Rent-to-rent (subletting): the fixed rent, and who takes the risk

With rent-to-rent the manager doesn't work on your behalf: they become your tenant. You receive an agreed fixed rent, and the risk of the empty months stays with them. In Italy you'll also hear it called sublocazione, subletting.

How it works

We sign a lease with you, with the rent, the length of the contract and the payment terms written into it. From then on the rent stays as agreed, in a full month or an empty one, and we run the home at our own risk: listings, guests, cleaning, routine maintenance, paperwork.

You know the amount in advance, and you have nothing to keep track of. At the end of the contract the home comes back to you in the condition we took it in, apart from normal wear and tear.

You don't ask for it: we offer it

This is the part that surprises people, and it needs saying before anything else. Rent-to-rent isn't an option you pick from a list. We offer it, and only when the numbers for that home can support a fixed rent for the whole length of the contract.

The reason is simple: we're the ones carrying the risk, so we're the ones who need to be sure the home can bear it. If the property visit shows it can't, we don't offer it — and we tell you why.

Who does what

On our side:

• the full management: listings, prices, guests, cleaning, changes of linen;
• routine maintenance and small repairs;
• the formalities that come with tourist lets;
• the risk of the empty months: the agreed rent doesn't change.

On your side:

• you remain the owner, with what that involves: major, non-routine maintenance and anything that concerns the property itself;
• you receive the agreed rent, on the terms written into the contract;
• you have no empty periods to manage, no rent arrears, no tenants to find.

What the rent is worth

Less than the home would earn in a good year, more than it would earn in a bad one. That's the price of the risk: we're the ones who buy it, and you can see that price in the difference.

There's no figure that holds for every home: it depends on the area, on the seasons and on how much that home can earn. We work it out at the property visit and put it in writing in our proposal, together with the numbers it comes from.

When it suits you

• You need a set amount every month, for example to cover a repayment.
• You don't want to think about it: not the guests, not the cleaning, not the paperwork.
• You'd rather know today what you'll receive in eight months' time than find out when it comes.
• The home is far from where you live, and keeping an eye on a manager from a distance would weigh on you anyway.

When it doesn't

• The home is in a strong location and the peak weeks are worth a lot: giving them up for a flat amount costs you.
• You want to be able to use it yourself for a few weeks a year: under a lease, for as long as it runs, the home isn't available to you.
• You want to see your home's real numbers, booking by booking.

In all three cases the answer is the other model: property management, where the home stays in your name and we manage it for a commission.

The two models side by side

• The arrangement: with property management the home stays in your name and we manage it for a commission on bookings. With rent-to-rent we become your tenant and you receive an agreed fixed rent.
• Who takes the risk: with the first, the risk of empty months is yours; with the second, it's ours.
• How much you know in advance: with the first you find out month by month; with the second you know when you sign.
• The peaks: with the first they're yours; with the second they're ours.
• Using the home yourself: with the first you block the dates you want; with the second you can't, for as long as the contract runs.

In both cases, how and when payments are made is agreed with you and written into the contract.

A note before you sign

It's a lease, so its effects last. Before you sign it's worth taking your time over it and, if it's your first one, having it read by someone qualified to advise you: the length, the notice period, who is responsible for what, and the condition the home comes back in are the four things to look at.

For tax matters on the rent, your accountant is the reference; if you have a question, ask us.

If you want to know whether your home can support a fixed rent, it starts with the property visit: the estimate is free and doesn't commit you to anything. Which length of rental makes sense for your home — short, mid or long — is a separate question, covered in short or long-term rental.