Letting agents prove better at avoiding voids
News Category: Industry News
Published: 09-Aug-2010
Letting agents are more successful at keeping rental properties occupied than individual landlords, according to the Deposit Protection Service.
Lettings agents ensure that the void period on a property is kept to within two weeks on 63% of properties, compared with only 38% for those marketed by landlords directly.
The DPS has assessed the void periods across 597,753 deposits it holds on rentals in the UK.
The figures also point to huge regional differences throughout the country, the worst scenario being two-thirds of available rental properties lying empty for more than three months.
Two of the ten worst areas for empty properties were in Lancashire. However, the South was also badly hit, with areas in Surrey, Essex and Hampshire among the worst. In some areas, half of rental properties have been empty for more than three months.
Kevin Firth, director of the DPS, said: “Many landlords market their properties very effectively, but the evidence we have compiled in the past two years demonstrates clearly that there is more they can learn to try to decrease void periods.
“In the current market – where demand for rental property far exceeds supply – there is no excuse for allowing properties to remain dormant and not earning income.”
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