MakeUrMove’s data suggests around 30% of tenants will be paying their rent between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve this December. If you’re in this position as a landlord, you’ll be forgiven for having concerns about tenants not paying their rent in December.

There are around two million landlords in the UK. That figure continues to grow as landlords continue to fulfil the role once carried out by the state-led social housing, and as tenants increasingly look at renting not simply as a necessity, but also by providing flexibility before they commit to a location or to buy a property. But as the private rented sector becomes more competitive, how can landlords appear more appealing to tenants? 

Around 80,000 accidental landlords entered the private rental sector in 2017 according to industry research.

All landlords make mistakes. It’s part and parcel of being in business. But in our experience, some are more serious than others. And happen more often. Here are the seven biggest mistakes made by landlords: 

Furnished, unfurnished or even part furnished. As a landlord, you have several options when you let a property. There is no legal requirement for you to furnish your property and there are pros and cons whichever route you go down. We've put together this guide to help you decide which option is best for you.

Last month we reported how Mayor of London Sadiq Khan was calling on the government to invest £2.7billion a year in affordable housing in the capital. 

Homeowners have enjoyed years, perhaps even decades of low mortgage repayment costs and this has also kept down the cost of rents. Whilst most people in the private rented sector believe the recent interest rate rises, as well changes to tax and regulations will to put pressure on landlords. Millions of landlords around the UK are beginning to consider passing on costs to their tenants and it begs the question: “How much more can rents rise?” 

It is a legal requirement that landlords protect their tenant’s rent deposit. They must do so by using the government's deposit protection scheme.

A new type of tenancy comes into force in Scotland on 1st December. This tenancy will be known as the Private Residential Tenancy and it will replace assured and short assured tenancy agreement for all new tenancies in Scotland. 

Across the UK there is a trend for high street letting chains to charge landlords in the region of an average of 12% of their annual rent to find new tenants for their rental property. In addition, there are all sorts of other costs associated with letting a property that can make the process very costly for both a landlord and a tenant. 

The Autumn Budget was a mixed bag for landlords and whilst some hoped there would be concessions, many anticipated the additional taxation of private landlords and that didn’t come to pass either.

The Guardian newspaper recently carried out research into the English private rented sector and has found more than a third of councillors in England’s rental hotspots are private landlords or own a second property.