Landlords: How to Stop Tenants from Sub-Letting Behind Your Back

If you’re a landlord, these problems may sound familiar: tenants behind with their rent; leaking pipes, boilers breaking down; not to mention challenging headwinds with financing and tax. The list goes on.

Sub-letting is an issue that crops up frequently – even with trusted tenants – if a tenant goes away on business or a holiday for any length of time. To cover the rent, what they do is to secretly sub-let (since such activity isn’t allowed in most tenancy agreements). If it transpires that your tenant has engaged in sub-letting, this can be very frustrating – not to mention high risk. If the tenant does this without your knowledge or consent, you have absolutely no idea who has moved in to your property. It could be anyone (and we’ve all heard the horror stories). Your investment could end up being wrecked. Unscrupulous visitors, who’ve not been vetted or checked, could rack up bills and debts against your property. It’s extreme but it can and does happen.

Now, there is a smart and innovative way to regain some control with sub-letting and also generate a higher yield. Rather than ban it completely – and risk tenants sub-letting behind your back – the alternative is perhaps not what you think.

The Solution

The solution comes from UnderTheDoormat, London-based short accommodation specialists. They have been working with a reputable London law firm to create a ‘best practice rental agreement’. This template has been designed with both landlords and tenants in mind to create flexibility and allow fully managed and insured short letting for tenants if they decide to take a few months out (a great alternative to sub-letting). As you may know already, the limit for short lets in London currently stands at 90 days.

Under the ‘best practice rental agreement’ template, you, as the landlord, allow your tenants to short let while they’re away, but only through UnderTheDoormat.

There are several attractive benefits to this rental agreement:

1) You will receive a higher yield with no extra risk on the same asset. It’s a higher yield because when the home is short let you will receive a percentage of the income that gets paid – as well as the monthly income your tenant is already paying you.

2) Using UnderTheDoormat, your rental property will be well taken care of and fully insured for the risks associated with having guests in the home – plus all guests are vetted and verified, so you’ll know who is actually staying in the home while the tenant is away.

3) You will be perceived as a forward-thinking landlord. As a result, you may potentially attract tenants who travel or work overseas frequently and stay longer because you allow them to offset some of their rent when they are away.

About UnderTheDoormat

UnderTheDoormat help people rent out their homes while they’re away to international guests who want an authentic and comfortable place to stay in the capital. We market the homes across all the leading global booking websites, including Expedia and Bridgestreet (which only work with reputable companies). We carry out professional cleaning at the start and end of every stay, provide linens and towels, vet guests, do photo inventories and have personal check-ins. As you can imagine, as we fully manage the stays, every home is covered by our comprehensive insurance to protect against any potential damage or loss. As a landlord this will give you complete peace of mind.

UnderTheDoormat is a founding member of the Short Term Accommodation Association which aims to promote best practise, behaviour and standards for this growing sector. It is the first company to be accredited by Quality in Tourism as a company in this sector.

To obtain a copy of the best practice rental agreement and find out more, get in contact with UnderTheDoormat (myhome@underthedoormat.com | +44(0) 20 7952 1653).