Letting a room for the first time is mostly a series of small decisions. Made in advance they take an afternoon; made in the middle of a tenancy they take weeks and a lot of goodwill.
Before you advertise
- Decide the rent and hold it. Dropping the price in the first week tells everybody the first number was not serious.
- Work out what the rent includes. Water, power, security, garbage. Vague inclusions become disputes.
- Photograph the room properly. Daylight, tidy, and one photo of the bathroom. Listings with a bathroom photo get more enquiries.
- Fix what you already know is broken. A leaking tap costs less to fix now than it costs in lost viewings.
When somebody is interested
- Show the room yourself or send somebody who can answer questions. "I will find out and let you know" loses tenants.
- Ask for the same information from everybody: name, phone number, when they want to move in, how many people.
- Do not take a deposit from two people for the same room.
At handover
- Sign a one-page agreement: rent, deposit, start date, notice period.
- Take a meter reading and photograph it.
- Hand over keys and write down how many.
- Give them the date rent is due, in writing.
Then keep it up
The first month sets the tone. Record the payment the day it arrives, answer messages in a day, and fix things when they are small. A tenant who trusts the record is a tenant who stays, and a room that stays let is worth more than a room let at a higher rent every few months.