Keeping void periods short: What the latest lettings data means for your rental
Analysis by property management firm Rushbrook, published in October 2026, found that the average void period in England has reached 23.2 days, up from 17.5 days in 2023. The estimated income cost of an average void now stands at £1,097, a rise of 57.5% over three years. London landlords face the highest cash cost at £1,357 per void, while the North East has seen the steepest proportional rise, with the average void cost increasing by 92.4% since 2023 to reach £612.
Those figures describe what is happening on average across the market. They do not describe what has to happen to any particular landlord. A void period has a component that is genuinely unavoidable, covering the time needed for a check-out, maintenance, cleaning, and a check-in with the incoming tenant. But a significant portion of every void is avoidable, and the difference between a landlord whose properties are typically empty for ten days and one whose properties run to the national average is almost entirely a matter of process and preparation.
Start marketing before the tenancy ends
The single most effective way to reduce avoidable void days is to bring the property to market while the existing tenancy is still running. Most tenancies in England now operate on periodic terms following the Renters’ Rights Act, and tenants are required to give two months’ written notice. That window, from notice received to tenancy end, is the time available to market the property, take viewings, receive applications, and complete referencing. A property that reaches the market on the day the tenant leaves has already lost weeks.
Giving the outgoing tenant reasonable notice of when viewings will take place, and what access arrangements apply, is both a legal requirement and good management practice. Viewing access during an occupied tenancy requires 24 hours’ written notice and the tenant’s cooperation. Maintaining a professional relationship throughout the tenancy makes this easier.
Price accurately from the first day of marketing
An overpriced property generates fewer enquiries, takes longer to let, and often ends up agreeing a lower rent than it would have achieved if it had been priced correctly at launch. The first two weeks of a new listing attract the most enquiries. After that, activity typically falls as interested applicants move on and the property starts to look stale. Setting the asking rent at a level that reflects current comparable rents in the immediate area, rather than at an aspirational figure that tests whether the market will stretch, is the approach that produces the shortest void and the most sustainable tenancy.
Presentation: what tenants respond to first
Presentation quality directly affects both the number and quality of enquiries a property attracts. Photographs are the first impression for the vast majority of applicants, and a property that has been professionally cleaned, has fresh paint where it is needed, and is shot in good light will generate materially more enquiries than one that looks tired or unloved.
Carrying out a thorough internal inspection two to three months before the anticipated vacancy, rather than waiting until the check-out, allows maintenance to be planned and contractors to be booked in advance. A bathroom regrouted, a kitchen repainted, or a carpet replaced before the marketing begins rather than after the tenancy ends can reduce the vacant period by a week or more and improve the quality of incoming applicants.
Speed up referencing without cutting corners
Referencing delays are a common source of avoidable void days, particularly where applicants are employed in unusual patterns, self-employed, or new to the UK. Using a professional referencing service with clear timescales and a defined process for handling common complications, including guarantors, reduces the uncertainty that can extend the gap between application and signed agreement.
For portfolio landlords, the compounding effect is significant. Rushbrook’s analysis notes that small delays across multiple properties accumulate rapidly. A standard process that applies consistently across all properties, with a defined maximum referencing window and a clear decision point if an application stalls, reduces that accumulation.
The check-out and handover sequence
A clean, well-documented check-out process, with a comprehensive report and a clear deposit resolution procedure, closes the outgoing tenancy efficiently and allows the incoming tenant to be confirmed and the agreement signed without unnecessary delay. Landlords who leave the deposit resolution process unresolved through the void period carry that uncertainty into the next tenancy, which is avoidable with a clear and timely check-out protocol.
The void period is partly structural and partly within a landlord’s control. The data tells you what the average looks like. The process tells you how to stay well below it.
Talk to our lettings team about managing your properties