ChatterBank2 mins ago
Estate Agents
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Why do some estate agents demand a six month’s rent in advance?
I’m moving down to Southampton to be near my daughter and besides the rental cost being double what I’m paying in Northumberland, there are a lot of estate agents that demand this, too. Why?
I’m moving down to Southampton to be near my daughter and besides the rental cost being double what I’m paying in Northumberland, there are a lot of estate agents that demand this, too. Why?
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.It's basically to stop people using properties as if they were 'holiday lets'.
Holiday lets, and other short-term rentals, tend to charge higher rents than other properties do. That's because the landlord risks ending up with lots of periods without any tenants.
With a 'normal' rental property, the landlord needs to have the security of knowing that a tenant isn't going to vanish after, say, just one month of living in the property, leaving him/her without a tenant (and thus without any income from the property for a while).
If that kept happening, and it took a month each time to find a new tenant, a landlord would only get 6 month's rent per year from a property.
Holiday lets, and other short-term rentals, tend to charge higher rents than other properties do. That's because the landlord risks ending up with lots of periods without any tenants.
With a 'normal' rental property, the landlord needs to have the security of knowing that a tenant isn't going to vanish after, say, just one month of living in the property, leaving him/her without a tenant (and thus without any income from the property for a while).
If that kept happening, and it took a month each time to find a new tenant, a landlord would only get 6 month's rent per year from a property.
Since 1 June 2019, the maximum deposit that landlords can insist upon is equivalent to just 5 weeks rent. So, in order to ensure that they've got a bit more money to play with if a tenant trashes a house within a short while of moving in, more and more landlords are insisting upon 6 months (or even more) rent in advance.
Further, many (most?) landlords simply go along with the standard way of working that letting agents like to work with. That typically means an insistence upon 6 months rent being paid in advance.
Further, many (most?) landlords simply go along with the standard way of working that letting agents like to work with. That typically means an insistence upon 6 months rent being paid in advance.