Attracting long-term tenants could soon become a lot more enticing for landlords with the planned Renters Rights Bill fast approaching. Soon fixed term tenancy agreements won’t exist, meaning tenants can hand their notice to leave in at any point during their tenancy. Therefore, long-term tenants will mean landlords can keep a steady rental revenue, reduce void periods, along with avoiding the costs involved with changing tenancies. Generally speaking, families will stay longer in a rental home than single, student or shared tenants, so making your rental home appealing to their specific needs could be a huge benefit. But attracting family renters takes a little extra thought and preparation. Here's how you can make your property more appealing to families and why it’s worth the effort.
Why Families Make Great Tenants
Families tend to look for long-term ‘homes’ when renting rather than a temporary place to live. This usually translates into longer-term tenancies, providing landlords with a stable income, fewer periods where the property is sitting empty and avoidance of the associated costs with re-letting. Families additionally are more invested in maintaining the property, taking better care of it as it’s their home, not just somewhere they’re staying, meaning fewer maintenance issues for landlords to have to deal with and pay for.
What Do Families Look for in a Rental Property?
To catch the attention of family renters, your property should tick a few important boxes:
- Safety First
A safe and secure neighbourhood, with a low crime rate puts your property at a significant advantage to attract families. Investing in safety features such as sturdy locks, secure windows, good outdoor lighting, and a burglar alarm could be a strong selling point, along with ensuring the property is well-maintained. - Space and Layout
Space for everyone in the family to live comfortably will boost your properties appeal. This commonly means 3 or more bedrooms, bigger shared living areas and plenty of storage for everyone’s bits and bobs. Open-plan living spaces are ideal, allowing parents to keep an eye on little ones, whilst getting on with everything else that needs doing. - Garden Goals
Access to outdoor space, or even better a private garden, is a must for families. It provides extra space for children to play, hosting social gatherings or family activities, and potential for extra storage if there’s room for a shed. Ensure any garden is safe, child-friendly and ideally easy to manage. - Proximity to Good Schools
Being in the catchment area of a good school is a huge draw and highly sought after. Families will prioritise education when choosing where to live so if your property is near a well-rated school, highlight it in your listings. - Nearby Amenities and Transport Links
Being close to shops, supermarkets, parks, healthcare facilities and public transport is key for families. Easy access to motorways and train stations are great for commuting parents. When going to market, emphasise amenities near your location that will make daily life easier for busy parents.
How to Prepare your Property for Families
Before renting to families, there are a few practical considerations to keep in mind to ensure your property is suitable for long-term tenants with children.
- Childproofing
Families with toddlers will appreciate thoughtful safety features like window locks, cushioning sharp edges, and covered sockets. Families with older children may not require as many adjustments, but even small changes can make a big difference.
- Pet-Friendly Lets
Many families have pets, so offering your property as a pet-friendly rental will broaden your pool of good potential tenants. Just make sure your tenancy agreement includes clear guidelines about pet care and property upkeep. The Renters Rights Bill will prohibit blanket-bans on pets, so making your property pet-friendly now will put you in the perfect position. - Personalisation
To appeal to the masses decorating in a clean neutral palette works best, however allowing families a little flexibility to personalise their home will increase tenant happiness and encourage them to stay longer. Letting tenants paint walls, hang pictures and other non-permanent changes will make it feel more like their home. - Longer Tenancy Agreements
Stability is important to families, especially those with children settled at local schools. Offering a longer-term tenancy agreement, shows you’re serious about providing them a long-term home, which will appeal to families seeking stable accommodation. Once fixed term tenancy agreements no longer exist, being upfront in your property listing about your future plans for your property will make families feel more confident about whether to let your property or not.
Providing long-term living for families, can be extremely beneficial for landlords, but it takes a bit of forward-thinking to make sure it’s an attractive rental. By making your property family-friendly, and focussing on what their needs are, will put you in the perfect position to find loyal, responsible and most importantly happy tenants, who will look after your property as if it were their own.
If you’re a landlord that needs help getting started, whether it’s advice on making your property more family-friendly or finding the right tenants, we are here to help. Our expert, ARLA-trained team can guide you through every step of the way.
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