Letting Your Property – What to Consider When Becoming a Landlord

30.01.2021

As a landlord, there are core demands of the business – finding new tenants, managing maintenance tasks and collecting rent. However, there is an increasing number of legal and contractual requirements to be mindful of, whether your rented properties are based in central Chichester or a more rural location.

Factors such as insurance, appliance safety, tenancy agreements and dispute resolution are just some of the many jobs on a landlord’s to-do list!

Our latest guide, What to Consider When Becoming a Landlord captures all of the critical considerations when embarking on your first rental adventure; whether that’s an initial foray into the world of property investment, or letting out a home that has previously been your primary residence. Download your copy free of charge to receive a complete checklist of all the regulations, considerations and options out there to ensure your property investment is smooth sailing.

Should you need any pointers, have a rental property puzzle to solve, or would benefit from professional expertise from our market-leading lettings team, get in touch with Tod Anstee at our Chichester offices.

Understanding the Options for Rental Property Management

As an established West Sussex rental management provider, Tod Anstee has collated this guide to share our knowledge with prospective landlords, and property investors considering making changes to their portfolio.

Landlord admin tasks can quickly stack up, and it’s vital to understand what sort of time is involved, and which jobs should be top of your priorities! Effective planning is key to a successful rental investment. It’s all about keeping on top of your obligations, evaluating how much time you have to manage your tenancies, and understanding the options to help cope with the workload.

Our free guide explores:

• Tenancy management services, from marketing vacant rentals to evaluating tenant applications, collecting rent to resolving conflicts and looking after property upkeep.
• Insurance options, and which levels of cover are best suited to new landlords.
• Taxation implications for property investors.
• Contracts, permissions, consent forms and responsibilities for legal documents.
• Regulations around collecting, retaining and returning deposit payments.

Each of these factors is equally important, not only to ensure your tenants feel settled and well looked after in their new home, but also to safeguard against future risks, and to protect your rental income for the years to come.

Skip to the download form now to access your copy of What to Consider When Becoming a Landlord with the compliments of the Tod Anstee lettings team!

Support for New Rental Landlords Across West Sussex

Becoming a landlord is exciting and a chance to establish a foothold in the lucrative property investment market – with the potential for attractive returns.

For new or prospective landlords, one of the primary concerns is around legal requirements, and the demands of staying up to date with changing legislation, health and safety protocols, and rental property guidelines.

Our lettings team provides a comprehensive professional property management service for landlords of all sizes, from clients with one rental apartment, to those with vast portfolios of high-quality West Sussex homes.

Considerations span a broad scope, such as:

• Testing and safety requirements for electrical and gas utilities and appliances.
• Energy efficiency assessments and reporting guidelines.
• Correct labelling of furnishings or decor included within the rent.
• Heating and hot water systems, and the need to ensure these are free from hazard risks.

We have compiled a summary of all of the core legal requirements for UK landlords to explain the laws in place, what they mean, and how you can meet those obligations to demonstrate full compliance. Another option is to appoint an experienced local lettings agent to manage your properties for you.

The Checklist of Landlord Responsibilities

To help you make an educated decision about the ideal lettings service for you, we have included a table of the tiers of management services on offer, and what is included in each.

For example, suppose you are keen to rent out your first property or are considering investing in a competitive rental project. In that case, you might wish to delegate responsibility for tasks such as:

• Serving notices.
• Inspecting the property.
• Negotiating deposit terms.
• Referencing tenants.
• Liaising over repairs.
• Arranging and conducting viewings.
• Managing rental arrears.

Some landlords prefer to have an active role in their rental business, in which case a letting only option might be best suited, with the advantage of an experienced marketing team on hand to ensure you find the ideal tenants for your property!

Our What to Consider When Becoming a Landlord guide runs through all of these factors. We aim to provide a concise and complete guide to all of the crucial aspects of making sound decisions about your property investment prospects.

Your landlord business is personal. The choices you make about where and when to invest depend on your aspirations, budgets, time commitments and appetite for involvement in the rental process. Therefore, there is no right or wrong way to decide on the optimal property management strategy for you.

As a highly qualified and accredited estate agency, our role is to equip you with the essential tools to evaluate how your rental investments will help you meet your business aims.

• Find out what level of work is involved with managing a property rental.
• Stay up to date with laws, declarations, regulations and obligations.
• Understand the options for professional management services.
• Learn about best practise for dealing with tenancy payments and issues, including dispute management.
• Comply with requirements for insurance, contracts, letting agreements and holding deposits.
• Explore ways to implement remote lettings management to streamline your business through our contemporary digital platform.

Download your free guide today to get started!

If you need bespoke advice around your West Sussex rental property, please do not hesitate to contact the Tod Anstee team at your convenience to arrange a good time to chat about everything that new landlords need to know to get their property investment off on the right foot!