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Image from a CBS report on Irish students who destroyed an apartment in the US.
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New letting agency will pay tenants not to leave properties in a state
This new and friendly approach is going down well with tenants and landlords alike.
A LETTING AGENCY in Dublin has joined the market with a new and friendly approach – offering tenants a financial reward if they keep a property in good condition.
Tenant Ready has been in operation since the beginning of last month but Conor Battigan, the brains behind the operation, has been working in the area for a number of years.
As well as paying the Private Residential Tenancies Board registration fee for landlords, Battigan’s agency will cover the cost of a financial incentive for tenants who take care of the properties they rent.
“I’ve been in the property business for over 10 years in different guises, I also am a tenant and have a property that I let out,” he explained. “Over the years, I’ve found that if you’re rewarding people instead of threatening to take away part of their deposit, people are more likely to work with you.”
Amid rising rental prices, in a landlord’s market, Battigan decided it was “time for a change”.
Under his reward scheme, tenants who look after their property and abide by their lease will get 5% of a month’s rent back at the end of the year.
Right now I have a family renting a four-bed house and every 12 months they get €100.
“It’s a win-win situation. The tenants are happy because they feel appreciated and the landlord is happy because if a tenant leaves after 12 months there’s very little work to be done in terms of redecorating.”
Tenant Ready has 45 properties on its books at the moment and Battigan said he is confident that other agencies will follow suit with their own reward schemes when they realise how beneficial it can be.
Read: Irish students who left destroyed apartment are shamed by the news in San Francisco>
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