'Good relationship' crucial for landlords and tenants

Posted: 26 Feb 2009 13:26:40 GMT

Landlords have been urged by an expert to maintain good relationships with their tenants from the beginning of a contract.

Simon Gordon, head of communications for the National Landlords Association (NLA), gave the advice after statistics from his organisation showed that 74 per cent of calls to its helpline were from landlords concerned that their tenants would not be able to pay their rent.

While stressing that landlords ought to speak to their lenders if they face financial difficulty, Mr Gordon also advised having good dealings with tenants right from the beginning.

This way, "if either you or the tenant get into any difficulties, you are already in communication, you have a good relationship and you can talk", he explained.

Mr Gordon also noted that constant additions of government initiatives can be confusing for people.

According to data from the Association of Rental Letting Agents, published in December, 90 per cent of landlords are not buying or selling rental properties.

The value of such homes was found to have dropped by 8.3 per cent over the previous year.

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