Category Archives: Cardiff HMO Letting Agent

The Problem with Fixed-Term Occupation Contracts: What Cardiff HMO Landlords Need to Know

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If you’re a Cardiff HMO landlord, you’re probably well aware of the challenges that come with managing multiple tenants under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016. One of the biggest issues? Fixed-Term Occupation Contracts.

While they might seem like a straightforward way to secure tenancies, they come with hidden complexities that can cause headaches for landlords. On the other hand, Periodic Occupation Contracts offer greater flexibility, fewer administrative burdens, and better legal protection.

So, should you ditch fixed-term contracts and opt for periodic contracts instead? Let’s break it down.

Why Fixed-Term Occupation Contracts Are a Problem for HMO Landlords

Originally, the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 was designed to use only periodic contracts. However, fixed-term contracts were later introduced—but they come with several downsides for landlords.

🔴 Key Issues with Fixed-Term Contracts:

🚨 More Paperwork: Every time a fixed-term contract ends, landlords must issue a new written statement.

📜 Legislated Default Rules: When a fixed-term contract rolls into a periodic contract, some agreed-upon terms reset to the default rules—for example, permitted occupiers and inventory obligations.

🔄 Loss of Landlord Rights: Once a fixed term ends, landlords lose certain rights, such as modifying supplementary terms (e.g., restricting occupiers).

📈 No Automatic Rent Increases: You can’t increase rent during a fixed-term contract unless the tenant agrees. With a periodic contract, rent can be reviewed after 12 months.

❌ Resets Legal Notices: If you’ve served a rent arrears or anti-social behaviour notice during a fixed-term contract, you can’t rely on it once the contract is renewed—it’s like starting from scratch!

For HMO landlords, these issues can lead to more paperwork, reduced control, and a lack of flexibility when managing tenants.

Why Periodic Occupation Contracts Are a Better Option

✅ Less Admin Work – A periodic contract never needs renewing, meaning no hassle with reissuing written statements.

✅ Continuous Flexibility – Any modifications to key tenancy terms stay valid indefinitely rather than resetting every contract cycle.

✅ Easier Evictions & Possession Proceedings – If a tenant builds up rent arrears or engages in anti-social behaviour, landlords can rely on past notices when seeking possession.

✅ Rent Increases Allowed – Unlike fixed-term contracts, periodic contracts allow landlords to increase rent after 12 months without requiring the tenant’s agreement.

✅ Easier Tenant Swaps – In HMO properties, tenants come and go. With a periodic contract, swapping tenants requires only a simple notification process—not a brand-new contract.

For most Cardiff landlords, a periodic contract makes life simpler, removes unnecessary admin work, and keeps you in control of your property.

Are There Any Downsides to Periodic Contracts?

Of course, there are some trade-offs.

❌ Less Tenant Security: A tenant can leave at any time with four weeks’ notice, which can create uncertainty in your rental income.

❌ Joint Tenancy Risks: If you’re renting to multiple tenants under one contract, a single tenant can leave with little notice, causing instability. (However, you can modify this with a two-month notice rule.)

❌ Student Lets May Require Fixed Terms: If you’re renting to students, fixed-term contracts may still be preferable, as they provide structured tenancies for the academic year.

Conclusion: Should You Ditch Fixed-Term Contracts?

For most Cardiff HMO landlords, the answer is yes.

🔹 Periodic contracts offer less hassle, greater flexibility, and stronger legal protections.
🔹 Fixed-term contracts create unnecessary admin work and can put landlords at a disadvantage if they roll over into periodic tenancies.
🔹 If you’re renting to students, fixed-term contracts may still work—but you need to be careful about the transition process.

As a Cardiff landlord, do you still prefer fixed-term contracts, or have you already switched to periodic contracts? Let us know in the comments! 👇

Ready to Simplify Your HMO Management? Let’s Talk!

At Rooms in Cardiff, we specialise in providing hassle-free, high-quality property management for Cardiff HMO landlords. If you’re tired of the admin, legal complexities, and ever-changing rental regulations, let us take the stress off your shoulders!

📩 Interested? Fill out our short Google Form and we’ll be in touch to discuss how we can help maximize your rental income while keeping your property fully compliant and occupied.

💙 Make a Difference with Your Investment!
When you choose Rooms in Cardiff, you’re not just securing expert property management—you’re also giving back to the community. We proudly donate 10% of our management fees to Homeless Evolution, helping to fund Support Workers who assist Cardiff’s most vulnerable people in finding stability and housing.

👉 Let’s work together to make property management easy while making a real difference! Complete the form today!

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Maximising Your Rental Income: Six Months Rent in Advance for your Cardiff HMO

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Are you a Cardiff-based HMO landlord looking to optimise your rental income while minimising management stress? Rooms in Cardiff offers a tailored HMO management service designed to cater specifically to you. Notably, we provide an exclusive advantage: upfront payment of 6 months’ rent to enhance your financial stability.

Why Trust Rooms in Cardiff for Your HMO Management?

Guaranteed Rental Income: Gain peace of mind knowing your cash flow is secured with our 6 months’ rent in advance offer. Say goodbye to worries about void periods or late payments.

Expert Property Management: Our seasoned team specialises in HMO management, ensuring your property is maintained to the highest standard while staying compliant with regulations. Focus on your other ventures while we handle the day-to-day tasks.

Strategic Tenant Placement: Leveraging advanced digital marketing techniques, we attract top-quality tenants to maximize your property’s occupancy and rental income. Our targeted approach ensures your property stands out in the Cardiff rental market.

Transparent Communication: Stay informed about your property’s performance with regular updates through our user-friendly online portal. Transparency is key to our partnership with you.

SEO Optimisation for Cardiff Landlords: Rooms in Cardiff boasts a robust online presence optimized to reach Cardiff-based HMO landlords. When you partner with us, you tap into a network tailored to your location and needs.

How to Begin Your Journey with Rooms in Cardiff:

Book a Consultation: Schedule a consultation with our team to discuss your property and investment goals. We’ll tailor a management plan to suit your needs.

Leave Management to Us: Once onboard, relax as we take care of tenant sourcing, maintenance, and compliance. Our comprehensive services ensure your property operates smoothly.

Reap the Rewards: Experience the benefits of hassle-free property management and maximize your rental income with Rooms in Cardiff. Our upfront payment of 6 months’ rent gives you a head start on financial stability.

Unlock the full potential of your Cardiff HMO investment today. Use the contact form below to learn more about our Rooms in Cardiff bespoke HMO management services and secure your 6 months’ rent in advance.

Comprehensive Guide to Successful Cardiff HMO Property Management

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Introduction

Owning and managing a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) property in Cardiff can be a lucrative investment, but it comes with its unique challenges. Whether you’re a seasoned landlord or a newcomer to the property rental market, effective HMO property management is essential for maximising returns and ensuring a positive tenant experience. In this guide, we’ll walk you through key strategies to excel in Cardiff HMO property management, highlighting valuable insights for landlords and property owners.

Understanding Cardiff’s HMO Regulations

Navigating the regulatory landscape is crucial when managing HMO properties in Cardiff. Familiarise yourself with the local authority’s guidelines for licensing, safety standards, and occupancy limits. Compliance with these regulations not only ensures legal operation but also contributes to tenant safety and satisfaction.

Tenant Screening and Selection

Choosing the right tenants for your Cardiff HMO property is pivotal. Implement a thorough screening process that includes background checks, rental history verification, and credit assessments. By selecting responsible tenants, you can minimise risks and maintain a harmonious living environment within the property.

Effective Rent Collection

Smooth rent collection is the backbone of successful property management. Utilise online rent payment platforms to simplify the process for both you and your tenants. Consistent and reliable rent collection practices contribute to stable cash flow and reduce administrative burdens.

Maintenance and Repairs

Prompt maintenance and repairs are crucial for tenant satisfaction and property preservation. Establish a system for addressing maintenance requests promptly. Regular inspections and preventative maintenance can prevent issues from escalating, leading to higher tenant retention rates.

Property Marketing and Advertising

Attracting quality tenants requires effective property marketing. Leverage online platforms and social media to showcase your Cardiff HMO property’s unique features and benefits. High-quality photos, detailed property descriptions, and virtual tours can help prospective tenants envision themselves living in the space.

Tenant Communication and Relationship Building

Open and transparent communication with tenants fosters positive relationships. Regularly engage with tenants to address their concerns, provide updates, and ensure their needs are met. Happy tenants are more likely to stay long-term, reducing vacancy rates.

Financial Management and Reporting

Maintain accurate financial records related to your Cardiff HMO property. This includes tracking income, expenses, and property-related costs. Clear financial reporting not only helps you monitor your investment’s performance but also simplifies tax filings.

Why Choose http://www.roomsincardiff.com

For Cardiff HMO landlords seeking professional property management solutions, http://www.roomsincardiff.com offers a comprehensive platform designed to streamline your operations. Our team of experts specializes in Cardiff’s property market dynamics and regulatory landscape, ensuring you receive personalized advice and support.

Conclusion

Effective Cardiff HMO property management requires a holistic approach that balances compliance, tenant satisfaction, and financial success. By implementing the strategies outlined in this guide and exploring the services offered by http://www.roomsincardiff.com, landlords can navigate the complexities of HMO property management with confidence. Invest in your property’s success by staying informed, proactive, and dedicated to providing a superior living experience for your tenants.

Cardiff HMO landlords, contact us to discuss our range of services that that streamline operations, enhance tenant experiences, ensure compliance, and contribute to long-term property success by completing the short contact form below:

Why Cardiff Landlords Should Says Yes to DSS

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Yes, we know “DSS” is an outdated term in respect to the benefits system, but it’s still a term that is heavily used by both Cardiff landlords, letting agents and tenants when discussing Housing Benefit and Universal Credit.

So why do we believe as a Cardiff landlord and letting agent its important to say “Yes” to tenants in receipt of benefits. Well for one landlords and Cardiff letting agents should not be proactively discriminating against prospective tenants in receipt of benefits and secondly, COVID-19 is having a huge impact on the economy and people are losing their jobs!

Let’s Look at the latest Unemployment Numbers

  • The UK’s unemployment rate rose to 4.8% in the three months to September
  • Redundancies rose to a record high of 314,000
  • The number of people out of work rose by 243,000 in the three-month period, the largest increase since May 2009.
  • Unemployment rate for 16 to 24-year-olds is 14.6%
  • It is estimated there are about 2.5 million people on furlough
  • Redundancies are at record levels with 314,00 people made redundant in the 3 months up to September 2020
  • Unemployment in Wales for July to September leapt to 4.6%
  • Wales saw the largest quarterly rise in the jobless rate out of any of the UK’s nations or regions.
  • Wales has also seen the largest drop in the rate of people in employment – down 2.5 percentage points from 74.6% to 72.1%

COVID-19 is creating a worry trend in regards to unemployment across the UK, therefore now more than ever we believe it’s important to understand the Universal Credit system as chances are your tenants may need to rely on it over the coming months

We have been renting to tenants in receipt of some kind of benefit for the last 12 years as a private landlord and Cardiff letting agent whether it be as a vanilla buy to let or our preferred option of Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMO).

The Positives of Renting to Tenants in Receipt of Benefits

Over these 12 years and countless tenancies we have gained extensive knowledge of the Housing Benefit and of late the Universal Credit systems.  We have read numerous books and government circulars on the subject and studied case law to ensure we understand both systems, their similarities, and differences.

Due to the knowledge we have gained over the last 12 years we have found renting to tenants in receipt of Housing Benefit and the Housing Element of Universal credit has many FINANCIAL BENEFITS for LANDLORDS including:

  • Your rent is GUARANTEED by the UK Government
  • Tenants on benefits do not get furloughed so do not ask for a rent reduction
  • Tenants on benefit have seen their income increase during the COVID-10 pandemic
  • Can often receive higher monthly rent than renting to working tenants

How Can We Help?

We can provide the following for Cardiff landlords:

  • Ensure Cardiff landlords are paid the Housing Element of UC direct from day one of a new tenancy
  • If there are rent arrears with an existing tenancy quickly ensure rent is paid direct to landlord and start to recover arrears direct from existing tenants Universal Credit
  • Carry out a rent review to ascertain if there in an option for an actual rent increase
  • For HMOs the potential rent increase could be almost £50/week per tenant

These are just some of the things we can do for Cardiff landlord that employ our fully managed property services.  If you would like to receive a no obligation chat with one of our team, please complete the contact form below

Tenant Fees Guidance for Cardiff Landlords

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Since the introduction of the Renting Homes (Fees Etc.) (Wales) Act 2019 on 1st September 2019 what can and can’t a Cardiff landlord or a letting agent charge a tenant?

The guidance clearly states that a Cardiff landlord or a letting agent can charge a tenant entering an Assured Shorthold Tenancy the following Permitted Payments:

  • Rent
  • Security deposit
  • Holding deposit
  • Payments in default
  • Payments in respect of council tax
  • Payments in respect of utilities
  • Payments in respect of a television licence
  • Payments in respect of communication services
  • Payment for ending a tenancy agreement early
  • Payments for change of sharer
  • Payments for amendment to a tenancy agreement

Anything which is not permitted is prohibited and banned by the Act.

The Act classes the following as Prohibited Payments:

  • check-in fees
  • check-out (or ‘exit’) fees
  • administration fees
  • inventory fees
  • guarantor fees

However, the Act does permit Cardiff landlords and letting agents to charge tenants for Payments in Default, so what is a Payment in Default?

A Payment in Default is a payment required by the landlord or letting agent arising from a breach of the tenancy agreement by the tenant, whether late payment of rent by its due date or some other breach. These are occasions where it would be unfair for the Cardiff landlord or letting agent to be responsible for meeting the cost to them because of the actions of the tenant.

Some examples of types of Default Payments include:

  • Missed appointments
  • Avoidable or purposeful damage to property
  • Replacement keys
  • Emergency/out of hours call-out fees

A Payment in Default can only be charged if there is a specific term in the tenancy agreement allowing for such a payment. If a Cardiff landlord or letting agent try to charge a payment in default which was not set out in the tenancy agreement, then that payment is prohibited.

The Renting Homes (Fees Etc.) (Wales) Act 2019 also advices that Welsh Ministers may make regulations to prescribe a list of payments in default which would be permitted payments under the Act, as well as a limit on what is permitted.

So Yes, a Tenant Fee ban was introduced on the 1st September 2019 by the introduction of the Renting Homes (Fees Etc.) (Wales) Act 2019, but with a well drafted AST there are circumstances when a Cardiff landlord or letting agent is within their rights to request a payment for breach of the tenancy agreement by the tenant.

If you are looking for a Cardiff Letting Agent to manage your vanilla buy-to let or HMO property that is up to date on latest legislative changes in Cardiff and across Wales, then why not complete our contact form to receive a a no obligation call from one of our team:

Cardiff Landlords Are You Catering for Retirees

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Cardiff Landlords are you catering for Retirees

According to the mortgage lender Paragon’s latest report titled ‘The Growth of Later Life Tenants’ retiree renters and those in upper-middle age category are the fastest growing tenant groups in the private rented sector (PRS)

Paragon’s lates report showed that the number of English households in the 55-64 year old age category in the PRS with an Assured Tenancy has risen by 118% since the turn of the last decade, with those aged over 65 growing 93%. This rate of growth is nearly double the rate of the next fastest growing segment of 35-44-year-olds.

Richard Rowntree, Paragon Bank Managing Director of Mortgages, said: “There are a number of factors that may have contributed to the increase in over 55s in the PRS over the past 10 years, such as rising divorce amongst older people, poorer pension returns and men living longer.

“With the number of over 55s forecast to rise from 30% of the population to 36% by 2043 and new household formation predicted to be driven by older, single person households, the PRS will have an increasingly important role to play in providing a home for older tenants.”

Cardiff Landlords, the numbers do not lie, take a look at the overwhelming evidence that has seen a dramatic increase in the number of tenants over 55 years of age looking to access the private rented sector

Increase in number of retirees renting in the Private Rented Sector (PRS)

Cardiff landlords can access the Paragon report here https://www.paragonbank.co.uk/pcms_bo/resources/paragonbank/documents/mortgages/buy-to-let/growth-later-life-tenants

The Paragon report is based on the English Private Rented Sector (PRS) but Cardiff landlord should take head to the report’s findings and begin to look at how they can cater for this growing sector of the market.

If you would like to work with a proactive Cardiff HMO Letting Agent who are up to date with the latest market trends and housing legislation then please complete our contact form below to arrange a call from one of our team.

Cardiff HMO Letting Agent Tenant Attraction

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Cardiff HMO Letting Agent Tenant Attraction

High Yield Property Management Limited have over 12 years’ experience as a specialist Cardiff HMO letting agent managing Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMO) on a per room basis.

We have wealth of experience of attracting and managing professional, student and tenants in receipt of benefits on a per room, individual tenancy basis. 

In our role as a Cardiff HMO letting agent, we understand the importance of attracting housemates looking for a room to rent in Cardiff and the importance of mitigating void periods for our landlords.

Websites and Apps such as www.spareroom.co.uk have become a dominant force in attracting tenants who are looking for a room to rent in Cardiff, but property portals are only one cog in our well-oiled tenant attraction process.

This year alone online property portals have played a small part in attracting tenants who are  looking for a rom to rent in Cardiff with just over 10% of new housemates coming by way of an online property portal compared to 53% via organic search engines and 30% via our social media channels.

YearSearch EnginesSocial MediaProperty PortalsOther
202053.77%30.10%10.46%5.67%
201931.63%32.11%18.56%17.70%
201840.73%11.45%30.03%17.79%
201728.70%46.18%15.56%9.57%
201633.48%17.06%21.11%28.34%
Where are Cardiff Housemates come from

As a specialist Cardiff HMO letting agent we are continually tweaking our online presence to ensure we consistently rank on the 1st page of search engines such as Google and Bing for search terms housemates use when looking for a room to rent in Cardiff.  It is evident from the table above the importance of search engines in attracting housemates as this year so far over 50% of all new housemates have been a unique enquiry via a search engine. 

Therefore, if you are a self-managing HMO landlord or you are using a Cardiff HMO letting agent who does not rank well for search terms associated with room rentals and room only tenancies you are probably experiencing longer void periods in the current climate.

If you are a landlord with rooms to rent in Cardiff and looking to reduce your void periods, then look to employ a Cardiff HMO letting agent that does not just rely on property portals to attract tenants.  If you would like to employ the services of a Cardiff HMO  letting agent who are continually evolving their tenant attraction processes to eliminate void periods for then contact us using the form below.