Connecting your Tenants

There are few things more frustrating than poor broadband quality, and plenty of tenants over the country suffer with slow download speeds and unreliable connections. In fact, broadband failures are one of the top reasons tenants get in touch with landlords, so it’s quite likely that you’re already aware of the problems! How can you ensure that your tenants have a good connection and that you have a hassle-free relationship?

Providing contracts

Some landlords like to leave tenants to their own devices when it comes to choosing broadband, but the average broadband contract lasts about eighteen months and there have been many cases of tenants leaving before a contract is up. If you’re able to set up and provide a contract, it saves you the hassle of having bills left over and potentially a dispute as to who is liable. Equally, if you’re a holiday property owner you should look to provide a rolling service for your tenants.

Choosing a package

You’ll need to ensure your package reflects the tenants you’re trying to attract. The more users you expect, the higher speed you’ll need – for an eight person property you might want to go for an advertised speed as high as 50mbps whereas a couple will probably only need 10mbps. You can, of course, recharge your tenants for the cost of this and it might be wise to wrap the cost up in your rental price.

Check area settings

In some areas, particularly in remote areas, broadband speeds are only ever going to reach four of five mbps; to you or I, that’s fast enough for ordinary usage, but won’t allow your tenants to do things like stream TV programmes or play online games. If this is the case, there really isn’t anything you can do and the best advice is to request that your tenants buy mobile broadband packages that cover the cost themselves. If you know that your area is poor for broadband speeds, it is worth letting your tenants know that the service is only basic.

Though you may be able to cover the cost of disputes about broadband contracts through your landlord insurance, it’s wise to think carefully about finding the right package for your tenants and making sure the bills are covered so you minimise the time you waste sorting out problems.