Would these features affect what tenants would pay for a rental?

[ILookLikeAPinkBlancmange]

I'm buying a house to rent out (it will be my only property and may become my home later). I'd appreciate opinions from people who live in private rented accommodation. Which of these would affect how much you'd pay/whether you'd be willing to live there at all?

1. Laminate flooring instead of carpets
2. Bathroom which has walk-in shower but no bath
3. Small kitchen
4. Bathroom and kitchen need updating but landlord won't do it
5. Parking for 2 cars
6. 2 dogs or 2 cats allowed

Thanks very much for your help.

1 - depends if it is cheap laminate or the proper durable stuff that can take a beating. If it's cheap stuff that doesn't last 5 years then I stay clear of it.Same with carpets really, cheap, thin carpets tell me a landlord will do everything on the cheap with no thought for practical use or comfort for those living there.

2 If the bathroom is still a decent size and modern it wouldn't bother me having a bath or not.

3 If there is only one tiny bit of counter space then I would say it's too small. Otherwise, fine, especially if there is space for a table elsewhere.

4 If bathrooms and kitchens are not maintained then that tells me the landlord is going to be a nightmare when something fails. So I would walk away from the rental.

Furnishings can be dated but still maintained well.

5 Parking is always worth paying extra for in my mind.

6 Depending on the exit process, this can be a good thing.

Laminate instead of carpets would be a plus point for me, in fact I try to avoid carpeted unless brand newly laid. Everyone has different preferences but mostly hard floors unless very cheap and poorly fitted are seen as a plus.

A room with a walk in shower and no bath….that is very tenant dependent becuase some people really want a bath or have children who they’d prefer to use the bath. But for many a good walk in shower is preferable to a cramped shower over bath situation. So I would say if it is of decent size and quality it narrows the appeal slightly but is overall neutral. If it’s cramped or poor quality then it has no advantage and will be an overall negative.

Small kitchen, depends how small and again depends on the type of tenant likely to be looking in your area. Small is usually not a dealbreaker, unusably small as in no room for a fridge, barely any counter, cupboards too shallow fo take a plate…that will put many off and will reduce price.

Bathroom and kitchen…depends how bad they are, if it’s just dated decor it will reduce price a bit, if it’s really grotty I’d avoid. If the landlord doesn’t want to pay for repairs that are really needed that’s a huge red flag.

Parking is an advantage for sure, whether two cars rather than one helps depends on tenant requirements,

Pets…to me irrelevant but will definitely be a plus for pet owners, although with the renters rights act now in force landlords must consider all requests re pets fairly, I am not sure how that will play out in practice. For some, if the property has often had pets and that has worsened condition it will be a negative.

We're long-term private renters (10 yrs plus) with 3 kids aged from 5 - 18. Our house is kept immaculately and we both work - rent always paid on time without fail.
The "deal-breaker" of all of these for me would be no bath, especially with a little one.
We have always had pets - dog at one point and now a cat. We paid a deposit at start of tenancy to cover any damage (although there has never been any). Not sure on the rules currently of stipulating no pets?
Parking important as both husband and I have cars, but especially so as my older two are 16 and 18 (18 yo also has own car and 16 yo will also too in not-too-distant). Own drive preferable of course, but if not, definitely ample parking space near to the house.
How big is the house and what are you looking to charge roughly? A lot depends on what sort of tenants you're looking for e.g couple or family etc.

The pets not being allowed would rule it out

And it not having a bath would rule it out

Wouldn't be too bothered about anything else

@ILookLikeAPinkBlancmange How many bedrooms? Parents with small dc want a bath. Small kitchen is ok but not in a 3 bed house. Small with decent layout and appliances is fine. Letting anything out now is a nightmare. You would get a better return from savings! Investment bonds for example. Why put yourself through it? Occasional landlords are selling up, not investing!

Just to warn you that poorly trained dogs and cats can destroy a property . The damage can cost far more to fix than the deposit .

Eg cat urine can soak through the laminate flooring and into the floorboards, you can’t get the smell out so they need to be replaced . Which can involve removing all the skirtings as well as fittings like kitchen units and bathroom fittings . Plus the lost rent while you get all that work done.

Badly behaved dogs can be a really nuisance to the neighbours , especially if they are left home alone and bark all day or if animal waste builds up in the garden. It will be your job to deal with the complaints .

If the tenants decide not to pay the rent, it will now take you a long time to get them out. You have to still pay your mortgage of course even with no rent. When they eventually move out, they often wreck the house before they leave.

I know someone who let out her house when she was working abroad , the tenants paid no rent for a year , then before they moved out they took off all the internal doors and set fire to then in the garden and ripped out the sinks and flooded the house.

If the tenants claim benefits fraudulently to pay the rent, the local authority can try to reclaim it from you.

So id think long and hard if this is something you really want to do. And that’s before you even do the sums to see if you will make any money out of it . If you are buying with a mortgage you probably won’t .

Obviously 1 - 5 will be factors in determining whether someone is interested in the property or not since they directly affect its rental "value" compared to its competitor properties.

For 6. the Renters Rights Act came into force on 1 May and its rules cover whether you can or cannot refuse 1, 2 or 22 cats and dogs.
Assured periodic tenancies: a guide for landlords: If a tenant wants a pet to live with them - GOV.UK

Lets say a LL has had the same tenant for 10 years. They havnt raised the rent and now its below market value. So they think they can suddenly whack it up and reason that the tenant has been lucky to have a lowish rent all this time. But they dont consider that they should have updated the property and that now the tenant is living n a kind of time warp. If they had had several shorter tenancies rather than a long one they would probably have spent a lot more refurbshing the roperty between tenants.

If some of the rooms are no longer up to current market standard - for example a dingy little kitchen - the tenant could refuse even a modest rent rise and appeal to the tribunal who will take this into account. Market value means current market value not market value 10 years ago. So LLs who have failed to refurbish the bathroom, kitchen, heating system etc could find themselves not only waiting upto a year for a tribunal decision but unable to achieve the rent they want.

@Friendlygingercat How on earth is a LL supposed to totally refurb a house with a tenant in it? No kitchen or bathroom during a refurbishment? Not likely to happen with a long term tenant.

We improved our properties in between lets, but over a 10 year period a kitchen and bathroom won’t be very dated. Mine certainly were not. Clean and serviceable like most on the estate! No one is going to spend a fortune on updating when you cannot get the outlay back in rent, or in the sale price. As long as it’s a good house, you do get tenants. My issue was that we frequently didn’t get enough time to even repaint because tenants wanted to move in quickly. They always said they were happy with it as it was. We did paint of course and also replace floors, carpets, patio, fencing, even windows but never a whole kitchen or bathroom with a tenant in situ. It’s impossible. The ideal is to make it future proof before you let it out and pray you get a good tenant and your agent arranges annual condition checks.

It happens, my LL is redoing my bathroom been here ten years. they didn’t have a choice though bathroom was falling apart as they brought it and immediately rented it out without checking the basics… 🤦‍♀️

so you moved into a property without checking the basics 😱

Flooring- great if in reasonable condition
Shower - fine
Small kitchen- fine if sufficient worktop and space for fridge
Updating- hmmm - depends how grotty. Okd fashioned is ok
parking and cats - brilliant.

1. Laminate flooring instead of carpets

as long as I’m decent condition. I can put rugs over and still keep clean easily. A safer option than carpet.

1. Bathroom which has walk-in shower but no bath

ok with me but some people love a bath and those with young kids will require one. Higher risk for you.

1. Small kitchen

depends on how small proportionally to the rest of the house.

1. Bathroom and kitchen need updating but landlord won't do it

definite negative. Also says something about them as a landlord and would be a red flag.

1. Parking for 2 cars

depends if it’s town or village. What’s the alternative for parking and transport?

1. 2 dogs or 2 cats allowed

very important, and you can’t refuse this anyway

The issues for me would be the small kitchen - when we rented a house there was basically no counter space. If you needed counter space then the kettle and toaster needed to be put away in the living room! It wasn’t workable.

The kitchen and bathroom not being up to standard would put me off, depending on the issue. Are they just dated or not fit for purpose?

Thanks, all, for your responses so far - lots to think about! The kitchen and bathroom are OK, not awful, but I'm mindful that replacing them with even basic new ones would mean I had no income from the property for two years, by the time I consider tax, other repairs/expenses etc., so I'd rather just give the house fresh paint and new floorings and see how the tenants look after it. If I was moving in myself I wouldn't rush to do it, either.

Number 4 would be the dealbreaker for me, depending on the current state of them. I would expect a decent LL to have a decent kitchen and bathroom in properties they rent out and I gauge it when I saw them. Other points would be fine with me.

I rented when I was in my 20s and would think this:

1. Don’t care about floors as long as they are clean. Laminate much better than dirty old carpets and easier to clean
2. For a rental I wouldn’t care
3. Don’t care
4. This would bother me most if they are really old fashioned or tatty. Potential deal breaker.
5. Don’t care. Didn’t drive. Maybe a plus for some
6. Personally I wouldn’t get a pet while renting. You never know when you need to move and most landlords don’t accept them. Lots of pets end up in shelters for this reason

It will depend to some extent on who you are renting too. The majority of renters are likely to be young people in their 20s looking to rent for 1 or 2 years. A family, or older person looking to rent long term is likely to have different priorities.

What condition are the kitchen cabinets in OP? If they are ok you could just replace the doors etc, possibly the worktop and the sink if necessary. Much quicker, cheaper and less disruptive than a new kitchen.

Ultimately, the higher the spec, the higher the rent. Stick down cheap laminate and leave the kitchen and bathroom as they are and students will be happy - but check out local rules for HMOs, you may find you have to have 2 fridges and atleast one cooker and a microwave if for more than 3 people. You also need two bathrooms for more than 3. Upgrade the place and you will attract professionals.

1. +
2. - if only bathroom and a family home, neutral for professionals unless high spec
3. - if family home, neutral for professionals as long as well equipped, is there a dining area separately
4. Neutral , take as seen but needs to be functional, well equipped and maintained.
5. + assuming designated and off road
6. neutral, - if small house especially for subsequent tenants

I always look at bathroom and kitchen on a rental as those are the parts that you wouldn’t be able to repaint etc but of course the more private the more you pay so feel like all the things listed will just effect how much you can ask for it.

wooden floors are def preferred over carpet, allowing pets is good as long as it’s had a deep clean between tenants.

parking and the shower wouldn’t be deal breakers but I wouldn’t be expecting to pay the higher end of rent for the area.

My son is looking at rentals at the moment:

1. Laminate flooring instead of carpets. Yes. Good
2. Bathroom which has walk-in shower but no bath. Not a problem
3. Small kitchen. Would be a negative but not a deal breaker.
4. Bathroom and kitchen need updating but landlord won't do it. Massive negative.
5. Parking for 2 cars. Very positive.
6. 2 dogs or 2 cats allowed. Neutral. But obviously a big plus for many.

Coming at this from the other side….
I bought a house a few weeks before leaving the country for 3 years. It was an unusual house that was unlikely to come up again and I planned on moving back.
I was instructed by the agent to cover the floorboards with carpet in the bedrooms.
I was able to claim back the cost of significant building work that I would need to have done whatever against the tax due from the rental income.

Laminate and no bath are straight no to me.