The Jordan Fishwick guide to making a rental income

Letting out a property is a complicated business. There’s a lot to take into account – from finding prospective tenants to ensuring your home fits all the health and safety regulations. New landlords often need assistance from an experienced letting agent to help them get started. Fortunately, Jordan Fishwick are experienced lettings agents, helping new landlords with organising their rental property, and assisting them get their residential property on the market.

How to let your property

You first need to check whether you are legally able to rent out a property. You are not always able to let out a property – if you are a leasehold owner, your terms and conditions may prevent it.

Mortgage Requirements

You need to check your mortgage type. Different mortgage lenders have different requirements. You may need a specialist buy to let mortgage to be able to rent out your property. You may also incur a fee to be able to let out a property, or you may need to make adjustments to your mortgage interest rates.

Tenancy Periods

You will need to decide on your length of tenancy agreement. Most tenancy agreements range from 6months to 24months initially, but this can vary on individual circumstances. Fixed tenancies can role onto monthly recurring tenancies called Periodic Tenancies. All terms remain as per the original agreement.

Tax Requirements

When you rent out a property, you are required to inform HMRC, and you may need to complete a self assessment tax return and pay additional tax. Your rental income might also impact your amount of Capital Gains Tax if you sell the property.

Housing Health

You need to check what state your property is in before you rent it out. There are legal requirements for you to meet before you are able to rent. There are however, more than just legal responsibilities to meet. A cleaner, more pleasant property is almost always likely to earn more rental income than a dirtier, less pleasant property. You should check that:

  • The house is clean on the exterior, and the garden clean and accessible.
  • The house is internally clean – preferably professionally cleaned.
  • All the appliances work and have been serviced.
  • There are enough keys for the tenants.

Landlord Insurance

We encourage all tenants to have tenant’s liability insurance to protect their possessions but also they Landlords. However, you will also need to get specialised landlords insurance to cover you. Your landlords insurance provider might cover different things, but you should look for a few items of cover as a minimum. These might be:

  • Cover for your possessions
  • Accidental damage
  • Accident and Injury cover
  • Vicarious liability
  • Loss of income protection

Safety Tests

It is essential that you meet the required safety regulations. These take into account a wide range of checks and responsibilities to make sure that the house is safe and habitable. There are a number of fire safety regulations landlords to be aware of, including ensuring you have carbon monoxide alarms, and the gas appliances all have the appropriate gas safety certificate. You also need to have smoke alarms, ensure your electrical appliances meet all electrical safety tests and if you have a solid fuel burning appliance, make sure that it does not represent a health hazard.

Legal Responsibilities

You will have a number of legal responsibilities to meet when you are renting out your property. A good letting agent can help you with the aspects of property management that rental properties need to abide by. We can help to connect you with a gas safe registered engineer, or any of the other professionals that your property rental might need.

From the Tenancy Agreement to Moving Out

Jordan Fishwick are experts in helping landlords rent out their properties. We can help you through any part of the process – from informing you of the potential rental value of your property, to finding potential tenants on your first property. We are experienced with many types of tenancy agreements, tenant disputes and dealing with houses in multiple occupation. Get in touch to talk to an expert on making the most of your rental property.