Lettings

Would you know if your tenant presented a subletting risk? Are you confident you’d know how to spot if subletting was taking place? With recent research by Direct Line showing 1 in 8 tenants had engaged in subletting activity – and with 22% of tenants considering or already signed up to Airbnb or similar – subletting is something to take seriously in 2023.

Renters are expected to act in a ‘tenant-like manner’ and that means undertaking small maintenance jobs inside the property and outdoors too. In fact, a poll by the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) found garden maintenance was one of the top five reasons for deposit disputes.

There was a lot of fanfare after the Renters’ Reform Bill got its first reading in Parliament earlier in May but despite the publicity, there is a long way to go before the Bill becomes law. We’ve outlined what happens next and when we may expect the law to change.

Landlords and letting agents alike were waiting for the publication of the Renters’ Reform Bill in May but due to something described as ‘procedural issues’, the move has been delayed.

Despite the image of tenants being flighty characters who move home every six months, renters are living in the same place for increasingly extended periods of time. Rightmove research among nearly 1,300 landlords in 2022 found the most common length of a private tenancy is over two years, with a fifth (18%) of landlords saying their average length of tenancy has increased over time.