How to Cut Void Periods Between Tenancies
The figures in the worked example are made up.
Tenants can now leave on two months' notice. How to use that time to find the next tenant, set the right rent and keep good tenants longer.
- Category
- Management
- Who it is for
- Landlords and letting agents
- Time to set up
- An hour when notice arrives, then a fixed eight-week plan
- Saves or earns
- About £1,100 each change of tenant
01The Problem
The average gap between tenancies in England was 22 days in February 2026 and 26 days in January, on the Goodlord rental index. Very little of that time is spent finding a tenant. Most of it is spent waiting: for the landlord to see the home, for trades, for photos, for references.
The Renters' Rights Act made this matter more. Since 1 May 2026 there are no fixed terms, and a tenant can give two months' notice at any time. You no longer choose when the home comes back. What you can control is what happens in those eight weeks. The usual mistakes:
Seeing the Home Too Late
The first look is at check-out, so the work list starts the day the rent stops.
Booking Trades After the Keys Come Back
Good decorators and cleaners are booked two to three weeks ahead.
Marketing Late
No viewings until the home is empty and redecorated.
Asking Too Much
Since May 2026 you can't take offers above the advertised rent, so an over-priced home sits empty and then has to be cut. There is no bidding to fix a low price either, so price it right the first time.
Slow Replies
Enquiries answered the next day go to the agent who answered in an hour.
Winter
Gaps run longer in December and January, so a notice that lands in November needs more push.
02The Cost
Take a two-bed flat at £1,300 a month. That is £42.74 a day in lost rent. While it is empty you also pay the council tax, often £150 to £200 a month for a band B or C flat, plus electricity and the heating to keep it dry.
At the January average of 26 days, the gap costs about £1,110 in rent and about £210 in council tax and bills: roughly £1,320. If you use an agent to find the next tenant, add their fee, often around a month's rent. On top come the clean, the inventory and the small jobs.
Over-pricing is the most expensive mistake. Ask £1,400 when the market is £1,300 and lose four extra weeks, and you have lost about £1,200, which is the whole first year's gain from the higher rent, before you cut it to £1,300 anyway. A useful rule: every £50 a month above the market rent costs you £600 a year, which is about two weeks of rent. If asking more risks more than two weeks empty, it isn't worth it.
Keeping a tenant is worth even more. One change of tenant with an agent can easily cost £2,500 to £3,000 once you add the gap, the fee, the clean and the jobs. Every extra year a good tenant stays saves that.
03The Fix
Day One of Notice: Reply, Ask and Book
Confirm the leaving date in writing. Ask why they are leaving; if it is a fixable repair or a rent worry, a quick offer may keep them. Ask to hold viewings in the last four weeks. Most tenancies allow this with 24 hours' written notice, but it works far better with goodwill: offer a set viewing pattern and £50 off the last month's rent for a tidy home and easy viewings.
Week One: Walk Round with the Check-In Inventory
List every job: touch-up paint, sealant, carpet clean, a sticking door, a dead extractor. Get quotes the same week. Tell the tenant what they need to put right before they go, which also cuts deposit arguments later.
Week One: Set the Rent from Achieved Rents
Find three similar homes let nearby in the last three months, not asking prices. Price at the market. If you have no serious applicants within 10 days of going live, cut by 3 to 5 per cent rather than waiting.
Week Two: Market While the Tenant Is Still There
New daylight photos taken after a tidy, a floor plan, the energy rating, council tax band, the rent, the date it is free and your pet policy. Block viewings into two evenings and a Saturday morning so the tenant isn't disturbed every day. Reply to every enquiry within two hours.
Weeks Three to Six: Reference and Fix the Start Date
Take a holding deposit of no more than one week's rent and agree terms within 15 days. Set the start date three to five days after the old tenant leaves. Between signing and the start you can take no more than one month's rent in advance.
Book the Turnaround Before Check-Out
Day 0: check-out and key handover. Day 1: deep clean and carpets. Day 2: paint touch-ups, sealant and small repairs. Day 3: check the gas safety record and electrical report are in date, take new inventory photos. The new tenant moves in on day 4 or 5. Test every smoke and carbon monoxide alarm on the day the tenancy starts; the law requires it.
Keep a Turnaround Kit
Paint colours and codes, spare blinds, bulbs, sealant, a set of spare keys, and the same cleaner and handyperson every time. A team that knows the home works faster and spots problems sooner.
Keep Good Tenants Longer
Ask at every inspection whether anything needs fixing, and fix it quickly. Raise rent a little each year, in line with the market, rather than a big jump that pushes them to look elsewhere. Every year a good tenant stays saves the whole cost of a change.
04The Result
Before
26 days empty: about £1,320 in lost rent, council tax and bills
After
4 days empty: about £200
Cost
About £50 off the outgoing tenant's last month, and the same jobs booked earlier
Better Off
About £1,070 each change of tenant
On a portfolio of five homes with one change of tenant a year between them, that is about £1,000 a year. Keep one good tenant an extra year and you save another £2,500 or so.
The Lessons
- Start the work on the day notice arrives, not the day the keys come back.
- Price from achieved rents; with no bidding allowed, over-pricing just costs weeks.
- Cut the rent after 10 days without serious interest rather than sitting empty.
- Book a three to five day turnaround with the same trusted team.
- Keeping a good tenant is worth more than any marketing trick.
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