It could be a bit of a gamble, but if it’s a case of getting some money coming in from a tenant, rather than spending out on lots of decorating, then it may be an option worth exploring. As long as the property is structurally sound and no major renovations are required, then there could be benefits to be had for both landlord and tenant if the tenant does the initial decorating.

Tenant Benefits

For a start, it will mean they get to choose the colours and design (within reason – setting some boundaries is advisable) and get to live in a property where they’re happy with the interior decoration. This could work two-fold, as a tenant is more likely to look after a property when they’re happy with its looks and, if they’ve taken time to do the decorating themselves, they may take even more care with upkeep in the future.

Landlord Benefits

For the landlord, the immediate benefit is that you don’t have to worry about getting the property decorated yourself and, if it keeps the tenant happy, then hopefully they’ll stick around for a while and enjoy their decorating creations.

Get it in Writing

On a practical point though, it’s essential that you come to a proper agreement over how much decorating can be done, what you’re happy for them to do and any definite no no’s in terms of colour or design. It may be helpful to set a budget and ensure someone checks the property for quality too, as slap-dash decorating or instances where carpets get ruined by paint aren’t going to do you any favours in the long-run.

To keep tenants happy and emphasise the benefits for them, it’s a good idea to be specific from the outset about how much money they’ll be saving per month or per year for doing the decorating themselves.

Map of London rental prices

If you’ve got rental properties in London, or are thinking of investing in property in the area during 2010, then you can now gain an important insight into rental property prices in the capital.

London Mayor, Boris Johnson, has launched London Rents, a website providing a look the rents achieved at properties across London. Although still in its early stages, the site currently has rental prices for about 11,009 properties in the capital and provides useful information about the average cost of renting a property. The information has been gathered from a sample of private tenancies created over the last 12 months and the aim is to update the information on a monthly basis.

With regular details being uploaded onto the site, it should give a fairly accurate picture of the state of property rentals in London.

The site is a treasure trove of information for landlords as well as tenants If you’re not familiar with the city, then the colour-coded map of rental prices provides valuable information about the areas where the highest and lowest rents can be gained, which could help in your decision-making process of where to buy rental property.

For example, Dartford is currently shown as the cheapest place to rent, where the rental price of a two bedroom property averages out as about £160 per week. The most expensive area in London is South Kensington, where the landlord of a two bedroom property gets an average of £625 per week.

With London being of the largest private rental sectors in England, with over 650,000 properties available for rent, the site looks promising so far and we look forward to seeing how it progresses over the months to come.

What do you think? Will the site be useful for your property rental business?