All posts by : noisegate

Some landlords prefer cats to dogs, because they are cat lovers themselves, and others won’t consider allowing any ‘pet’ in their rented property. It often comes down to past experience or feline tails (pardon the pun) from the landlord’s family and friends…

Cats (much like dogs) come with their own caveats and purr-sonalities that are worth looking into if you’re going to allow your tenants to rent with Tiddles in tow!

Here are some things to consider while you paws (pardon another one!) for thought over lettings and cats

The old ones are the best…

Older cats are used to living with their owners and are often calmer – especially with a cat-flap in the door that allows them to come and go at will. They may also be a bonus in an area that may be prone to rodents – even the Prime Minister has an adopted cat from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, Larry the Chief Mouser, at 10 Downing Street!

Kitten crazy…

Kittens can be great fun (for the tenant) until they come home one day to find that the property has been turned into a playground and the kitten is halfway through destroying the landlord’s vertical blinds – or even the sofa! It’s probably best to only agree to a kitten in a fairly robust and unfurnished property, where the tenant provides their own blinds, curtains, and soft furnishings.

It’s also worth asking the tenants to put a detailed request in writing. For example: details of the cat’s size and age, and if this is likely to be a temporary or permanent arrangement.

Pet owners expect a little extra…

Responsible pet owners expect extra costs to allow for additional wear and tear, and it may be reasonable to ask for some additional rent – say about £20–25 per month.

This will mean that you will be able to build up a small ‘repairs’ fund in order to quickly cover any additional work at the end of the tenancy (such as scratches to the doors).

If you agree to the tenants keeping a cat at the property, consider adding a pet clause to your tenancy agreement (signed by both parties).

Pets don’t have to mean no.

Many tenants will have well-behaved cats due to good training and ownership skills. However, it is always advisable to put in writing what you both agree to be acceptable and to make it clear that you understand that a pet is an important part of your tenant’s life. In *2016 it was estimated that 11 million (40%) of UK households have pets, with 17% having a cat, so it can be a common request from tenants.

If you’d like to know more about lets with pets, please just ask.

The private rental sector is one of the fastest moving parts of the property industry…… download our FREE local landlord report:

https://www.thelettingpeople.co.uk/userFiles/the_letting_people_leamington_warwick_and_kenilworth_area_news_september_2017.pdf

With onerous regulations continuing to increase in the private rented sector (PRS), it’s becoming more and more difficult for residential landlords to avoid all the pitfalls.

Landlords who have always self-managed their properties can now find themselves making costly mistakes. Many of these could have been sorted quickly and cheaply or avoided altogether – particularly if the letting agent had been able to check on all the property management compliance obligations before the tenancy had commenced.

Perhaps for these reasons, professional letting agents are now seeing a steady rise in the number of landlords seeking expert advice and assistance – although unfortunately some landlords are waiting until a problem has already developed. 

In a recent survey (May 2017), the National Landlords Association (NLA) reported that 61% of landlords had confirmed that they were using a letting agent to manage their properties – an increase of 7% since 2016.

Additionally, having an on-going property management service, or even just a rent-collection service, means that the letting agent can keep the landlord up to date with all new legislation and ensure that all compliance issues are dealt with in a timely manner.

Some landlords who self-manage don’t see the need for property visits at all during a tenancy, leaving tenants to their own devices for “as long as they pay the rent”. The Letting People recently came across a new landlord who hadn’t been inside their rental property for over nine years – and consequently a lot of work was outstanding! 

It is always advisable to schedule regular property visits – preferably with the tenant present – to ensure that no minor issues are left to turn into major problems. If there are any breaches of the tenancy agreement, these can also be acted on straight away. The first visit should be at around three months after the tenancy start date, and thereafter at six-monthly intervals.

Therefore, for savvy landlords wanting to avoid tripping up on the ever-increasing and onerous regulations in the PRS, now is probably the best time to consider all the benefits of property management. Letting the professional letting agents take on management responsibilities could be the best decision that a residential landlord ever makes about their rental properties – for themselves and for their tenants too!

This superbly located and very spacious, luxury double-bedroom apartment with patio area is part of a stunning converted historic Leamington building (known locally as ‘The Three Graces’) conveniently located within walking distance of the town centre.   It has allocated parking, and also enjoys a high specification kitchen, additional cloakroom, en-suite bedroom, and quirky additional utility and storage room. The apartment has a security alarm system and electric central heating. 

Asking price £274,000. More inforamtion on Zoopla here: http://tinyurl.com/zouksgd

***Attention property investors and first time buyers***.Expected soon a 2-3 bedroom propertyin Warwick. Register your interest here

SOLD +++++draft The information provided about the property has been submitted to the Vendor but has not been verified by the Vendor and therefore is distributed without any guarantee of accuracy.

A very well presented two double bedroom house situated within walking distance of Warwick Hospital and close to access for the A46 leading to the M40 and M69 with excellent road links to all parts of the Midlands. The property has 2 good size bedrooms, living room and a kitchen with a range of high and low level units and drawers.

Offers in region of £165,000 More information on Zoola here: http://tinyurl.com/ot3fobv

If you are a Milton Keynes landlord contact us now to register your property with us and to benefit from our  letting and management packages starting from a 0% management fee!

 The Letting People have now launched a blog through Tumblr to complement our twitter, facebook and linkedin feeds. Take a look down the bottom right hand side of our home page to find the links. Also, Anthony and Caroline both have twitter and linkedin accounts… see you there!

A great night at the Motor Heritage museum with over £8000 raised for Cancer Research UK! The drinks reception was held in the motor museum public areas with a lovely meal and lively dancing after in the top floor function room. The Letting People were proud to sponsor and a big thanks to dazzlepeople for arranging.

What were you doing 10 years ago in 2002?   We were all 10 years younger and it seems incredible that we were just establishing The Letting People business and enjoying taking on our first properties to let. We were therefore very excited when one of our first landlords from 2002, Mr Pete Mason, recently won our monthly Myton Hospice Lottery Prize Draw.  Pete said “Having dealt with The Letting People for 10 years I have always found them to be reliable, honest, and a pleasure to work with – and that makes all the difference!”  So, thanks Pete, we hope we will be letting your properties for at least another 10 years!
If you are a landlord who would like to be entered into our free monthly Myton Hospice Lottery Prize Draw (with the chance to win up to £5000 in the quarterly jackpot) just contact us for more details.