Carpet and Flooring: How to Make Long-Term Cost Savings in Your Rental Property

By Lisa Tomlin, CEO of Carpet & Flooring

Last week we were excited to announce the latest partner to join the LNPG network: Carpet & Flooring. With over 40 years’ experience in the market, Carpet & Flooring is the UK’s largest independent flooring distributor, providing a complete range of flooring solutions to the commercial and domestic markets, including floor coverings, screeds and adhesives. Combining a reliable customer service offering with an extensive product set, and now with exclusive LNPG contract rates, Carpet & Flooring is a unique one-stop-shop in the industry.

For more information on Carpet & Flooring, just visit the Carpet and Flooring page on the LNPG website (make sure to sign in if you’re a member!).

Lisa Tomlin, CEO of Carpet & Flooring, is going to share her insights into what landlords should consider when selecting flooring for their letting properties.

Who are your tenants?

The first question you should ask when selecting a floor covering for your rental property is who is, or who will be renting your property. Do you have a trendy apartment ideal for young city-dwellers? Or maybe you have a three-bed house in the suburbs that is best suited to a young family? Perhaps you are renting a suite of offices to a business?  The floor coverings you choose should reflect this.

For example, if you’re targeting young professionals with your property who may be more design-led, perhaps with a boutique HMO, you may want to consider specifying Luxury Vinyl Tiles in on-trend colours, such as an understated grey. A young family however may be better suited to a low maintenance yet highly durable dark coloured LVT. This way, however hectic your tenant’s lifestyle, the flooring will remain in tip-top shape and will be easy to clean, whatever spillages occur.

What will the room be used for?

We’ve all had disasters, whether it’s spilt food in the kitchen or overflowing bathtubs, accidents are inevitable! One thing you can do to reduce damage to your property and the furnishings within it, is to choose a suitable floor covering, for example, a suitable cushion vinyl for kitchens and bathrooms. Cushion vinyl, is warm and soft underfoot meaning your tenants will have a more comfortable experience whilst in their property. Moreover, it’s water resistant and easy to clean meaning that if an accidental spillage does occur, you won’t need to worry about replacing the flooring.  It also offers health and safety benefits to tenants as it is more slip resistant than most other hard surface floor coverings, making it an ideal option for young families where children might be unsure on their feet.

In areas of a property that experience high footfall and will be seen by everyone entering the property, like entrances to apartments and hallways, a highly durable product is ideal. In this instance, we’d recommend installing entrance matting in porches to reduce damage to flooring further in the property. In hallways, commercial grade LVT can be swept clean yet maintains an appearance of luxury. In areas such as bedrooms, where there will be significantly lower footfall, there is an opportunity to introduce a luxury carpet to provide a sense of style and comfort to the property which will again appeal to many homeowners.

Colour and Style

The colour of flooring can not only impact how easy it is to maintain (white carpets are notoriously difficult to keep pristine) but it can also have a huge impact on the overall style of a property. Choosing a neutral colour will suit all interior design choices and is a popular choice amongst rental properties due to this versatility. However, adopting a blanket approach and choosing the same floor covering across an entire property can mean the most suitable product isn’t selected for the room.

Consider installing darker, more durable, flooring, such as LVT in high footfall areas, with lighter carpets reserved for the bedroom. It is also important to note that more and more people, particularly those looking to remain in a property for a number of years, are looking for a home that will make a statement and flooring is a great way to achieve this. By mixing and matching different colours and styles of floor covering, you can create a style-led property without being too extreme in your style choices and putting off potential tenants.

Minimising Noise

Whether it’s children, televisions, music or just loud conversations, noise can become a big problem in the rental market, particularly in apartments with neighbours on all sides. This can have a significant impact on the comfort of tenants and in the long term can result in complaints. Luckily, having a high-quality acoustic underlay installed underneath flooring can help fix this. Sitting beneath the flooring, high quality acoustic underlay creates a barrier to sound, ensuring noise pollution in the home is reduced. If you’re unsure about which underlay is best for your property and the floor coverings you’re choosing, a member of the Carpet & Flooring team can help.

Not only can choosing the right flooring result in significant cost savings in ongoing maintenance and replacement, but flooring can really transform a home, providing many benefits for occupants. The correct investment in floor coverings can impact those living in their properties, save money in the long run, make your property more attractive to prospective tenants and add value to your property – it’s a win-win!

Looking for More Info? Talk to us!

For more information on LNPG’s partnership with Carpet & Flooring, including contact details and a full LNPG-negotiated price-file, head to their page on this website