What do you look for when you’re renting?

[JudgeRindersMinder]

In the process of renovating family home to rent out (please don’t give me a hard time for this, the income is needed to pay for care), amd apart from the legal stuff re safety, what do you look for in a rental property?

We’re looking at...
Hard floors in hall and living room,
New carpets in the bedrooms
White walls in bedrooms, grey in living areas
Allowing tenants to put up pictures etc on walls
House is currently set up as 3 very good sized bedrooms and a dining room, but we’re likely to market it as 4 bedrooms.
Kitchen and bathrooms are well up to date
Providing a gardener every couple of weeks for grass cutting (there’s a LOT of grass!)
Leaving Venetian blinds on the windows at the front of the house

The rent is likely to be around £1200/month. What else would you be wanting for your money?

Be careful with blinds - ensure the cords have proper safety brackets especially in potential children's bedrooms/areas. Venetians tend to break easily too so put aside money for replacement.

If an agent is managing it don't assume they will do things properly and legally. The onus is on you as the landlord to check everything is in order so; EPC, annual gas safety certificate, latest copy of how to rent guide and deposit protected are the minimum requirements.

I wouldn’t put up picture hooks. As someone with a lot of pictures on the wall, I want to choose where I put them and I certainly don’t hang them at equal intervals, they aren’t all the same size for a start!

I’m also puzzled as to why you would allow dogs and not cats given it’s unfurnished. The worst a cat will generally do is scratch furniture.

I'm a LL and agree if you are allowing dogs you should allow cats too. I have definitely had more damage from tenants with dogs but agents do have a slightly higher security bond for with pets/children than without

Leave instructions for all appliances, bin collections poss a couple of takeaway menus

Are you including the white goods in the agreement? (Meaning you are responsible for repairs/replacements) or 'donating' (meaning tenants use but replacements/repairs are down to them)

Colours of paint depend on the light rooms get. Grey ok if get lots of light, Ivory works better if darker

Non-smokers.
When I’ve rented in the past I’ve viewed some properties where previous tenants had smoked and you could tell.

Dogs would be a bad idea. If dog owner leaves you may find it hard to re-rent promptly because of the stink.

@thisislido you’re voicing my thoughts about picture hooks!

I’m taking on board what everyone is saying about cats, and can see where you’re coming from. I’ll raise it with my sibling, but I’m prepared for resistance!

The jury is still out on whether the appliances will be included, or “donated” as the likes of the washing machine going wrong is a potential ballache I don’t need!

Thank you all for the input, it’s very much appreciated, and any other thoughts anyone has are most welcome 😊

There's always people with pets who want to rent though because there's lots of places that don't allow pets

Also glad you have done the kitchen and bathroom properly. Rented many that have just been cheap tat that gives a good 1st impression and not much else.

Little things like hooks on backs of doors, a row of hooks for keys in the hall and a folder of instruction books for the appliances are really useful!

I’ve rented for years, and my general expectations are:

• a sofa
• window dressings (blinds or curtains, whatever you want, just not naked!)
• light fittings/ceiling lampshades
• washable/wipeable wall paint
• durable flooring that is fairly easy to clean (so sturdy carpet that can be scrubbed, or laminate, lino etc), carpets should be mottled colours or dark
• white goods (fridge freezer and washing machine) and cooker/oven and hob (I expect these to be included, and replaced if needed, I don’t expect to have to replace them myself)
• no prepay meters (ie I can get electric/gas/water on direct debit, I don’t want to have to load a key with cash at a shop)
• a half decent shower (doesn’t matter if it’s over a bath, just not super weak water pressure)
• ideally double glazed, and a decent heating system (whether gas central heating or some sort of good electric heating system, not just convectors)
• I’d rather there weren’t a ton of things stored in the property that the landlord intermittently wants access to, I don’t mind some stuff being left but eg I don’t want a whole internal cupboard or loft space for example entirely occupied by stuff that isn’t mine (and worrying about whether I’m responsible for it!)

I think that’s about everything. I would add, these things vary by area. My list above is really common where I live (in the south east), but I know renters elsewhere in the country where, for example, no white goods provided is common, or space for a dishwasher is the norm (it isn’t here hence it’s not on my list, much as I would love one!). So when looking at other local rentals, see if there are any common themes in terms of what is provided.

You say you are leaving white goods. I honestly wouldn't. If you provide it you have to replace it if it breaks. Sell what you have!

You don't mention smoke detectors / carbon monoxide monitors they're a legal requirement now although I'm sure your agent will tell you that.

I'm both a landlord and a renter. Stick to neutral colours and ask tenants to return walls to the original when they move out.... I'm saying this as my DD has very 'grown up' patterned blinds in her bedroom that match nothing. A previous tenant of mine painted the chimney breast in red gloss to go with her red leather sofa

I've only skim read the replies, but if you can I'd suggest a good quality wipe clean paint, the property I'm in now and the previous property had low quality paint on the walls and with a sticky toddler leaving hand prints on the walls when I try to clean it the paint rubs off too and leaves a mark.
I also agree with pp regarding allowing cats, maybe ask for a higher deposit and regular checks for pet owners because I will admit one of my cats is bad for scratching the carpets despite having scratch posts.

@TotheletterofthelawTHELETTER no smoking is an absolute given, to the point that I’d forgotten to note it here I’ve made a note though so it doesn’t get overlooked-thank you

@bedunkalilt, thank you for your perspective as a tenant, this is exactly what I need!
We won’t be leaving anything in the house at all, it must be really horrible when people do that. I’ve written a previous thread about leaving a car in the garage and not including the garage in the rental, and the consensus was that as long as I didn’t require regular access it wouldn’t be an issue

Definitely no key meters, and I’d not have an issue if a tenant wanted to change gas/electricity providers either

The showers have fantastic pressure, they’re mains fed and there’s good mains pressure.

Flooring in the kitchen and bathrooms is amtico, the living room and hall will probably be decent quality laminate, and the bedrooms will be carpeted with easily cleanable darkish (not brown!) carpets.

I have found that if the LL leaves details of how to contact agent/you in emergency out of hours, very helpful. I must say you are being very generous in doing the gardens. I've just paid £150 to have mine tidied.

I think picture hooks are a good idea, if the walls require drilling.

I have the perfect landlord, and it really does go a long way, he is polite, and friendly. Even bought me an extravagant present after I had been messed about by workmen not showing up.

Re the pets, I think it's great that you will allow these, as long as you have the clause regarding cleaning carpets at the end of tenancy. You might check that tenant has pet damage included on their home insurance.

I've got Venetian blinds fitted by LL, and wish he had also added a blackout roller blind as well.

I don't think you have a say once you have rented a property over which utility supplier the renter wants to use?

The legal stuff re hard wired smoke alarms, carbon monoxide, deposits, registering as landlords (we’re in Scotland), deposit protection etc is all being taken care of, but everything mentioned is a massive help...I think we’re going to be in “accidental landlord” territory with this

If you're renting it unfurnished or expect tenants to have some furniture of their own, specify no water beds or gel- filled furnishings. You should also specify no fish tanks larger than 5 gallons if you think you will allow fish.

I think you should allow cats, with a cat deposit of maybe half a month's rent.

I recommend no birds as pets. They are really smelly and seeds attract mice.

Do you expect your tenants and their guests to be non smokers? Talk about this with your insurance. Also talk about candles with naked flame. Can tenants use a BBQ grill outdoors? If yes, how far from the house?

You need to make your tenants report immediately to you any problems with the smoke alarms. You need a clause making sure tenants test the batteries, if any, monthly.

You need a clause about keys - name and address of everyone who has keys to be given to you. All keys without exception to be returned at end of lease.

Can the tenants put up a satellite dish? Can employees of a cable company work inside the house?

How long can a guest stay before they are considered to be normally resident?

Clause against illegal activity.

Clause insisting trash goes straight from house to bin. No piles of it in the garden.

Wow that's a lot of clauses that aren't even in a normal tenancy!

Off topic, but I’m fascinated by the idea of gel filled furniture. I’ve googled and can’t find anything larger than a cushion.

If you are worried about extra keys being cut, you can change the locks to those where you have to order keys with a reference code. Everywhere I’ve rented has had them, to prevent you from getting copies cut.

I've just changed locks after every tenant.

You also can't charge extra deposit for pets. As of this month, the rules have changed to max 5 weeks' worth of rent (not sure if it applies to Scotland, though).

Oh I didn't know that about the deposit. That's interesting

Re the appliances, my tenancy agreement states that the dishwasher and washing machine are supplied on a non replaceable, non repairable basis. They did go wrong eventually, so I had to replace them myself which I was fully prepared for when I signed the agreement. It didn’t put me off because I wanted to upgrade them anyway and knew at some point I would be moving and may need them. In the next house white goods were included on the same basis but as we had our own I just asked the landlord to remove them.

To add to that, we always look for good quality and paint you can wipe clean in busy areas such as the hallway.

Ideally hard flooring apart from in bedrooms.

Carbon monoxide detectors and smoke alarms were checked on the day we moved in and noted in the check in inventory. Speaking of which we had a VERY thorough inventory to go through when we moved in, which included photos and descriptions of everything so there would be no disputes later over anything later when moving out.

In England at least you can no longer ask for more deposit to cover animals, we had to return the extra deposit taken for a dog. I would still allow animals, a cat or or dog. I don't think cats are worse than dogs.