What to do when a rental occupier gives notice
If you’re a seasoned rental owner, you know the value of a quality long-term tenant, but as they say, all good things must come to an end.
So as an owner, what should you do when your rental occupier gives notice?
In this article, we walk through the actions that should take place in order to ensure a seamless changeover, and some other items you might like to consider in between rental agreements.
The notice process
In most instances you will have a fair bit of warning that a rental occupier wishes to end their rental agreement and vacate the property.
Known as ‘giving notice’, this period gives you time to advertise the property for rent or make any arrangements you need to for work to be undertaken in between rental agreements.
If it’s a straight changeover, where you intend to immediately advertise the property and have new rental occupiers in as soon as possible, your property manager will take care of things for you.
They will:
- Set an end date for the current rental agreement
- Organise the exit inspection to ensure the rental occupier leaves the property in the condition they found it
- Talk to you about readvertising the property
- Discuss the issue of rent with you, using their market knowledge to provide guidance on whether the rent should be increased, stay the same or be decreased
- Organise new imagery, if required
- Advertise the property on their website, the real estate portals, and perhaps in the local paper; and
- Schedule inspections for prospective rental occupiers
In fact, once a property manager receives notice that a rental occupier intends to vacate they will be working tirelessly on your behalf to ensure there is minimum downtime between the current occupiers moving out and quality new occupiers moving in.
Some things to consider
Although it’s tempting to put your property straight back on the market and rent it out as soon as possible, you may also wish to use the period just after a rental agreement ends to make some minor improvements.
This might include:
- An interior repaint
- Tending to any maintenance tasks
- Replacing any tired fixtures and fittings, such as aging blinds, outdated light fixtures, or tired door and drawer handles.
It might also be an opportune time for a pest inspection, or to upgrade any white goods and appliances that have seen better days.
Again your property manager can assist with these matters in the knowledge that tending to the little things like those listed above adds value to the property in the eyes of rental occupiers.
In addition to allowing you to charge more rent, the neat, fresh appearance of the property helps you attract quality rental occupiers and also indicates that this is an asset that is looked after and appreciated.
Meanwhile, it’s important to give your investment a refresh at regular periods (ideally about once every five years) to protect its value on the rental market and in the event that you choose to sell.
How we can help
Our experienced property managers pride themselves on establishing great relationships with both rental occupiers and owners.
We manage every property as if it were our own and you can learn more about our property management services here.
Alternatively, if you are looking to rent a property, you can view the properties we currently have available here.
