What would your ideal landlord be like?

[BayLeaves]

We are moving abroad and renting out our house here in the UK, long term/permanently. We're not investors, just homeowners, and never been landlords before now.

We have just found tenants - a really nice family. Just wondered what can we do to be 'good' landlords? What would your ideal landlord be like?! Obviously making sure the house is in good nick, nothing broken etc.

Do you think a bottle of Prosecco left in the house to celebrate moving in would be appreciated? Just want to get the landlord-tenant relationship off to a happy start really.

I've rented for 20 years so have experience of the good the bad and the ugly!

Bottle of prosecco unnecessary imo. It's a business relationship and tenants don't need a moving in gift. I would actually find it a bit - I don't know, patronising? There are a multitude of reasons why somebody might find themselves renting and it may not be cause for celebration.

Property should be sparkling clean when they move in. Annual inspection at the most. No turning up unannounced.

I'm not sure how effectively it could be managed from abroad. It should be straightforward to report a problem (contacting an office most likely easier than an individual's mobile) and problems need to be resolved quickly. Will having a relative who is "fairly local" really cut it? For all issues?

My favourite property from a landlord point of view was the one where we dealt exclusively with the agency and not with the LL at all. It made it feel more like our home.

Like others I would want someone at the end of a phone pretty much 24/7 to be able to sort things out. Dont need prosecco. Are you going to always be available given youre abroad (any time difference?), even if you're on holiday etc? Yes there are costs but that's what happens when you become a landlord.

I'm a veteran tenant. My ideal landlord would

Let out the property in good condition - this may mean getting tradesmen in prior to first letting if there are faults you've learned to live with

Get repairs sorted promptly, including at evenings and weekends.

Accept that while it's their property, it's my home. That means not coming to do inspections more than once a year, giving proper notice before coming around and allowing (or at least turning a blind eye to) pets that don't cause a nuisance

Understand their legal obligations, such as protecting the deposit, gas safety checks etc. Join a landlord's association do you learn the ropes.

NOT use an agent. I've found agents to be little more than middlemen who impede communication. For instance, I've had them refuse to pass on requests to the landlord for maintenance, even though the problem is going to get worse and more expensive to fix. Presumably they think they're being helpful by not bothering the landlord. You can find tenants via Open Rent without going through an agent. Remember that if the agent cocks up the legalities, such as deposit protection, you're the one who's liable, and many agents are incompetent.

A bottle of wine is a nice touch and will help to get the relationship off on a good footing, but the other stuff is important too.

I'm a landlord and have recently been a tenant.

It was quite hard to let our home initially. But once I was on a plane I found it quite easy to forget about it and I'm glad we have someone who is on top of the legislation, remembers to do the gas checks etc and can get repairs done easily. This is despite being pretty well versed in a lot of the rules. I have made it clear to our agents that we are keen to maintain the property well and agree to all repairs immediately. I chose an agent with low costs to the tenant - some are just ridiculous. It can feel like 10% is a lot but in my experience their workload varies a lot. Mine are working pretty hard at the moment as we are between tenants.

IMHO inspections are really important. We've had a couple if tenants who have not cared for the property very well and I have been able to prepare for more work/cost at change over.

I recommend joining the National Landlords Association. They also do reasonable insurance.

^^@nationalgeographic Good point. If you're a LL, you don't go on holiday. It's very much a full-time job, and while it has many good sides, holidays are completely out. I have been for an occasional weekend away in the past 10 years, but never abroad...

@borlotti Glad to see another vote for a service contract. It is a must.

I am a landlord, I definitely go on holiday.

I leave a pack in the property with all user guides.

I have a policy with British Gas for central heating service, emergency repair, electrics and plumbing 24 hr service. They provide landlord’s gas safety certificate.

If the property is in good repair you are unlikely to need much more.

If you are contactable I don’t see a problem. Get someone to do a check every six months at least until you know them better.

You need a local agent unless you have someone close at hand to organise repairs, inspections, statutory safety obligations, deposit scheme, inventory etc. You may view it long term but realistically tenants will move on and you will readvertise and have to run the relevant checks including right to reside in UK. You need to register with the Non Resident Landlord scheme for tax, an agent can deduct this before transferring the balance each month. Agencies typically charge 10-15% for a management service, if by the time you have taken mortgage , insurance, maintenance into account the sums don't add up maybe you should sell. During any void periods you would be liable for Council Tax, utilities and so on.

Basically, do as you would be done by.

Has worked for us in the past (rented our house whilst overseas - we did use a managing agent but this was pre Internet. Could be doable now but still a major PITA IMO).

And much more recently - lead tenant has been there over 5 years, both sides happy.

Besides the obvious - safety checks, deposit, not entering without appt. etc., .- I would add - especially if you have good tenants - don't whack the rent up at every possible opportunity, just because you can.

We are in your situation. We use an agent. There is no way I could organise the speed of response to issues from part way round the world that the agents manage.
And this last quarter thay have worked their socks off as one set of tenants left, a new lot came in, discovered leaking radiators, have sorted replacing damaged goods, certificates....... We also don't need to pay the tradesmen who come in - it is deducted off the rent.
Honestly, unless your local relative can be there the next day and deal with any issues, they arent responsive enough.
Since you are likely to not be paying UK tax whilst abroad, and most rent, split between 2 house owners, comes in below the personal allowance, use the tax saving to pay an agent.

The tenants need a local point of contact. I’d be frustrated if I was having to make international calls to speak to my landlord. What’s the time difference like? Is their lunch break phone call going to be middle of the night for you?

^*SandLand: well said.

Also to add that some tenants don't want to deal directly with LL, they would rather have an agency. And I'm afraid some amateur LL are clueless about their responsibilities. There are also tenants out there who can seem great on the surface, but be horrendous when they move in. Do you really want to put your relative in that situation?

I always sigh a little on MN when posters say: just get your safety checks, a tenancy agreement, a handyman & off you go.

It's really not that simple.

MoreProsecco You're not wrong there. I had unbelievably crap and clueless amateur LLs in the distant past (thank God). The only thing to be said for it was that it showed me various mistakes not to make as a LL. I had one who demanded that I daily vacuum the flat I was renting. Unenforceable, of course, but he was a scary guy (and a CF).

Bayleaves We have been renting out our house in the far SW of England, whilst living around Brussels since 2006. This would not have been possible without my agent. She is superb, like a scary headmistress, nobody messes with her. If there is an issue, it gets fixed. Whilst there has been a void, her team keep an eye on the house, sort repairs, maintenance etc, and I know my house is in excellent hands. Other agencies charge less, but I know I can pick up the phone and the issue will be dealt with.

My house is my biggest financial investment, that I will be returning to. The cost of the agent is about £125 per month. That's worth it for my peace of mind and the maintenance of my house and to keep the tenants happy.

Think long and hard. My agent is a small local one, not some big chain, and she lives and dies by word of mouth. I wouldn't have employed her for over a decade if I didn't feel it was worth it.

I always leave chocs and a card for a new tenant. Only one trashing with a side order of dealers and no rent so it doesn't make much difference.

You need all the insurances , all the legals, a home emergency policy and a good agent. All your stuff out and be prepared for damage or eviction. Hopefully not.

As a minor aside don't leave original manuals, leave copies and a two page quick guide. Redirect should be a year, set a land registry watch and think about a maintenance schedule for repaint every few years.

Should have added, whilst overseas and using a very good managing agent (quite expensive) we had so many other Brit expats telling us we were mad to be paying X% - they were renting to family/friends for 0% or letting some family member handle it all.
Almost without exception, they eventually had real problems with damage, not paying rent, refusing to move out when owners needed to return, etc.
One family, who'd left a relative with P of A to handle everything, found that not only had he not been paying the mortgage from the rent, he'd been using it to maintain a mistress in a flat elsewhere!

They came within a whisker of their house being repossessed.

Aside from one tenant nicking something out of the loft - we never did find out which one - over at least 8 years we never had a problem at all.

I like out landlady, she's lovely, but I don't like the estate agents that manage the property (although the lady that has recently been coming recently is nice) the actual estate agency though, nothing is done. It takes months at least for things to get sorted out, we aren't allowed to touch the garden, the gardener has to. We had mould for over a year despite telling them repeatedly and we are currently without fire alarms as the ones that are wired into the electrics have stopped working. It was supposed to be sorted last week, heard nothing. We pay the estate agents extra money on top of our rent to keep on top of things. The are more concerned about the (30 year old carpet) then anything else.

Get an agent
Get an agent
Get an agent

If you are really thinking that a bottle of Procesco is really even appearing on your list - I am concerned that you don't know what you are doing. And will either end up being taken a loan of by unscruplous tenants who recognise you don't have a clue and are too flipping far away to do anything. Or you'll get fab tenants who you will piss off at your lack of ability to get things done quickly.

You need to get boiler serviced, make sure you have all the right paperwork, landlord insurance, registration with the local authority, carbon monoxide alarms, smoke detectors etc etc.
You're not playing house, you are doing a proper business transaction. please do it properly - for your own sake as well as your tenants!

Not everywhere in England needs landlord registration, and CO alarms are only mandatory with solid fuel appliances, although good practice with a gas boiler.

there's a lot of detail. A lot of paperwork that you need to ensure tenants have signed to accept. Right to rent checks. EPC. And more.

I think it's good that OP wants to be a "nice" LL, but the realities of self-managing a property have very little to do with being on friendly terms with tenants.

It's purely a business arrangement & tenants have an expectation, quite rightly, of a decent service.

And I'm afraid to say that there are tenants out there who will take the piss with an absent amateur LL who is out of the country.

By a law of averages, every LL will have a shitty tenant, despite referencing & credit checks.

It's a case of "you don't know what you don't know".

and allowing (or at least turning a blind eye to) pets that don't cause a nuisance

Just picking up on this point from Rightsaid. While some landlords do allow pets you certainly don’t have to.

We categorically don’t, the tenants know this before they sign and our agents would absolutely not “turn a blind eye” to pets.

I would disagree that this had any relevance to how to be a good landlord.

Those saying "don't use an agent" I agree in so much as don't use an ESTATE AGENT to manage the property, they don't give a fuck. Its not their main job so not their priority. What I mean by a management company is a dedicated management company. These are NOT estate agents although they will advertise your property if it becomes vacant.

I've never had a bad experience with a property management company. I've had plenty of bad experiences with properties managed by estate agents. (Coincidentally, my neighbour rents from abroad and has just had to fly back to address a problem the estate agent she had managing her property has been ignoring. Something a property management company would have sorted without her input)

Do not leave prosecco. It is a business relationship. Your tenant wants you to be professional, not nice.

You may end up liking your tenant, you may not. You want them to pay their rent and look after your property. They want you to recognise this is their home, and to maintain it, dealing with problems promptly.

Use an agent.

If not start with a prof clean (with receipts) and a prof inventory. Consider employing a gardener. Leave them a list of plumbers, electricians, locksmiths etc and explain clearly what they can and cant do in an emergency. Guarantees and service arrangements?
Leave them a couple of storage heaters should the boiler go. Leave keys somewhere accessible should someone need to get into the property quickly.

A good agent will have access to responsive workmen. They will be putting good business their way so the workmen will respond quickly.

I don't manage that many properties, but in the in the past few months I have had a shower trap fail, with water pouring down through the ceiling, the join in a central heating pipe go, so no heating or hot water, damp behind kitchen units from damaged caused by earlier tenants, a washing machine breakdown, some issues with rent payment that needed a face to face conversation, and now, the need to deal with an expansion to licensing requirements.

In an emergency some tenants are happy to work from home and wait in. Others not. Some I would not trust to oversee the delivery and installation of, say, a new washing machine, others I would.

And this is before you start on on legal stuff. Do you know what a Section 21 Notice is? What would happen if the lovely family were fronting for a cannabis farm. It happens.

Use an agent.

FWIW My neighbours issues needed face to face resolution. It was to do with a quite serious conflict between the tennants and another neighbour. It's not all "phone a plumber, job done!"

Sending a rellie round wouldn't cut it, someone with some authority over the property had to step in and defend the tennants (They were being bullied by other neighbours, badly, and I'm guessing it was racially motivated)

There was nothing a friend/relative could have done, I am HERE and have been trying to stick up for them but it needed the 'LL or Property manager to be seen to go round and investigate the (false) accusations, and then firmly tell other neighbours that they would NOT be evicting the tennant based on false accusations, and any further harassment would result in action being taken.

Would you fly back to do that like she did?
If not, HIRE A PROPERTY MANAGER

as an aside, you don't leave storage heaters - you leave small electric fan heaters and have them tested on the inventory.

Or tenants buy their own as most people do.