Wood and Beyond (Guest Blog)
Landlords often tackle renovation work to make their property standout in the lettings market. A common and popular improvement when a landlord is looking to move their property away from the student market (and focus more on professional lets) is to replace old flooring in favour of new.
In 2003 the government introduced regulation designed to reduce noise issues in new properties. It by no means revolves around flooring alone, but a significant part of the regulation focuses on this. Landlords have an obligation to minimise noise from footsteps and airborne sound. One solution is to use an underlay with sound barrier and acoustic properties that can contain the sound to the immediate area.
There are two types of hardwood flooring that suit rental properties. The most common are solid hardwood flooring made from complete 100% natural hardwood and engineered hardwood flooring made from a combination of natural hardwood and artificial materials. Each type will suit a different environment. Bathroom and kitchen areas will benefit from engineered hardwood flooring especially when humid or wet conditions are present.
A good agent will help ensure that any tenants know about the correct cleaning procedures to maintain the floorboards, highlighting any issues during their periodic inspections. Water is the number one cause of accelerated wear; simple brushing is often not enough to reduce staining, so it is vital that the company that supplies your materials has the knowledge and experience to advise on all aspects of installing flooring and the subsequent maintenance that should take place. Correctly selected, good quality flooring looked after properly will improve rental yields as well as ensuring both tenants and landlords are happy for many years!
A huge thank you from all of the team at Heaton Property to Jonathan Sapir of ‘Wood and Beyond’ for the contribution to our blog.