The 2012 Olympic Games is only a few short months away and already many investor landlords in London are rubbing their hands together with glee at the thought of all the extra cash they can charge for the few short weeks over the Games period.
Experts are predicting that with an anticipated 7.8 million people expected to visit London for the games there will be a serious accommodation crunch in the capital between June and September. Therefore it is not surprising that thousands of landlords are planning to evict their tenants as they will be able to charge visitors up to fifteen times more than the average weekly rent.
Some landlords and letting agents have already written penalty clauses into new contracts threatening tenants with astronomical rents unless they agree to move out for the allotted period, whereas others are simply planning to evict tenants to make way for temporary tenants willing to pay thousands for a few weeks accommodation.
Are short-term Olympic lets a good idea for landlords?
On the face of it, yes, the prospect of earning as much as £15,000 for a three week let is too good to pass up, but if you take a step back and look at the bigger picture, you might not be quite so convinced. Good tenants are hard to find, so why risk losing a trouble-free tenant who pays on time every month? A temporary tenant is less likely to look after your property and once they have gone, the rental market in London will be swamped with vacant properties and you may end up with a very long void period.
