Avoiding Christmas void periods

As the summer rental rush ends, landlords will be looking ahead to the autumn and winter.  With fewer people looking to rent as Christmas approaches, letting a property at attractive rents can be more challenging than during the summer and void periods can be an issue.

Annual tenancy agreements can come up for renewal at an inconvenient time for landlords if the tenant decides to give notice in the run up to Christmas, which unfortunately isn’t uncommon.

However, ensuring that new tenants signing a tenancy in October, November or December agree to an 18 or 30 month tenancy agreement is a relatively simple way of avoiding prolonged void periods during the quieter winter months.

Stephen Ludlow, Chairman of ludlowthompson says: "No landlord wants to face the choice of low rents or void periods because they have to let their property when demand is seasonally low. Signing tenants up to a tenancy that expires in June or July means that a landlord is much more likely to be finding new tenants during the busy summer months, when void periods are less of a risk.

"The effects of the government’s Help to Buy initiative could see more tenants giving notice as they become able to move onto the housing ladder themselves. So it’s important that landlords begin to think of how they wish to structure the coming few years in relation to their next batch of tenants.

"In the worst case scenario, landlords who have to find new tenants in December may have to accept lower rents than they would like to avoid their property being empty over the Christmas holidays."