If you’ve ever seen a property online that states it as a ‘void property’, you’ve probably wondered what an earth it actually means.
In this article, we’ll take a look at what are void properties and what they mean for the property industry.
What Is A Void Property?
What Are Void Properties?
A void property is when a tenant moves out of the property and it is left empty for a period of time. The time when nobody is in the property is when it is known as a void property.
If a property is known as void, it usually means that it is ready to be moved into immediately.
For a landlord, they are either using this time to carry out any repairs or maintenance, or they are looking for a new tenant to move into the property.
During this time, it can be costly for a landlord as they’ll probably be paying the monthly mortgage fees without any rental income from a tenant. Therefore, most landlords won’t like to have a void property for too long.
Why Are There Void Properties?
As mentioned, for a landlord, having a property in void periods is never an optimum situation for cash flow or very cost-effective.
So why were there an estimated 216,000 empty homes in England alone in 2019?
Most of those properties will be privately owned and so it becomes difficult for councils to get them back onto the market for tenants to find or to be used for social housing.
Of course, there can be many different reasons why a landlord may choose to have a void property.
For starters and the most common reason is to carry out certain works on the properties. This could be security and repair costs, or it could be to get it into a habitable state after a previous tenant.
A property needs to meet a good standard for it to be let out to tenants and as an absolute minimum, will need any of the legal requirements.
Landlords may also have a certain target market of tenants they’re looking to place in the property with specific housing terms. Therefore would prefer to keep the property void until they’re happy with the new tenants.
Final Thoughts
That’s it for our look at what are void properties. Most of the time a void property is not an ideal scenario for a landlord to be in. Managing void properties and carrying out efficient void property management is crucial to limiting any void periods.
With the pressures of the current housing market, ensuring that a property isn’t left void for too long is a hugely important matter for a lot of people and families.
Void Property FAQs
What is a void tenancy?
A void tenancy is a period of time when a landlord does not have a tenant in and paying rent for the property.
Currently, a shortage of available houses means that unless major works need to be carried out on the property, there is no real reason for a property to remain void.
What are void repairs?
Void repairs are any work that is carried out to a property during a void period.
These sorts of repairs include maintenance, clearance, painting and decorating, safety inspections such as gas or electrical, or pest control.
What is a void period in real estate?
A void period is the time in which a property is left empty and without a paying tenant.
A void period in property is never a great situation for a landlord to be in, however, with the current housing need, the void period should never be too long.
What are void costs commercial property?
Void costs for a property are the number of costs involved when a property is left unoccupied, or without a paying tenant.
These can include costs such as ground rent, rates, service fees, insurance costs, repair costs, and many other costs all of which still have to be paid even if there’s no paying tenant.
Do commercial landlords pay rates on empty properties?
For commercial properties, business rates don’t need to be paid for the first 3 months of the void period. After that time, almost all businesses will have to pay the full business rates even though the property is empty.
For some properties, there can be exceptions to this rule.
What is void property management?
Many housing providers will have procedures for managing void properties. This allows them to limit the amount of time a property is left void so that they can get homes for people that need them.
Void management ensures any factors that are contributing to void periods are serviced efficiently.