“A guide on how to keep up with the rise of new build apartments for Landlords with older properties”

It is no secret that East London is the king of rental apartments and apartment complexes; examples include Royal Wharf, Royal Albert Wharf, London City Island, and Good Luck Hope. East Village in Stratford and Fish Island are just a few of the most popular ones to name. All thanks to the rise of Overseas Investors feeding the "headless dragon Landlords” - such as L&Q, Notting Hill Housing Group, Folio, and Peabody, who have pretty much transformed the rental market with somewhat luxurious, comfortable apartment complexes. Most of the time, these complexes allow pets, rarely undergo visits or property inspections, not to mention usually conquer some of the nicest riverside locations that Londoners have learned to admire and love so much. That said, there are thousands of apartments in very desirable areas such as the Isle of Dogs, South Quay that stretches far beyond Limehouse, Wapping, and all the way to Tower Bridge. This situation has raised a lot of issues for landlords with older properties, who are now having to compete with the new, sleek, and shiny apartment blocks next door. We have especially seen a high number of landlords struggling to rent out older buildings around Wapping, Limehouse, or even the much-loved and desired Canary Wharf residential side.

With the increasing desire to rent new over old, the demand for landlords needing to refurbish their 15-20 year-old apartments has risen significantly to keep up with the new contenders on the block.

This guide aims to provide information for landlords who are aware that the day will come when a refurbishment is required, ensuring they can stay current with the latest trends.

By the way, if you're wondering what a building contractor knows about any of this, well, I have been in the industry for just over 12 years. Part of my experience includes serving some of the finest lettings agencies in East London (Canary Wharf & Wapping). So, I know a thing or two about rentals, and that's precisely why I started a maintenance company while still working as a lettings agent—for lettings agents, private landlords, and property managers.

With years spent working on and maintaining rental apartments in East London and mostly Docklands, we have overseen 1000+ refurbishment projects and can provide valuable insights. Here goes.

1.What Tenants Want

With the rental market at its peak and property prices reaching their highest levels ever, it is safe to say that tenants now expect more from landlords than ever before. Most often, what they desire is an apartment with a modern, renovated bathroom, a functioning kitchen, and fixtures worthy of Instagram. In simple terms, as many self-respecting tenants as we have encountered in our day, they all desire a pretty, modern, and comfortable place that feels just nice enough to pass as their own. They prefer it not to resemble a blatant cheap rental furnished with Ikea or David Phillips furniture (not that there is anything wrong with Ikea, but opting for the cheapest basic Ikea value items might not be ideal).

Before dismissing the idea, consider this: imagine yourself living in the property. Self-respecting tenants, we've found over the years, appreciate a home that looks nice and is furnished with quality items. While it's true that tenants may not always care deeply about the property they live in, we have observed that properties lacking in aesthetic appeal and furnished with cheap items tend to attract tenants who lack self-respect for themselves and their surroundings.

This becomes a gray area in the rental market, as the only security measures agents typically undertake involve references, tenant deposits, and annual visits. On the flip side, most new sleek apartments are generally left in good condition with minimal wear and tear, perhaps a wall scratch here and there or a stain on a carpet or couch.

In summary, there is no perfect tenant, but taking an additional step to attract good ones, who are more likely to look after your apartment, involves caring about the property's appearance. Spend a little on slightly nicer furniture, a fresh coat of paint, or, if your property looks outdated, consider investing in updates. If your budget allows, great; if it doesn't, it may be worth reconsidering whether being a rental landlord is the right fit for you.

2. Decorating makes a huge difference, and doesn’t cost the earth.

One of the most overlooked areas that landlords often neglect is the decorative side of their home, or worse, they ask contractors like ourselves to "touch up the walls," a term invented by greedy landlords who don't understand the concept of decorating. News flash: in the trade, there is no such thing as wall touch-ups. While you may find a desperate decorator with £1 paint brushes who will accept your requested task, it only makes the property look worse, signaling, "My landlord is so cheap, he could only spare £50 to touch up dirt marks throughout the flat, and now my apartment has mismatched paint marks that are even more of an eyesore."

Aside from that, if you maintain your property walls every few tenancies, it can cost as little as £1000 if done by a professional decorator, with woodwork only needing attention every 2-3 years, as it no longer yellows within one year as it used to not even that long ago.

Pro Tip: The color white is your safest choice. Maybe implement one darker-colored feature wall or opt for light grey paint throughout to achieve a more bachelor apartment aesthetic. Whatever you do, DO NOT use magnolia paint; it is no longer 1995. Magnolia paint should not even be sold, yet many landlords (especially older ones) instruct contractors to use magnolia. Simply put, forget that this color even exists. Also, no one uses wallpapers, so quit it; it's not going to make the walls more renter-friendly. Silk/hard-wearing paint is only for hospitals and the toughest council estates; they don't belong in regular rental flats.

3. Flooring can make or break the look of your rental.

Another one of the most overlook areas in most apartments are floors, most Landlords, believe that no one cares about flooring. This is so un-true. Flooring is just as importnant as decorating , it is true that if you opt for laminate flooring or engineered flooring and it will be a much better return for of investment as the hard flooring can have a much longer wear, sometimes even 20 years or more if you went for a more expensive engineered floor boards that can be restored from time to time. But sometimes Landlords choose to go for £10 per square meter flooring which, is cheaper then having decent carpets, but will bubble and have gaps a minute a mop touches the floor. so be mindfull of this. That said, if you have older engineered or real wood floors that look rough, know that these can be restored to almost the original state, with the art of floor sanding and varnishing, which thes service that we provide by the way since last year, thanks to a brilliant floor restoring specialist that we have partnered up with, who has over 40 years of experience with these. I cannot tell you the amount of perfectly good solid wood or engineered wood floors that we have replaced over the years, and now are trying to save and convince our clients to save money, and resources .

Floor Sanding & varnishing, if you are curious starts from £40per square meter with sanding and colour match staining £52 per sq meter, but since this blog is about tenants, and their preference, we noted that a lot of them do prefer to have carpets in the bedrooms, to what we understand it replicated the feeling of a nice Hotel room, and I get it. It is nice. But be Mindfull of the colour. Just Like Magnolia for painting and decorating, cream and beige carpets are no longer fashionable, and you are unlikely to see these colour in any new build properties nowa days. Instead opt for grey, or darke colour carpets, which look good, and dont show staints as badly as the cream or beige carpets. When choosing a carpet, also consider spending a little more, as the cheapest bottom range carpets wear quicker and dont feel as nice as you walk on them bare foot.

Pro tip: to keep the costs downt you dont always need to replace underlay or grippers, despite companies telling you that you have too, they are just trying to rip you off, the only time you should change the underlay is if its extremely worn, or has been ifested with moth.

4. Old Kitchen will drive tenants away

You all know that the bathroom and kitchen are the key, most important places in any home. Most of the time, these are the most overlooked areas of rental properties, as if landlords think that renters don't cook and don't bathe. Speaking as a former lettings agent, bathrooms and kitchens used to be the first areas of the property people would check. Most of the time, if the kitchen or bathroom did not reflect the rent price, I would get a cold shoulder, with responses like "we have a few more viewings" or "I will get back to you" — and they never did. These properties with the worst kitchens and bathrooms used to sit on the market empty for the longest time. I remember speaking to landlords as if it were yesterday:

"Why have you not let my flat yet?" (Most often, I would tell them that the price is too high or that the property did not generate as much interest.) Deep down, I wanted to say, "Because your bathroom and kitchen still smell like the 1980s, and no one wants to live there." Unfortunately, we could not express such sentiments, as the market was sensitive with many agents competing for these "new landlords."

Moral of the story: if your kitchen looks old, change it. If your property doesn't have a dishwasher, get one installed, and make sure it's integrated. While we understand that kitchen replacement is probably the most expensive refurbishment cost, not many people know that there are ways to cut costs, depending on the kitchen you have.

Firstly, if your kitchen was built after 2000, you may be able to replace just the front doors, panels, and drawers, keeping the kitchen units the same. This option is brilliant if you want to improve your kitchen but the budget does not allow. Secondly, the area of the kitchen that looks the worst is usually the worktop and backsplash area. You can replace the ugly, moldy wooden worktop or the cheap laminate worktop that now has holes and marks on it. The best option is to go for granite worktops; depending on your kitchen size, you could get sleek, hard-wearing granite worktops for as little as £1000 with installation. We can assist with that! For the backsplash, you can go for a granite upstand to match the worktops or choose cheaper options such as frosted panels in any color you like, or classic metro tiles (but do them tastefully; play around with the design).

Appliances are another significant consideration. If you are looking to refurbish your kitchen, ensure that all the appliances are built-in, even if they are a couple of hundred quid more expensive. This will stand the test of time better, and most renters prefer the minimalist kitchen design.

As for the kitchens, if you want to save as much as possible and are renovating purely because you have to, Howdens is probably your best bet. Find a decent contractor with an account with them, like someone such as Tom Harvey. We can take care of the design, deal with the kitchen suppliers, and pass the trade discounts that we get from them on to you. If you are looking for a more premium kitchen and can spend 20-30% more for a better product, browse Wren Kitchens. Just like with Howdens, we can do all of this on your behalf, and you can take advantage of our trade discounts with them.

In summary, whether you are looking to fully replace the kitchen or just refurbish part of it, don't forget the floors. If you have vinyl, install tiles. Not one person on this planet enjoys having vinyl anywhere in the property. Whoever invented it is probably turning in their grave from all the swear words that contractors release when installing them. It's a terrible and ugly product, and you are not fooling anyone with that imitation of tiles. It looks awful and should no longer be seen in any properties in the year 2024.

5. Scary, Scary bathroom.

Just like the kitchen, the bathroom is equally as important for renters. They all imagine themselves having a comforting bubble bath at the end of the day or an energizing and refreshing shower in the morning. If you have an old bathroom with a moldy white shower curtain, you can rest assured that you will only attract people who: A. Don't use the bathroom, which should already be a red flag, or B. Someone who will use the bathtub to make homemade gin.

Jokes aside, just like with the kitchen, it is possible to improve the old bathroom you have with just a few tweaks. Note this down:

Change the damn silicone. Not one person that I have ever met liked having moldy silicone, and this is perhaps, by the volume of jobs requested by agents, the number 1 requested task for any property, since the UK is a big sufferer of it.
Install a new bath screen (if your property has a bath).
Install a nice mirror cabinet or a stylish mirror; if budget allows, maybe even go for the one with a little LED light underneath.
Replace that electric shower with a proper thermostatic shower mixer.
Replace a bath panel.
Replace the vinyl flooring with tile.
Install a bright light or spotlights if possible (consult with your builder).
Purchase nice accessories.

And if you can afford to replace the whole bathroom, then please, please, please, get some design inspiration online or get your trusted contractors to design a bathroom for you. (Wink, Wink.) Many landlords instruct clueless builders and trust them to design and install a new bathroom, which ends up looking new but... nowhere near modern or stylish. You need to understand that not all contractors can make your dreams come true when it comes to design. They are most often talented at the actual job (we would hope) but lack imagination or vision to make it look stylish and modern.

If you are looking to do the works, look for inspiration in some of the new build properties, who used designers to carefully design the bathrooms on the cheap, since they have to build hundreds of them. By following this trend, you can rest assured that you will have a good bathroom design, and it should be relatively easy to install, meaning budget-friendly - which is something that we like with rentals, right?! :)

6. Furniture, Lighting & Accesories.

Just in case you have been living under a rock and only think about collecting your monthly rent, tenants are people too, just like you. They like comfort and to look at pretty things. So, that two-seater sofa that you bought them five years ago, that only qualifies as a sofa and can't even support an average-sized man to lay/sleep on it when he gets kicked out of the bedroom for coming home late drunk. In other words, when it is time to refurbish and if you are generous enough to provide furniture to your tenants, do consider comfort and aesthetics as one of renters' criteria. Spend £100 more on that sofa that could house more than two people and can accommodate a comfortable "Netflix and chill" session. For older landlords - (this is when two people who love each other very much watch television together, occasionally eating food and cuddling).

In addition to a comfortable sofa, don't buy those white cheap Ikea wardrobes, chest of drawers, or bedside tables. Better yet, reduce the rent by £50 a month and let tenants buy their own furniture. Bonus tip: if you are lucky, when they move out, you may inherit some nice pieces of furniture. And if the furniture is not nice, you have the option to deduct £50-100 from their deposit to get rid of it.

In addition to furniture, consider installing spotlights to sweeten the appearance of the property, as most new buildings have spotlights (aka downlights), which usually add that bright and airy new feeling to any flat. So if your flat only has those one sad pendant lights, consider drastically improving the lighting in the flat. If you don't want to invest in the installation of spotlights, which, by the way, is not that expensive, consider building one of those light units that house 3-5 lights and can provide a good amount of light.

Other than that, curtains/blinds are probably the last thing you should consider - cheap blinds will make your place look cheap, and you will have to replace them or send builders in to replace every 6 months. So maybe opt for some stylish floor-to-ceiling curtains, which are now back in fashion again. Just ensure that they are plain colored.

Conclusion:

We understand that costs associated with being a landlord are huge, especially with mortgage interest rates going up and just the cost of contractors, materials, and everything else being the highest ever. But at the same time, the cost of rent, as mentioned previously, is also at its peak. Meaning the rent you get does not really put you out of pocket. Most landlords lose the most money in rentals by having their apartments sit empty for weeks or months at a time, depending on a few factors.

A: Greed - Fun fact: most people think that their property is the best; this may have something to do with narcissistic tendencies that we all have as humans. Meaning some landlords, out of principle, will refuse to let their property rent below market value and instead have apartments sitting empty for ages. As a contractor and ex-estate agent, I never understood this logic.

B: Landlords think that their property looks good and wonder why no one is interested. Most often than not, if location is not at fault, it is one of the factors such as the ones discussed above: decorating state, floors, kitchen, bathroom, accessories, or even worse - all of the above.

But we know for sure that if you are a landlord and have a spare property for rental in London, you must have been doing something right and are more intelligent to understand the above. Some of it was written for your entertainment with some good insights from our experience. That said, if you are looking to refurbish one or more areas in your rental property or maybe even your own palace, you know where to find us.

Good luck and thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this and know someone who could use this information, please share. And if you are a tenant dealing with a landlord that is living far from reality, share this with them. Fingers crossed they don't serve notice, and if they do - thank us later.

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