How Landlords can Ensure On-Time Payments

Being a landlord has many benefits. For one, you are a housing provider, which gives a sense of satisfaction. What’s more, you are working for yourself, so you have independence and control. You also have an ongoing income. Of course, the latter is dependent on getting paid regularly. Which raises a key question, how can landlords ensure on-time payments? Let’s take a look at some top strategies to secure that regular monthly income.

Getting paid every month as a landlord doesn’t just mean you get to bank your income. It also means you’re able to make those mortgage repayments if you’ve borrowed on a buy-to-let basis, pay all the associated bills, and cover any necessary repairs and maintenance. Here are our top tips on how to ensure your tenants pay on time every month, from offering an incentive for payment by standing order, to guaranteed rent schemes for landlords .

1.     Carry out reference checks

Never take on a tenant without first running referencing checks to ensure they have the ability to afford the rental payments, and have a clean track record when it comes to paying on time. You can do this yourself, or ask your landlord services agent to take care of it for you. There are various tenant referencing services you may wish to explore, such as OpenRent. You’ll also need to carry out Right to Rent checks.

2.     Arrange a standing order

If your tenants pay by standing order, they are less likely to forget to make their monthly payment. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement, so well worth putting in place. You could even make it a condition of the tenancy agreement that the rental fees are paid by standing order. Many landlords do this for peace of mind. If you don’t make it a condition, you could offer a discount for paying in this way, to make it more enticing for tenants.

3.     Charge a late fee

Make it a condition of your tenancy agreement that if rent isn’t paid on time, then a fee will be charged. This will incentivise your tenants to ensure payments are made on the due date.

4.     Use a rent collection service

Most managing agents include rent collection as part of their landlord services. This allows you to hand over the responsibility for collecting the rent so that you don’t have to worry about it yourself. You will be charged a fee for the property management services, which will usually be calculated as a percentage of the rental value. If you are looking to take more of a back seat as a landlord, it could be worth the outlay to take on a managing agent.

5.     Sign up for a guaranteed rent scheme

A council guaranteed rent scheme will take away all uncertainty of when you’ll get paid, and indeed whether you’ll get paid. Regardless of the status of your property, whether it’s tenanted or not, and whatever the economic climate, you will be paid each month by standing order, without fail. Guaranteed rent schemes for landlords offer a full suite of property management services, from tenant sourcing and referencing to property renovation, repairs and maintenance. You will receive full market rent, and unlike with a traditional letting agent, there are no fees or deductions, or commission to pay, making the guaranteed rent scheme one of the most appealing ways to ensure on-time rental payments every month.

London landlord guaranteed rent from homes2let

If guaranteed rent schemes for landlords seem like an attractive option when it comes to securing on-time rental payments, why not take a look at what homes2let has to offer? We offer a full programme of landlord services Croydon and London wide, together with a rent guarantee courtesy of secure local authority tenancies. This ensures a constant flow of tenants, and rent paid, even during void periods.

To learn more about how we can make a difference to your life as a landlord, and secure your monthly rental payments, you are welcome to get in touch.