The current thriving sales market indicates that landlords should move their focus away from high-paying renters, to reliable long-term tenants, despite the possibility of them paying less.
Rental consultancy Landlord Assist, who operate tenant eviction and rent recovery services, says to expect a turnaround in rental sector trends.
The consultancy says that when sales of flats and houses were stagnant, landlords were able to set rents at record highs due to the demand for rented accommodation surpassing supply.
However, with more tenants are now looking to purchase their own homes, aided by Government schemes such as Help to Buy, landlords need to shift their focus.
Graham Kinnear, Landlord Assist’s Managing Director, says: “This could lead to a greater choice of properties to rent in parts of the country and more competition between landlords for the best tenants. It’s tempting for landlords to set rent levels high but instead it’s better to focus on attracting the right type of tenant at the right price.”1
The consultancy claims that the alternative for over-optimistic landlords is a year of void periods, and a risk of arrears because rents are too high for tenants.