Investment Property Maintenance – The 10-step tenant changeover process
Having followed advice on how to be a great landlord and avoid tenants from hell, when a tenant does leave you’ll have received plenty of notice to quit. That will give you the opportunity to find the best tenants to replace those that are leaving.
When faced with a set of tenants moving out and another set moving in, it’s important to work on a methodical changeover strategy. You want your current tenants to leave on good terms, and your new tenants to know they’ve got a great landlord. Here’s the 10-step tenant changeover process we use to make sure this happens.
When we receive the notice to quit
Step 1: We’ll find out why the tenant wants to leave your property
Usually, it’s because of a change in their circumstances. Perhaps they’ve been offered a new job in a different town. Or they’re expanding their family.
If it’s a rent issue (very, very rare), we’ll talk to you and see if there’s a way to keep the current tenant in place.
If the tenant is intent on moving on, then we start the process of finding new tenants immediately.
Step 2: Find new tenants
We’ll work through our lists of prospective tenants. It may be that we can line up new tenants for you from people we already know. If not, we’ll start the process of marketing your investment property. The aim will be to find new tenants as soon as possible and minimise any void periods. Most of our landlord clients have void periods between tenancies of no longer than two weeks.
We’ll go through all the tenant checking processes that we did to find your current tenant. It includes background checks, interviews, and credit checks.
Before the current tenant leaves
Step 3: Conduct a walkthrough
As is practical after the notice has been given, we’ll do a walkthrough inspection. It’s important that the current tenant is present. We’ll compare the condition of the property to the property inventory.
We’ll make certain that the tenant knows what they are responsible for by the tenancy agreement. And confirm the moving-out date, and make a list of any maintenance that needs to be done under the landlord’s responsibilities.
Step 4: Diarise maintenance
There may be maintenance requirements that need specialists. For example:
- Electrical
- Gas
- Plumbing
- Decorating
We’ll diarise these, and book our local tradespeople to do any work needed.
When the tenant leaves
Step 5: Final Inspection
We’ll carry out a final inspection to ensure that the tenant hasn’t caused any further damage, take the keys, and sign-off on the tenant’s leaving. If maintenance needs have altered since the walkthrough, we’ll let the tradespeople know so that they are fully prepared when they come to do their work.
After the current tenant has left
Step 6: Change the locks
You may wish to have the locks changed as a precaution. We’ll arrange for this to happen on the day the tenant moves out.
Step 7: Carry out maintenance work
The pre-booked tradespeople do their work, and we’ll check that it is up to standard. We’ll ensure that electrical checks are made and that gas safety certificates are in place. We’ll also check other essentials, such as smoke alarms.
Any decorating needed is carried out before the property is cleaned.
Step 8: The buy-to-let property is professionally cleaned
We’ll have the property professionally cleaned, top to bottom. It is a deep clean. Your new tenants will benefit from a new home that is pristine. This clean includes inside cupboards, the oven, and carpets.
When the new tenant moves in
Step 9: The moving-in inspection
On the day that the new tenant moves in, we’ll welcome them and carry out the moving-in inspection. We’ll do this with the tenant, and have them sign the property inventory.
Step 10: Tenancy agreements and deposits
Depending on when we find your new tenants, we’ll arrange for tenancy agreements to be signed. We’ll collect the deposit from the new tenant, and ensure that it is deposited in a registered tenancy deposit scheme.
Once any work that needs to be done between tenancies has been completed, we’ll arrange for the original tenant’s deposit to be repaid. If there are any repairs, damage, or other work that needs to be deducted from the deposit, we will arrange for this to happen, too.
How do your current investment property managers measure up on tenant changeovers? Do they keep you involved? Can they work immediately to find new tenants? Do they keep your void periods to a minimum?
Contact one of the Ezytrac team today on+44 1522 503 717. Find out why some of our tenant changeovers result in a void period of just one or two days. And discover why we’re one of the fastest-growing investment property management companies in the UK today.
Cheers,
Karen Nicholson