll be able to determine if the tenant changes jobs or apartments often.

Before renting out your property to a prospective tenant, there are several things a landlord needs to ensure so as to avoid unnecessary trouble. Renting property out should be a form of investment and not a source of constant worry. The things you need to do include getting an EPC certificate for the property and making background checks into the applicant,this can include an employment reference and a reference from their previous landlord and repairing anything you need to in the house.

Written by Ruby Clarkson