To find reliable tenants in London you must thoroughly screen them, market your property properly and set expectations through a clear lease agreement. Read on to find out how you can find the most trustworthy tenants to ensure your London property is in safe hands.
What Makes A Reliable Tenant?
When sourcing tenants for your property, you’ll want to find people who are financially responsible and who will pay their rent on time, in full each month.
These might be people with a good, stable salary or who can demonstrate stable proof of income. You will also want someone who is respectful of the agreement terms and who will treat the rental property appropriately.
Checking that someone’s rental history has no issues can be a good way to confirm that they are a reliable tenant. Also, in the initial communication and screening, you can get a feel for the tenant. You can see whether they are respectful and if they communicate openly and politely. These are all good green flags for a landlord.
If you’re sourcing a tenant for your property, here are some top tips to help:
1. Market Your Property Well
The first step to finding reliable tenants is making sure that your property is well marketed. Make sure to advertise through legitimate channels. Not only does this broaden your audience of potential tenants but it makes sure that you are advertising to the right people.
Think about the listing itself – from catchy titles to easy, clear descriptions. Make sure all the information that a renter would need (type of property, features and rent price) are easily accessible. That means anyone who is not looking for that criteria can rule it out without wasting their or your time.
This is your chance to highlight the property’s most desirable features, speak about local amenities and transport links. For London, most renters will be looking for good transport connections and good amenities such as entertainment or restaurants.
Property management companies can help manage the listing so that it appeals to the right type of tenant, is listed at a right price for the area and shows off the best of the property.
Top tip: Many property management companies offer free rent valuations, so that you can make sure you’re pricing the property right.
2. Know Your Target Tenant
When getting started, think about who your target tenant might be.
For example, if you are looking to rent to a family you will need to take a different approach than if you are hoping to rent out your property by bedroom for individual young professionals. Once you have an idea of who you want to rent to, you can think about their needs and their priorities.
This will help you market your property accordingly and prepare the property for the type of tenant you want.
3. Decide Whether You Want Long Term vs Short Term Tenants
Renting out your property in the long term has different implications for short term lets when it comes to the type of tenants. Opting for long-term rental can provide you with more stability and tends to attract tenants who are looking for somewhere to call home. This means they are also likely to keep up with regular rent payments and look after the property properly. Short term tenants are often less reliable and take less care with the property.
Work out which one you want to go for – this will help inform your marketing, whether you want to engage and property management company and how you decide to furnish the property.
See our guide around Long term vs short terms lets – which is better?
4. Design A Rental Application
You can set up a rental application upfront as a way of collecting personal information, proof of income, references and any other information that you may need as a landlord before approving tenants.
This initial step can help sift out any inappropriate tenants and can save time. For example, at this stage you might want to confirm that tenants are financially stable and have kept up with payments in the past. You can set your own applicant criteria based on what is important to you as a landlord.
5. Use A Professional Tenant Sourcing Service
Many property management companies, offer a designated tenant sourcing service, which is usually only payable once tenants are in situ.
Using their professional expertise and local knowledge, they can market your property in a way that attracts reliable tenants in London. They manage the property listing, to make it as appealing as possible, and then go through the various applicants to choose reliable tenants who will pay rent on time and look after the property.
By outsourcing this service, landlords do not have to deal with multiple applications and a sea of emails and phone calls.
6. Interview Qualified Tenants
It is advisable to meet your tenants before they move in, be it in person or via video call.
This is a personal touch that allows you to get a better sense of who the tenant is as a person. After screening them in the previous step of the rental application, you can get a sense of their personality and see if they are clear communicators or seem like the type of person who would treat your property with respect.
Fostering a good relationship early on will also make future communication easier.
7. Check References
You may want to carry out standard referencing checks such as employment references, references from past landlords or, in some cases, a credit check.
Before carrying these out, you will need to be honest with any prospective tenants about the information you will be using. If working with a property management company, this is something they can handle, coming back to you with only the people who meet your criteria.
8. Set Tenant Expectations
Before starting a tenancy, it is important for the tenant and the landlord to be on the same page to avoid any future issues. You can use a lease agreement to set expectations.
This lays out the rights and responsibilities of both parties including rent amount, due date, lease duration and terms and conditions. The lease agreement is also a good opportunity to lay out any specific policies or rules that you have. These could include things such as noise regulations or pet policies. Setting these out up front can promote a good relationship between tenant and landlord and reduce the risk of disputes in the future.
9. Offer Fair Rent
In order to attract reliable tenants, you will need to offer a reasonable rent price. As a landlord, you need to balance profit with a fair price that is competitive in a saturated market.
You can work out a reasonable rent price to charge based on a range of factors such as property type, features and the local market. By setting a fair price, you are more likely to attract tenants and ensure that your property is occupied.
10. Prepare for Property Viewings
Before showing the property to any prospective tenants, you as a landlord should make the property as appealing as possible. First, make sure that any maintenance issues or repairs are sorted before showing the property.
You should also make sure the space is clean and tidy to make a good first impression. If you have current tenants, you will need to make sure they have at least 24 hours notice. To attract the best tenants, you should be showing the property at its best.
The Key To Finding Reliable Tenants in London
In a busy city like London, make sure your property stands out by marketing it properly. Working with a property management company can ensure that the listing maximises your property’s full potential.
That way, you can make sure you find the most reliable tenants as quickly as possible.
If you need help sourcing reliable tenants, J Property Management is a London property management company that can help. To find out more get in touch with the team at info@jpropertymanagement.co.uk
