By Paul Malone, MovingSoon.co.uk

Reducing void properties is at the top of the list of Housing Associations, Councils and other housing providers. They want to make sure they become more efficient through effective service delivery.

So what is meant by a void property? It is when a property is unoccupied for a period of time. For affordable housing providers the aim is to keep voids to a minimum.

For every day a property is empty there is a cost associated with this, notably lost rent and having to pay Council Tax. There may also be additional costs if there are repairs required. This could be due to general wear and tear, or more fundamental upgrades needed, for
example, updating kitchens and bathrooms.

It can be hard to quantify a single average cost per day for a void property as there are regional disparities in rent and council tax. Either way, there is a cost and the more voids you have the greater this cost is. Depending on how many properties you rent out per month this could be a big saving if you look at alternative ways to market your available homes.

Better housing systems and processes

There can be time lost once a home is getting updated to when it is advertised for rent. Better housing systems and processes can reduce this time, which in turn saves money and could enable re-lets to be quicker. So the handoffs between internal teams are smoother. In some
cases it is useful to advertise before the updates are completed providing you have an agreed date when the property is available for rent again.

This approach can work, but what if it is a recurring void? Your systems and processes should also flag this up. There may be something more than the property not being right. It could be deep routed within a particular community.

This is about being closer to your neighbourhood teams to understand what the issues are and trying to fix them. This helps to make communities more sustainable and encourage people to remain part of them, thus reducing void churn rates.

Many affordable housing providers already have their own systems in place for marketing their voids. However, it is worth considering whether you think you could improve on your turnaround times.

Moving to a new system and process can take time. However, if the end result reduces the re-let time of a void property this has to be a good thing. Therefore system and process improvements may take a bit of time to implement. However, if your losses reduce and your income increases it will have a positive effect on your balance sheet.

When and where to advertise your voids

Try to market voids whilst the relevant repairs are underway, especially if you’re confident when the work will be completed. If you wait until they are finished as stated above there is a cost element with more days of it being marked void.

This will depend on the nomination agreements you have in place with those who run your Choice Based Lettings (CBL) Schemes. Also, there may be different agreements in place as to when you are able to market them via additional channels.

In the first instance, make sure you are in touch with your audience. So if it is via CBL make sure those following you on social media or receiving your updates are aware and send them the correct link like the individual property page and not just the homepage of these schemes.

You want to make it as seamless as possible for prospective tenants to find your homes. If you are able to market these properties on additional platforms such as MovingSoon.co.uk then do that as well. Again make sure you provide the correct link to the property being advertised if you are sharing across social media. You want to make the customer journey as simple as possible.