How to Make Your Rental Property Easier to Manage

A rental property needs to work for everyday life. Walk through it as if you were the tenant: is there enough space for furniture, are plug sockets in useful places, is there sensible storage, and can large furniture be moved in without damage? Simple changes — shelving, better lighting, a small utility area — can make the property easier to maintain.

Hardwearing flooring like luxury vinyl tile, laminate or good quality vinyl is easier to clean and more resistant to wear. Carpets can still work in bedrooms. Good flooring may cost more at the start, but it can reduce replacement costs and disputes at the end of a tenancy.

Warm whites, soft greys, gentle taupes and natural tones photograph well, appeal to more tenants and are easy to touch up between tenancies. Keep a note of paint brands and colour names so you can touch up marks without repainting entire rooms.

Large lawns, fast-growing hedges and delicate plants can become difficult to manage. Better options include patios or decking, hardy shrubs, gravelled sections, secure fencing and easy-access bins. Make it clear in the tenancy agreement what the tenant is responsible for.

Stop treating maintenance as something that only happens when there is a problem. Boiler servicing, gutter clearing, roof inspections, extractor fan cleaning and alarm testing all help avoid bigger bills. Regular property visits help spot small issues before they become expensive.