Most landlords check in on their property twice a year: when something breaks, and when the tenancy's up for renewal. Everything in between gets handled as it comes up.
That's normally fine, until it isn't. You might realise the gas safety certificate expired three weeks ago, or that you’re undercharging in comparison to the flat two doors down. None of these are big problems by themselves, but the longer you leave them, the trickier they are to resolve.
Splitting your review into four shorter check-ins across the year fixes this. You're never dealing with a long list of issues at once, just a handful of relevant ones each quarter.
Here's how we'd structure it.
One thing worth flagging: most tenancies don't start in January, so treat the quarters below as a guide rather than fixed calendar dates. If your tenancy renews in April, your "Q3" planning happens in January.
Q1: Compliance checks and rent benchmarking
Start the year by checking what's due over the next six to twelve months: gas safety certificates, EICRs, EPCs, and anything with an expiry date. It's also worth a quick check on whether anything's changed regulation-wise. Under the Renters' Rights Act, landlords will eventually need to register on a digital property database and join an ombudsman scheme, on top of existing certificate requirements.
While you're at it, check the rent. According to MHCLG's English Private Landlord Survey, the median rent increase landlords applied at renewal in 2024 was 8%, and at new tenancies it was 11%. If you haven't reviewed yours in a while, there's a reasonable chance it's sitting below what similar properties nearby are achieving.
Q2: Mid-year inspections, tenant communication and maintenance
Get into the property in person around the halfway point of the year. An inspection picks up the things a tenant might not think to mention such as early signs of damp, wear that's starting to show, and anything that's been reported but not actually resolved.
Pair this with a short conversation with your tenant. It doesn’t have to be anything formal, just a simple "how's everything going?". It's a small thing, but it tends to surface issues earlier and keeps the relationship on solid footing ahead of any renewal discussion later in the year.
Use what you find to plan maintenance for the rest of the year rather than reacting to it later. For a boiler that's getting old or exterior work that's easier to schedule before winter, it’s worth getting rough quotes now so the cost is budgeted for, not a surprise later.
Q3: Renewal prep, marketing timelines and minimising void periods
If a tenancy is ending in the next few months, this is the quarter to decide your plan: whether to renew, or remarket. Each one needs a different lead time, so deciding early matters.
If you're remarketing, get the listing timeline sorted now rather than once notice has actually been given. Void periods are one of the most avoidable costs in letting, and they're almost always the result of starting the process too late rather than a lack of demand.
London's rental market remains tight, so a property that's marketed with good lead time is far less likely to sit empty.
Q4: Year-end reviews and tax prep
Close out the year by adding everything up: rent received, repair and maintenance costs, fees, insurance, and any void periods. This gives you an honest answer to "did this property perform the way I expected?" rather than a guess based on the monthly rent figure alone.
This is also the quarter to get organised for the self-assessment deadline on 31st January, rather than scrambling in the new year. The tax year itself runs to 5th April, so your figures won't perfectly match the calendar year, but pulling your records together now means you're working from a tidy set of numbers instead of bank statements and a shoebox of receipts.
Flag anything you're unsure how to treat, and note down what you want to act on (a rent review, a planned improvement) before Q1 comes round again.
Why this works better with managed support
This calendar isn't complicated, but it does need someone to actually run it. For landlords with one property and a full-time job, or several properties and not much spare time, quarterly reviews are usually the first thing to slip.
A managed lettings team is one way to take that pressure off. They track certificate renewals, organise inspections, keep tenant communication moving, and flag renewal timelines before they become urgent.
Reviews become a part of someone’s job, rather than something you need to remember.
Four check-ins, not one big one
You don't need to overhaul how you manage your property to benefit from this. Four focused reviews a year, each covering a different part of the picture, catches most issues while they're still small and cheap to deal with.
If you’ve read through this and realised some support would be useful, get in touch with our lettings team and we can take some pressure off.
