If you own a rental property or are thinking about buying one, you will probably know that the UK rental market is in a state of flux, with average rental increases starting to cool off. The cost of living is putting pressure on renters, creating a weakened demand. It’s still a strong market, but the future could put more pressure on landlords to offer more competitive properties to ensure continuous rental.
Smart home tech is starting to make its way into more and more homes and average renters are beginning to expect smart home equipment in their rental properties. The next 5 years are expected to be a big growth period for smart home in the UK and it might be easy to get left behind in the rental market.
If you want to stay competitive and up to date, read on to see what the future could look like and how you can be a part of it.
Smart security systems
Security systems have pretty obvious benefits as they reduce the chance of break-ins, giving the occupants peace of mind.
For landlords, keeping their tenants feeling safe will hopefully keep them in the property for longer and make it easier to rent out your property as it will be more appealing to renters when compared to others on the market.
The additional benefits are that you can keep an eye on empty properties and even manage who has access to the property. With smart cameras and doorbells keeping an eye on public areas, you can rest assured that your investment can be watched over. You can even have smart door locks to control who can gain entry to your property, making it easy to ensure the right people have access. No need to change locks or get the right keys to anybody, as you can remotely change the entry code whenever you need.
Having smart door locks is especially useful for short term landlords when you are regularly changing tenants. If you have an Airbnb, you can even link a short term access code in the app, meaning your visitors will have automatic access during their pre-scheduled stay and that access will automatically be revoked on checkout.
Leak sensors
Most of the problems that landlords typically come across, can be easily rectified if they know about it in a timely manner. This is especially true with leaks, where considerable damage can occur if you don’t catch them in time.
A smart leak sensor is a very simple and affordable way to get notified as soon as water is detected. They’re wireless, run on battery and last years before needing any attention, making them the perfect solution to stay alerted. Pop them behind a toilet, under a sink or by the boiler to make sure that you’re notified if anything was to go wrong.
You can even have your water mains shut off if any leak is detected, meaning you don’t have to get to the property quickly to resolve a problem.
Smart thermostats
You probably know what this is, and so do your tenants, as they will have seen their friends and family getting this technology around them. Being able to keep their home at a comfortable temperature with minimal effort is something that people are starting to expect, rather than hope for.
If your property has a smart heating system and other properties around you don’t, it will be an easier choice for renters when choosing your property. When your investment isn’t rented out though, you will have control of the heating remotely too, meaning you can ensure it doesn’t get too cold to avoid bursting pipes. An occasional blast of heating can also prevent mould growth, meaning that musty smell could be a thing of the past. Potential renters will notice too when they enter a nice warm property to view it, even if you haven’t been there for weeks.
Lastly, heating bills can be drastically reduced by using smart heating controls, meaning your renters will be much happier and hopefully stay longer.
Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors
This does pretty much what it says on the tin, as a smart smoke and carbon monoxide detector will alert you and your tenants if anything is detected. This means you and your tenants will have greater peace of mind knowing that safety is a priority and the right people will be notified if anything were to happen.
Convenience and comfort
While smart home products that increase convenience might not allow landlords to directly benefit, tenants will be happier and hopefully stay longer in a home that provides greater comfort and convenience.
Smart lights, voice assistants, smart appliances, speakers and smart plugs can all offer tenants the ultimate in comfort and convenience, setting your property apart from the rest. With upgrades installed like this, you will be able to command a higher rental value as well, ensuring you eventually cover the initial cost to upgrade your property.
Will smart home tech be a good investment?
The reason you have a rental property will in some way come down to the investment element and smart home upgrades should be seen in the same light.
With happy tenants, you should notice an immediate return with lower tenant turnover and minimum vacancy, keeping your investment working hard for you. Your property will stand out amongst the rest by being safer, more energy efficient and comfortable.
By offering smart home enhancements, you should be able to charge more in rent and have lower maintenance costs by avoiding costly repairs which can be caught early with the right equipment.
The dream of a remotely managed property isn’t as far away as you think, as there are more and more smart home solutions available. Wi-Fi networks can be remotely repaired, property access can be temporarily given from across the world and any potential threat can be spotted before it’s too late.
Smart home will evolve and begin to improve all of our lives and now is the time to start benefiting before you miss the boat. Can you afford to stay stuck in the past? You’ll find out in the next 5 years.
If you would like to know more, please visit:
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If you have any questions or would like to speak to us, please get in touch:
email info@smartstart.uk.com
phone 0333 335 5503
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