Commercial
Getting a property ready to let: a landlord's order of works
12 May 2026 · 6 min read
A practical sequence for turning a tired void around quickly, and where spending a little more pays back in fewer callouts.
Void time is the real cost of a rental refurbishment, so the sequence matters as much as the spec. Survey and strip first, get every trade in to price at the same visit, and order long-lead items before work starts.
Services come before surfaces. Any electrical remedials, boiler service, radiator swaps and leak repairs happen while walls are open and floors are up. Doing them after decoration means doing decoration twice.
Choose durable over fashionable. Hard-wearing LVT beats carpet in halls and kitchens. Satin or eggshell on woodwork survives cleaning. A neutral wall colour you can patch in three years is worth more than a feature wall you cannot match.
Spend properly on the two rooms tenants judge: kitchen and bathroom. They do not need to be expensive, but they need to be clean, sealed, well-lit and well-ventilated. Extraction is the single most common thing we find missing in properties with damp complaints.
Finish with compliance: alarms, certificates, and a documented handover with meter readings and appliance manuals. It shortens disputes and it shortens voids.
Talk it through
Planning something similar? Send over a couple of photos and we will tell you what we would do and what it is likely to cost.