Christmas is a time for gift giving, feasting on food – and parties. And for most landlords, this last part of the holiday spirit is sure to send a shiver up the spine. Now it’s all over and everyone’s wished each other a ‘Happy New Year’, you could find that it isn’t very happy if your tenants’ partying has led to damage or theft in your property.
The Christmas season does involve lots of festivities, which often means people drinking more than they usually would, and having a large amount of guests over who are in high spirits due to time off work.
So, for rented properties, this can often leave more than a hangover to sort out in the New Year.
Protecting your property
As a landlord, the best thing you can do to protect yourself from large pay outs for repairs and replacing items is to be prepared with a good landlord insurance policy. Adequate cover includes:
· Protection against accidental damage to glass and sanitary fittings
· Accidental damage by tenants and/ or guests
· Theft by tenants/ guests
· Theft of keys/ replacement locks
· Loss of rent/ alternative accommodation
· Nuisance and trespass
Christmas is all about high spirits, and that is fine when tenants enjoy the holidays while still respecting the property. However, for those unfortunate landlords who end up in low spirits and high cost, due to tenants or their guests overindulging a little too much and being reckless – it is both annoying and hard work starting off the New Year facing the time and costs needed to rectify the issues within the property.
Your rights as a landlord
As a landlord your tenants are legally required to provide you with a certain level of care and respect towards your property while they reside in it. These include taking good care of the property, paying their rent on time, as well as paying any other charges agreed with you such as Council Tax or utility bills – plus they should repair or pay for damage caused by themselves, or their guests.
Therefore, should you run into bother over a Christmas incident resulting in a dispute, your tenants are required to be cooperative over any unfortunate outcomes.
Making the rent
Unfortunately, the other part of Christmas high jinks is that for some people, it also means missing their rent to pay for the costs of festive cheer. This can be extremely stressful as a landlord, as it is a common problem for arrears to creep up, and after Christmas you’re left in debt as people have overstretched themselves for the festive period.
However, this means that as a landlord keeping up your mortgage payments is putting under threat. It is advisable to take out a rent guarantee insurance policy for incidents where tenants let you down on rent payments.
