As a landlord, you want to find great tenants and to foster a mutually-beneficial relationship with them. You’ve probably already done quite a few things to your property to make life easier for the people who live there, but one other feature you could offer is all-inclusive rent.
This might seem like a big move if you’re used to stepping back and letting your tenants pay their own bills, but there are a few advantages to bundling everything together. Here’s the main ones:
- Your tenants will find budgeting much easier – they’ll make just one payment each month that’ll cover electricity, water, broadband and so on
- Offering all-inclusive rent will make your property stand out from the crowd and will attract younger tenants as well as older tenants tired of juggling bills
- Happier tenants – they’ll really appreciate the simplicity of having their utilities bundled in with their rent so they’ll be more likely to stay longer
- You may have fewer tenancy voids as house hunters will find your property more attractive and may choose yours over others
Of course, where there’s a pro there’s a con and all-inclusive rent is no exception. If you’re thinking about offering your Cheltenham rental as an all-inclusive, then here are the potential downsides.
- Your tenants might rack up big bills as their utilities are part of a bundle and this might cost you dearly
- You don’t have much control over tenants’ overconsumption until it’s already cost you dearly as you’d have to change the entire rental agreement
- Changing the rent can take time, so you might end up footing the bill for a few months
- All-inclusive rent deal have the potential for disputes if one side isn’t playing fair or if you ask your tenants to pay extra for higher-than-expected bills
- In order to keep your utility bills low in the first place, you might have to spend some money on energy-efficient appliances and lighting, for example, which could affect your cash flow to start with
Making your mind up
The upsides and the downsides of all-inclusive rent are quite obvious and it’s a case of working out how to head off potential disputes or difficulties. You could include a clause in the tenancy that states tenants are responsible for the “excess” if bills go over a certain amount, for example.
Ultimately, it’s about striking the balance between making tenants feel comfortable and making their lives easier and also making sure that you’re making enough profit.
