Tips for ‘tenant proofing’ your property

Reply to the comment left by "Anonymous " at "02/09/2014 - 14:33":

There is a degree of personal preference to this: myself, I don't like white paint or laminate flooring - they can look cheap and make the property look "cold" and impersonal, like an institution or dormitory, especially when the house is empty and available for let. This can put off prospective tenants looking for somewhere they can call home. Laminate floors are also noisy.

I prefer either to use proper wooden floors throughout, which gets expensive but lasts forever, or a mixture of carpets and harder surfaces like tiles in common areas like halls and kitchens. I know carpets can be damaged, but that's why there's an inventory and professional cleaning, and they make the house feel warmer, especially in lounges and bedrooms.

A couple of other suggestions:
- a large replaceable section of coir matting by the front door, to clean shoes and provide space to encourage tenants to take their shoes off as they come in. This reduces wear and tear from footfall elsewhere in the house.
- ditto by the back door, if there is one
- external storage for garden tools and a mower

I recommend tiles on kitchen floors and either laminate or tiles in hallways.

For carpeted areas, (e.g. lounge and bedroom) where tenants are likely to want a floor covering which is warm under foot, go for felt backed, bleach cleanable polypropylene carpets in a cappuccino colour, The carpets are very inexpensive but look, wear and feel great with a decent underlay. Cappuccino is a neutral colour so it goes with everything, doesn't show marks and it very easy to clean between tenancies to remove smells and grime. The darker colour also looks great with either white or magnolia walls. I even have it in my own house - see below 🙂

when did dark beige become cappucino then ??? lol

Have the gas and electricity on pre-pay meters. This means that when the the tenants leave, the worst bill you will face is £20 or so of 'emergency' power they have used. (It's a bit like an overdraft - they can overspend by about £10 if the power runs out and they have not put any money on the card/key).

I also keep the gas and electricity accounts in my name. This was originally done so tenants could not be persuaded to change supplier by a door step sales person, but that has been banned now. But it does mean they cannot change supplier or tariff without my knowledge. (If they do find a better deal, I would not object to them swapping, so long as it's still pre-pay.) None of my tenants have ever objected to having pre-pay meters.

I stick with British Gas for both gas and electricity. They have a 24 hours-per-day/365 days per year, helpline for pre-pay meter customers. When one of my tenants recently had a meter mal-function, British Gas came out within a couple of hours. And BG's prices are mid range.

Reply to the comment left by "All BankersAreBarstewards Smith" at "02/09/2014 - 16:50":

When they took their lead from coffee shops and added 50% to the price.

Reply to the comment left by "Tony Atkins" at "02/09/2014 - 15:52":

Depends on the laminate flooring you go for. I agree some do look cheap but there are others with grains and grooves which personally I feel look quite good and some even come with 25yrs guarantee. Obviously, real wood is the ideal but you have to balance your spend with tenant type and rental value. With regards to putting tenants off, check the ads, why do estate agents point out real wood/laminate flooring? There are also tenants asking for flooring over carpet as better for allegies etc and those who prefer carpet you can always get a rug.

I agree with the point that white paint can look like an asylum which is why I team this with black doors which make it look quite striking. Personally, I feel tenant proofing includes how quick I can get the property ready for the next tenant. With white paint I can turn the property around the same day and there is also the saving on labour as it's quicker to paint in one colour.

Reply to the comment left by "Smithy @hotmail" at "02/09/2014 - 16:51":

I have seen several gas / electric bills in the mid-hundreds of ££s in properties which were pre payment and which the tenant abandoned - and no one in the utility business can explain it.... If the bills were in the landlords name... s/he would have been responsible. I would NEVER put the tenant's utility bills in my name.

How tenants sort out their own fuel issues is down to them... it is nothing to do with the landlord.

It is very easy to find out who the supplier is.... all Utility companies have access to the database which tells them who supplies all addresses in this country.

Reply to the comment left by "All BankersAreBarstewards Smith" at "02/09/2014 - 16:50":

LOL - that'll be those damn marketing people again! They are all just professional attention seekers IMHO 🙂
.

Mark - you would never be accused of marketing we all know that !!!! (cynical smiley interface)

Don't know if it counts as tenant proofing but when choosing paint pick a mainstream brand and shade. And make a note of it as white isn't always white between brands.

My builders, who have their own portfolio, swear by mixer taps rather than electric units that can go wrong.