Insurance News Archive

Landlords encouraged to 'get in touch' using agents

Lettings agents are better equipped to assess the needs of target tenants than individual landlords, the Association of Rental Lettings Agents (ARLA) has claimed.

ARLA spokesperson Malcolm Harrison believes that "you must understand your market both before you buy and when you are trying to let".

Age is a major factor, he said; while most landlords are in their forties, the average tenant is in their late 20s or early 30s and "the 45 year old landlord has forgotten what life was like then".

Priorities can be different, too – while many landlords might consider catchment areas for good schools, which resonate "much more naturally with a slightly older age group", important, a "good pub down the road" could be the top seller for a younger age group.

Recent research from the Homebuyer Show revealed a significant gap between what landlords and tenants considered important when choosing a rental home.

Only 45 per cent of landlords thought that geographical proximity to restaurants, bars and leisure facilities mattered, whereas 70 per cent of tenants valued this factor.

24 Jan 2007