Why landlords are asking right now
The Renters Rights Bill is set to significantly change how residential properties can be let and managed in England: more rights for tenants, fewer routes for a landlord to regain possession, and less flexibility once a tenancy has begun. None of that makes long term letting wrong, but it does change the trade off, and a lot of landlords are doing the comparison for the first time in years.
What a long term let gives and takes
A long term tenancy offers one obvious comfort: a single tenant and, in a good month, rent that arrives without thought. In exchange you accept the downside case, because it is the downside case that defines long term letting: rent that stops arriving, disputes that take months, and a property you cannot easily take back when your plans change.
What a managed short term let looks like instead
A fully managed company let turns the property into professionally run short stay accommodation. Income comes from many short stays rather than one tenant, which changes the shape of the risk entirely.
- ✓No rent to chase, because stays are paid before guests arrive
- ✓No open ended residential tenancy, so the property is not tied up
- ✓No tenancy disputes, because there is no tenancy
- ✓The property is cleaned and inspected constantly rather than seen once a year
- ✓No long term lock in: if your circumstances change, you take the property back
The honest caveats
Short stay income varies with the season where a long term rent does not, some buildings and leases restrict short stays, and a short let only beats a long let when it is run well, which is a real operation rather than a listing and a key safe. That is the work a management company exists to do, and it is why the comparison is really between a long term tenancy and a managed short term let, not between a tenancy and doing it yourself.
Not sure which fits your property?
Tell us about the property and we will give you an honest answer, including when the answer is that a long term let suits you better.