🔎 Start with the local market

Look at what similar properties nearby have actually let for, not just what they’re advertised at. Compare like for like: same area, size, condition and furnishing. Rightmove and Zoopla show the competition, but a local agent’s let-agreed data is the most accurate guide, because asking rents and achieved rents are often different.

🏠 What pushes rent up or down

• Location: transport links, schools, shops and the feel of the street
• Condition: modern kitchens and bathrooms, good decoration and a well-kept garden
• Energy efficiency: a better EPC means lower bills, and tenants notice
• Outdoor space and parking: often worth more than landlords expect
• Furnishing: depends on the market. Furnished suits city-centre professionals, unfurnished suits families and longer stays

📉 Why overpricing costs more than it earns

Asking £50 a month above the market adds £600 over a year. One extra month empty while you wait for a tenant at that price costs a full month’s rent, plus bills and council tax. Pricing correctly from day one usually means a quicker let and more serious applicants. In our experience, correctly priced properties usually let within one to two weeks of going on the market.

⚖️ The new rules on setting rent

The Renters’ Rights Act has changed how rent is set and increased:

• You must advertise a rent and can’t accept offers above it. Rental bidding is banned.
• You can’t ask for more than one month’s rent upfront.
• Increases are once a year, to market rate, using a Section 13 notice with at least two months’ notice. Tenants can challenge an increase at the First-tier Tribunal. See our Section 13 guide for how to do it properly.

That makes getting the starting rent right more important, because there’s less room to adjust it later. More in our Renters’ Rights Act guide.

🔁 Review it every year

Check the rent against the market annually. Small, evidence-based increases are easier for tenants to accept, and harder to challenge, than a big jump after years of no change. Weigh any increase against the cost of losing a good tenant.

🏘️ A note for HMO landlords

In a shared house, price each room on its own merits: size, ensuite, natural light and storage. Decide whether bills are included and price accordingly. See our guide to all-inclusive rent.

👋 Get a rent valuation

We’ll give you an honest rental valuation based on what similar properties have actually let for in your area, not a number designed to win your business. Get in touch or call us on 0151 329 3538, or see our full property management and let-only services.