Landlord help: how to make more money - the right way We also recommend using a two month notice period so there is maximum time to market the property and handover is less likely to include any significant void period. We also never sign on a new tenant on a six-month agreement in June or July because we don't want them leaving over Christmas, so we use eight, 10 or 12-month tenancy agreements to minimise the risk of a void. Members of the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) - who represent 16,000 private sector landlords in England and Wales - feel differently, however. In a recent survey, 56 per cent said they would be freezing rents this year, mainly in acknowledgment of tenants facing real-term cuts to their wages. A third would raise prices and the rest were undecided. UK landlords today are widely portrayed as cashing in on the "rentysomething"generation who can't afford to buy. But a recent English Housing Survey - which shows that private sector rents nationwide increased by just over 7 per cent between 2008/2009 and 2011/12 when inflation over the same period was 12.5 per cent (and the social rented sector saw rents rise by nearly 17 per cent over the same period) - suggests greed may not be the main driving force of every landlord in the land. "The issue of raising rents is very topical," says Samantha Cooper from Cooper Associates independent mortgage advisors. Most rents are rising due to demand. But in the event of the mortgage market relaxing and rental demand decreasing, they won't forget the hikes in their rent and will be more likely to move to a lower rental payment. Most of our landlords believe that it's better to keep the rent at around market value - not low, but average - and keep a good tenant. David Lawrenson, author of Successful Property Letting and himself a landlord whose portfolio focuses on two/three-bedroom terraced houses in south-east London and east Kent, advises against greed. Keep your rents a bit below the market rent and don't always push for the highest figure. I usually pitch at 5-10 per cent below the market rate, build up a lot of interest and invite candidates to view the property within 20-minute intervals of one another, so they can see the demand. Then you pretty much reach the market rate anyway," he says. The value to you of good people who will take care of your property is worth far more than the money you will need to spend re-letting the property - even if you do it yourself. Any gap between tenants, which there invariably is, can gobble up any profit made from the higher rent. Good communication is the key to making rent hikes more palatable, suggests Dan Channer from Finders Keepers lettings agency in Oxfordshire. Most of us will understand a reasonable inflationary increase. Our rents rose on average by 3-4 per cent across 2,500 properties in Oxfordshire," says Channer. It would be good practice to survey what rent truly comparable properties are achieving. If yours is significantly less but you want to keep your tenant, then indicate what you would be re-marketing the property for, should they not wish to renew, but at the same time offer a renewal around inflation rate to demonstrate they are getting good value. Channer advises starting the rent review process 12 weeks before the tenancy ends, allowing time for the tenant to express their point of view and for you to remarket the property if necessary. "Sometimes your tenant might be willing to pay a little more if you improve the property, such as redecoration... or a better shower, new carpets or curtains," he says. These things typically get done between tenancies, but can also be an excellent way of retaining a great tenant.