The rental market is open

A green light has been lit on on the rental market! The latest government advice means that as of this week, landlords and letting agents can return to work. The rental market can finally get moving once again.

Update on rental market demand

A study on Rightmove and Zoopla found that already big cities have seen an immediate surge in property listings available to prospective tenants. There is an average 5% nationwide increase. Cities with the highest increase include Edinburgh and London. Demand for renting is expected to steadily increase. Those who had been saving to buy may now find their income has decreased. Or perhaps they have had to live off their savings throughout this crisis. It’s also worth noting an estimate 2.6 million renters are facing eviction once the ban is lifted due to the financial crisis leading to unpaid rent. This is also due to create a huge demand for rented properties throughout 2020.

Social distancing

Adapting social distancing to professional affairs as a landlord may seem difficult, however many have already taken to the new trend of virtual tours. Not only does this tool offer a sense of security to both the tenants and the landlord. It helps to funnel interest in the property, with those less serious inquiries not going beyond the virtual tour. There is also a financial benefit to this, less viewings means less travel cost for agents traveling back and forth to properties for viewings.

Another change for the industry as it gets back on its feet, is the government’s temporary amendments to Right to rent checks. In light of COVID-19 landlords can now carry out these checks in a virtual matter. Meeting the tenant can be done via video call, you should ask the tenant to hold up relevant documentation on the camera as well as scan these documents to you through email. If the tenant can not provide relevant documentation, you can utilise the government’s online right to rent checking service. You should record the date you made the check, and also carry out a follow up check on the tenant once the COVID-19 period has ended.

How we can help

For those landlords looking for a way to differentiate their property from the masses, our research has found that prospective tenants consider Wi-Fi the fourth most important utility. Including it in your rental package helps you to attract more tenants and have greater control over the services in your property. Worried about the management? Don’t. Here at Landlord Broadband we offer fully managed broadband. We deal with any tenant issues through our UK based customer services 24/7. Visit our landlords page to find out more!