Marketing your property and choosing a tenant

Good photography, an accurate floor plan and a clear description are just as important in lettings as in sales. The asking rent, availability date and key terms should be clear. Strong marketing should generate choice. At Ashtons, we have a healthy choice of both private and corporate tenants, and we also deal with many businesses based in Herts, Beds and Bucks, as well as London, looking after their specific requirements.

Kirsty Twydell says “Unlike most of our competitors, Ashtons markets properties on all the major portals, promotes every property to tenants across every office each week, and with six key offices across Hertfordshire in Berkhamsted, Harpenden, Hitchin, Redbourn, St Albans and Welwyn Garden City, you can be certain of reaching a very wide audience. Our whole ethos is to achieve maximum price for our clients with the minimum amount of fuss in the shortest possible time.”

Here's a useful link to our Letting with Ashtons page.

Base it on current comparable lettings and live tenant demand, not simply what a similar property achieved a year ago. From 1 May 2026, rental properties must be advertised at an asking rent, and landlords and agents cannot invite or accept offers above that advertised figure.

Under the rules applying from 1 May 2026, rental bidding above the advertised asking rent is prohibited. A landlord or agent must not encourage or accept an offer above that figure. This makes setting an accurate asking rent at the outset particularly important.

The rules changed on 1 May 2026. For assured periodic tenancies, landlords and agents cannot require rent to be paid before the tenancy agreement is signed, and restrictions apply to demanding rent in advance. The payment structure should therefore be set up in accordance with the current statutory rules.

Referencing commonly considers identity, income, employment, affordability, credit history and previous landlord information where available. Referencing reduces risk but does not guarantee how a tenancy will perform, so the overall application and circumstances should also be considered.

Landlords in England must check that adult occupiers have the legal right to rent before the tenancy starts. The check must be carried out correctly and consistently for all relevant applicants; it must never be used as a reason to discriminate.

No blanket policy should be applied. From 1 May 2026, landlords and agents cannot discriminate against prospective tenants because they receive benefits. You can still assess whether an applicant can afford the particular property using lawful and consistent criteria.

From 1 May 2026, landlords and agents cannot discriminate against prospective tenants because they have children. Normal suitability considerations can still apply, such as lawful occupancy limits, but a blanket 'no children' policy is not permitted.

Yes, provided the decision is made lawfully and without prohibited discrimination. You can consider affordability, references, proposed move date and the overall suitability of the application. A good agent should give you enough information to make an informed decision.