Serviced flat let on a landlord's lease

Business travellers, contractors on short assignments, relocating families, and visitors to the area.

Nightly or weekly rates paid by guests, minus your rent to the landlord, bills, cleaning and booking site fees. What is left is your profit.

• Good organisation and quick replies to guests
• Negotiating with landlords
• Attention to detail on cleanliness and presentation
• Basic budgeting and pricing

• Written permission from the landlord and, if there is one, their mortgage lender, for short-term letting and subletting
• Local rules: short-let licensing or registration in Scotland and Wales, and planning limits in places such as London, so check with your council
• Fire safety, gas safety and electrical checks, and smoke and carbon monoxide alarms
• Insurance that specifically covers short-term guests, as standard home policies often do not
• Empty nights still mean rent to pay, so test your numbers with cautious occupancy
• Council tax or business rates and your tax position, so check with the council and HMRC

Startup costs are typically around £3,000 to £12,000, depending on the flat and how you furnish it. Treat this as an estimate and test your figures with cautious occupancy before signing a lease.

Revenue is typically around £1,500 to £4,500 a month, depending on location, nightly rates and how many nights are booked. That is revenue, not profit, as rent, cleaning, bills and linen still come out of it.

Check you have written permission from the landlord and, if there is one, their mortgage lender. Also check local rules with your council, such as short-let licensing in Scotland and Wales and planning limits in places like London, plus safety checks and insurance.