Why Corporate Letting Is A Good Opportunity For Landlords

Corporate Let or Company Let? Is There A Difference For
Landlords Compared To Traditional Letting?

A corporate let is an arrangement where instead of letting out a property to a private tenant, the landlord chooses to let the property out directly to a company. The arrangement works like an assured shorthold tenancy agreement, with the exception that rather than have an individual tenant responsible for the property’s rent and bills, the company renting the property assumes the responsibility instead.

See How Flex Living Compares To Standard Letting With Our
Downloadable Fact Sheet

How Does Corporate Letting Work?

There are two main types of corporate letting. Landlords can rent their property directly to a company that has an employee they need to house. The arrangement can last for as long or short as the company needs to keep their employee at the property. The company renting the property pays for all the bills and the rent for their employee living there and generally speaking, take a vested interest in keeping the property in good condition, making sure their tenant does too.

However, landlords can use certain agencies that specialise in corporate letting to rent their property out for them and take advantage of their connections. A corporate let specialist will find a corporate tenant for the landlord, with some agencies offering arrangements over a fixed term potentially for up to five years, with rent secured for the landlord for that entire period.

How Does Corporate Letting Work?

There are two main types of corporate letting. Landlords can rent their property directly to a company that has an employee they need to house. The arrangement can last for as long or short as the company needs to keep their employee at the property. The company renting the property pays for all the bills and the rent for their employee living there and generally speaking, take a vested interest in keeping the property in good condition, making sure their tenant does too.

However, landlords can use certain agencies that specialise in corporate letting to rent their property out for them and take advantage of their connections. A corporate let specialist will find a corporate tenant for the landlord, with some agencies offering arrangements over a fixed term potentially for up to five years, with rent secured for the landlord for that entire period.

However, landlords can use certain agencies that specialise in corporate letting to rent their property out for them and take advantage of their connections. A corporate let specialist will find a corporate tenant for the landlord, with some agencies offering arrangements over a fixed term potentially for up to five years, with rent secured for the landlord for that entire period.

Corporate letting differs from standard assured shorthold tenancy (AST)
agreements in a number of ways including the following:

Letting With An AST

Corporate Letting

Private tenant(s) rent directly from the landlord and live in the property themselves

A company rents the property from the landlord and houses their employee at the property

Fixed terms last for 1-2 years with a break clause usually included for after 6 months

Typical arrangements last from 1-6 months with corporate letting agents able to secure income for 1-5 years

Tenants are members of the general public and are sourced/verified at the discretion of the landlord or agent in charge of the property

Tenants are employees of the company that is paying the rent and often work in areas such as finance, consulting, aviation etc.

So to summarise, the main difference between corporate letting and letting to tenants on an AST agreement is that the tenant is a private company. This can be hugely beneficial to landlords in a number of ways including :

• High-quality and reliable tenants
• Contracts are easier to terminate with less notice required
• Above market rent for high-quality properties

The idea of renting out your property for potentially more money and less stress from managing it yourself may be very tempting indeed for many landlords. However, it is important to recognise there are a few noticeable flaws with most forms of corporate letting that question whether the model is right for everyone.

The Problems With Corporate Letting

So to summarise, the main difference between corporate letting and letting to tenants on an AST agreement is that the tenant is a private company. This can be hugely beneficial to landlords in a number of ways including :

• Shorter letting agreements leading to the property being left empty for extended periods of time
• Trouble sourcing corporate lets without using a specialist finder/agency and paying high fees for the service
• Inconsistent rent throughout the year and a loss of rental income from periods of unoccupancy

Finding consistent and reliable rent from corporate tenants is difficult due to so many agreements being shorter-term. To avoid fees from specialist agencies, landlords have to spend a lot of time trying to find companies to rent their property using platforms like Open Rent, rarely finding a corporate that will rent their property for the long term at a higher price.

However, there is another way to receive all the benefits of the corporate letting model, without any of the headaches, if you choose to partner up with us at Flex Living.

The Flex Living Model vs The Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement

There are multiple benefits to corporate letting for a landlord but, the Flex Living model goes even further by offering landlords a much better deal than the average company let agreement and, a better arrangement than an assured tenancy agreement with a private tenant. The benefits of our model include:

No Voids – On average, landlords lose three weeks of rental income each year from voids between tenancies.

Which means missing out on 5.7% of the annual rent. Flex Living offers agreements with landlords that can last for up to five years and guarantee no voids or loss of income throughout that period. Even if a property is empty.

• No Additional Or Hidden Fees – Unlike your typical estate agent or property management company, Flex Living does not charge any management or agency fees, with absolutely no hidden costs in any of our agreements. All of our tenants are reliable and trustworthy individuals and, we don’t charge you anything extra for the privilege of finding and hosting them in your apartment.
• Free Property Refurbishment – Our corporate partners require exceptional living standards for their employees during their stay. Unlike many private tenants across the UK, we commit to maintaining and improving the condition of the properties we rent. We offer a property-boosting makeover to ensure that everything from the colour of the walls, to the comfort of the furniture, matches the requirements of our corporate partners, at no extra cost to our landlords. Our service offers significant boosts to the value of the property.

Exceptional Property Management – Our commitment to both the needs of our corporate partners and landlords, means we offer round-the-clock service and assistance, seven days a week. We take care of all minor repairs and maintenance issues free of charge, as well as carry out monthly quality inspections. As our lines are open 24/7, we never leave emergency issues unresolved, giving landlords peace of mind.

Easy To End Agreements – As a corporate letting company, we don’t have the same protections from eviction that private tenants on an assured shorthold tenancy agreement will have. All of our agreements are easy to end, with only one month’s notice needed for us to hand a property back to the Landlord, in much better condition than when we first took it over! We have no fees or costs for ending the agreement and, any work or additional furniture we have added to a property by the time we leave is all for the benefit of the landlord, for them to make use of for the future.

We believe at Flex Living, our model offers a consistent and reliable form of corporate letting for landlords, creating constant rent without any deductions. We are very happy to partner up with landlords and transform their properties into suitable corporate lets that we can find tenants for the long term.

Are you on the lookout for a corporate letting partner with some of the best options for company lets in the city? Become one of our fantastic corporate partners at Flex Living today and find your next short or long-term company let in London through us!

If you have any more questions about our letting model or, wish to contact us about letting your property through Flex Living, why not get in touch and speak to one of our fantastic team members today for the best option for corporate lets in London!