A Private Rental Sector Health Check for September 2012 from the online letting agent Upad reveals that residential landlord confidence in the UK buy-to-let market remains buoyant with 69% of landlords stating that they were ‘more confident’ in September 2012.

The agent believes that now could be a great time for many landlords to take advantage of tenant demand in the Private Rental Sector. However as there have been some recent media reports of an increase in complaints from tenants Upad are offering some top tips for landlords to help them to keep their customers happy and to achieve fewer void periods.

Meet your tenants
It is essential that you get to know your tenants and form a professional relationship with them. If you make the effort to form a solid relationship this should make for a smoother tenancy with less hassle.

Reference your tenants
This might sound obvious but always make sure a tenant can afford the rent. It is also worth doing your research and checking that their rental history is free of any problems.

Professional photography
Getting professional photographs for your ads will get you up to 8 times as many tenant enquiries per day. Upad recently had a property advertised with standard landlord photographs for 58 days which only received 10 tenant enquiries. When they advertised the same property with professional pictures for just 18 days tenant enquiries jumped to 27.

Set up a standing order mandate
Why not set up a standing order mandate which will mean that your tenants will never forget to pay the rent.

Name drop
When advertising a property, mention that you are a private landlord in your ads. According to Upad just 15% of tenants want to meet an agent for viewings, so this is a big selling point.