Income from completion day. No void period to budget for. No marketing the property. Just a sitting tenant, an existing AST, and a rent statement the bank will accept on your BTL application.
Tenanted property is the BTL investor's shortcut. Compare against a vacant possession buy: 2-3 month void while you market, reference applicants, and chase referees, plus £1,500-3,000 in lost rent and marketing costs before the first tenant pays. A pre-let purchase skips all of that — you complete on Friday and rent lands Monday. Lenders love it too. An existing Assured Shorthold Tenancy plus three months of rent statements is the gold-standard income evidence underwriters want on BTL stress tests. The trade-off: the rent level and tenant are inherited. Review the AST carefully and check the existing rent against comparable market rent so you know if you're inheriting under-rented stock (often the upside) or stock at the top of its range.
Complete on Friday, rent lands Monday. No 8-week void hunting for a tenant who passes referencing.
Existing AST plus rent statement is the gold-standard income evidence lenders want. Stress tests pass easier.
Review the existing tenancy carefully - rent level, deposit, break clauses. We surface the rental yield vs comparable market rent so you know if you are inheriting under-rented stock.
Buying tenanted means the property transfers to you with the existing tenant in situ. You step into the landlord position under the existing Assured Shorthold Tenancy. There is no need for the tenant to vacate, no need to re-market the property, and no void period to budget for. Rent collection continues seamlessly on the day completion happens.
Three reasons. First, you avoid the 2-3 month void period that swallows 4-6% of annual gross rent on a typical purchase. Second, BTL mortgage applications are stronger - lenders treat an existing AST and rent statement as proven income, so stress tests pass at lower interest cover ratios. Third, you sometimes inherit under-rented stock where a long-standing tenant is paying below market, giving you a built-in rent-review upside at renewal.
Only by following the existing AST terms. In England and Wales that typically means a Section 21 notice (currently 2 months) which can only be served after any fixed term ends, or a Section 8 notice for breach of tenancy (rent arrears, anti-social behaviour). Renters Reform legislation will end Section 21 in due course - check current status before buying. Honest advice: do not buy tenanted planning to evict. Buy it because you want the tenant and the income.
Prop AI Deals scans every listing for tenanted keywords - tenant in situ, sitting tenant, currently let, AST in place, pre-let investment, investor purchase only - and cross-references with submarket signals like investor-zoned listings and HMO patterns. The result is a clean filter that surfaces only properties genuinely sold with a tenant, not vacant flats that mention rental potential.
Daily alerts on tenanted BTL stock in your buying box. Skip the 8-week marketing cycle and start collecting rent.
See tenanted properties7-day free trial. Cancel anytime.
