How to Reduce Void Periods (And What an Empty Month Actually Costs)

A void month does not cost you one month of rent. It costs more than that, and most landlords never work out how much.

The rent stops. That part is obvious. What is less obvious is that several costs you had stopped thinking about quietly move back onto you the day the property empties.

What an empty month actually costs

Take the property we use throughout this blog: bought at 180,000, renting at 1,400 a month, on a 135,000 mortgage at 5.5% over 25 years.

The mortgage was always payable, so it is not an extra cost - but it is the reason the month hurts. Against a property producing 196.58 a month in real cash flow, a single void month with its associated costs wipes out roughly nine months of that cash flow.

That is the arithmetic nobody runs. One empty month is not one twelfth of your year. On a thin-margin property it can be most of it.

You can test this yourself - raise the void allowance on our rental yield calculator from 5% to 10% and watch what happens to net yield and monthly cash flow.

Start before the property is empty

Almost every day you save is saved here, not after the tenant has gone.

Ask early, and ask directly

Two to three months before a fixed term ends, ask whether they intend to stay. Not a hint - a direct question. Most tenants will tell you, and it converts a surprise into a plan.

Market during the notice period

You are usually entitled to market and view the property while it is still occupied, with proper notice and the tenant's cooperation. A property listed four weeks before it empties can be let the week it empties. One listed on the day it empties starts the clock from zero.

Make cooperation worth their while

A tenant who is moving out has no reason to keep the flat tidy for your viewings. A small, honest incentive - flexibility on the final week, help with the deposit timing, a modest reduction on the last month - costs less than a fortnight empty.

Renew instead

The cheapest void is the one that never happens. A modest rent increase on a good tenant who stays almost always beats a larger one that triggers a move: you save the void, the referencing, the advertising and the clean, and you keep a tenant whose behaviour you already know.

Shorten the turnaround itself

Photograph the property empty and clean, once

Good photographs taken in daylight, in an empty property, keep working for years. Bad photographs taken in a hurry cost you a week of listing every single time.

Book the clean and the certificates in advance

Not after the keys come back. Safety certificates expiring mid-void is a self-inflicted delay that is entirely avoidable with a calendar reminder.

Have your screening criteria already set

An empty property is precisely when a landlord is most tempted to skip a reference check. Criteria decided in advance - while the property was still occupied and nothing was at stake - are the ones you can actually hold to.

Fix the small things immediately

The sticking door and the tired grout do not stop a viewing, but they lower every offer and lengthen every decision.

Price it honestly

This is where most long voids come from.

An extra 50 a month sounds worth holding out for. It is 600 a year. If holding out costs six extra weeks empty, you have given up roughly 1,940 in rent and costs to win 600. You would need to hold that tenant for more than three years just to break even on the decision.

Time empty is almost always more expensive than rent foregone. Check what comparable properties actually let for - not what they are advertised at - and price to let.

Track it, or you will not notice

Voids are easy to forget because nothing arrives to remind you. No bill lands saying “this month cost you 1,610”. The rent simply does not appear, and by the time you are doing your accounts you have stopped counting the weeks.

What to record per property: the date the last tenancy ended, the date the new one started, and the costs incurred in between. Three fields. After two years you will know your real void rate, which is the number that turns your yield calculation from a guess into a measurement.

Frequently asked questions

What is a normal void rate?

Most landlords plan on 5%, which is about two and a half weeks a year. In slower markets or student areas it can be considerably higher. Use your own history once you have two years of it.

Can I claim void period costs against tax?

Generally yes - utilities and local property tax during a void are usually deductible where the property remains available to let. See Rental Property Expenses You Can Claim.

Should I accept a lower rent to avoid a void?

Do the arithmetic rather than the instinct. Compare the annual value of the rent you would give up against the cost of the weeks you expect to stay empty. Usually the void is more expensive.

Is it worth using an agent to reduce voids?

Sometimes. An agent typically costs 8-12% of rent - roughly one month a year. If they reliably cut two weeks off each turnaround and you turn over often, it can pay. If your tenants stay four years, it usually does not.

Know the number

The Rental Property Tracker logs rent expected against rent received month by month, so a void shows up immediately in your collection rate rather than at year end. Seven tabs, up to twenty properties, $27 once.

To see how sensitive your returns are to voids before you buy, use the free Rental Yield & Cash Flow Calculator.

General information for landlords, not financial or tax advice. Figures are illustrative and based on the worked example used throughout this blog. Rules on marketing an occupied property, access and deductibility of void costs differ by jurisdiction.