New research has found that it typically takes landlords over 20 days to find a new tenant, potentially leaving them thousands of pounds out of pocket.
According to Direct Line for Business, it takes a landlord 22 days to find a new tenant, resulting in an average loss of £547 in uncollected rent.
Vacant properties in Birmingham are filled the quickest, with a landlord finding a tenant in just 11 days. However, in Liverpool and Aberdeen landlords struggle the most to fill their properties, taking an average of 33 days to find a suitable candidate. Direct Line for Business estimates that this gap in rent could cost landlords as much as £761 in Liverpool and £913 in Aberdeen.
Even with such a competitive rental market in London, letting agents in the capital claim that it takes just under three weeks (20 days) on average to fill a property. With average monthly rents in central London surpassing £2,000, this could amount to a loss of £1,869 in income.
The research also found that landlords can’t always rely on occupants remaining in a property for the duration of their tenancy agreement, with one in 11 moving out early.
The highest rate of tenancy turnover in Aberdeen where a fifth (19%) of tenants leave a property before the end of the tenancy agreement, while Leeds and Sheffield both close behind at 13%.
Nick Breton, head of Direct Line for Business, said: “This research highlights the pressure landlords are under to replace outgoing tenants in their properties. Vacant properties are obviously a worry for landlords but it’s vitally important that they take into account void periods when calculating the affordability of owning a rental property.
“Staying on top of the on-going changes within the industry can be time-consuming and a battle for landlords and we fully appreciate the challenges they face when it comes to managing their rental properties.”
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