Voids fall sharply - but there's a warning they shouldn't fall further

There’s been a sharp reduction in average void periods this year - a sign of how strong the rental market has been. 

Propertymark’s latest figures show a 30 per cent decrease in void times since the start of 2021.

The organisation says that for much of the past five years the turn around time on a property has been 3.2 since weeks - 74 per cent of an average calendar month.

But currently, instead of losing 74 per cent of a month’s rental income, landlords in today’s market are only losing 49 per cent.

Maxine Fothergill, president of ARLA Propertymark, says: “The decrease in void times won’t come as a surprise to agents as it’s a direct result of the increased demand meaning properties that come back to market are letting incredibly quickly.”

However, she warns any further drop could cause problems.

“There are a number of things that agents need to have done when a property is void and whilst we aim to be as proactive as possible by pre-booking in checks such as gas and electrical safety, two weeks are sometimes necessary. A property may need repairs or redecoration and whilst all properties are cleaned, in current times it’s more important than ever that the property has a thorough clean.”

She advocates more use of video and virtual viewings.

“People are so desperate not to miss out they are trying to secure properties over the phone. This is completely against how we work however, so we do tell all applicants that they need to see the property first. Sending a video can help to weed out those who would turn the property down on a viewing which saves staff time and helps to keep the turnaround time low.”