sub-letting – As a landlord, how much do you really know about what your tenants get up to in your property? It can be hard to keep track, especially if you have several properties to look after. It can be surprisingly easy for tenants to sub-let your property to others without you knowing. According to research by tenant eviction service Landlord Assist, the problem of subletting is increasing.
Market demand
Driven by a huge demand for rental property, some savvy ‘tenants’ are realising that they can rent a property through a landlord, and then sub-let it for a higher rent, pocketing the difference. The tenants that they take will usually not realise that they property they are renting does not belong to the person they believe is their landlord.
In the past, subletting usually meant a room in a house being let illegally. That kind of subletting is not desirable, but is relatively harmless. People who sublet whole properties that they do not live in can cause huge problems for those who really own the property.
Damage
Properties that are sublet can be at a high risk of damage, without the landlord even being aware. If one of your properties is being sublet, the person who is posing as the landlord is unlikely to be taking the same care that you would to get repairs done quickly and well, or to care much about vetting the tenants they take in. They may be happy to allow properties to become overcrowded, and for tenants to have multiple pets.
The possible consequences of subletting can be huge. Regular inspections should help landlords discover many cases. But where the tenants who are being sub-let to are usually out when the inspections take place, it’s not always easy to tell who they are. Try and make sure you meet your tenants sometimes, rather than just taking a look around the property when they are out at work. If you don’t, you could end up with a damaged property and invalidated landlords insurance. You could even find it difficult to evict the people living in the property: courts can take the view that they have a valid legal agreement.