Coach House London Vacation Rentals

If you're regularly out of town for 3 weeks or more, or have an under-used pied-à-terre,
your property could be earning you extra income while you're away.

A note about the Olympics

An owner's recent note: "Happy new year to all at Coach House, this is just to say how very pleased I was with the two house lets, seemingly no dramas and my house left beautiful and undamaged". Mary

Who are we? Read what's been written about us in: Country Life (April 6, 2011), Country Life International (Spring 2011) and in London lifestyle magazines.

Our business is short letting other people's flats and houses mainly to North Americans coming to London mainly on holiday. We've been in business since 2001 and since then have done over 2000 lets. We have some 70 properties on our books and many happy owners. Our dedicated web site, Coach House London Rentals, receives over 15,000 visitors a month! We also operate in Paris, New York and Rome.

We have three sorts of owners: those who live out of town but maintain an under-used pied-à-terre, those who live in London but are regularly away for periods of 3 weeks, or more and those who live here but are happy to move out and stay elsewhere when we have a let for their property. What sort of properties do we take on? Properties in central London, postcodes: SW 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, W 1, 2, 6, 8, 11, 14 & SE 1. The further from the centre the larger the properties need to be - so we will take on a one bedroom flat in Chelsea but not in Chiswick. They must be in good decorative condition, clean and well furnished, with the emphasis on functionality rather than luxury, and no more than 10 minutes walk from a tube station. Almost all our guests are coming to London for a holiday. They want to use the accommodation to sleep - not live - in, so wear and tear is minimal. They're generally not interested in cooking - they are only here for a short time and almost always prefer to eat out or get take-aways. The kitchen is mainly used to prepare a light breakfast, so the minimum basic requirement is for a fridge, micro-wave and coffee making machine (filter or cafetière is fine).

Think about it!

How long must the property be available for and what is the lead time?

The longer the period of availability and the more flexible you can be the better chance we have getting you good lets - however we only list properties with an ongoing minimum availability of 12 weeks per year. We will always check that it is convenient for you before accepting a let for your property. Our average lead time for bookings is 8-12 weeks so forward planning is important.

How long do they stay?

Our normal minimum let is for 5 nights. Most of our lets are for between 1 and 2 weeks.

We are not able to guarantee anything! If we have no one to pay us we can't pay you. But…...... we have a growing number of people looking for this type of accommodation for their stay in London. What you'll receive will depend on the size of your property and what we can charge for it. We'll be happy to discuss this with you.

Unlike a conventional letting agent we charge no introduction fee, typically 11%, and no management fee, typically another 6%. Payment to you will normally be no more than 7 days after the end of each letting. And you can rest assured that you'll get your money as all our guests pay the full rental cost and a security/damages deposit (amount agreed with you) before they are allowed through your front door.

We do however advise that our service isn't suitable for people who need a guaranteed income or who are able to let their property for 3 months or more. If that's the case you should consider a normal Assured Tenancy letting.

How do I know my property and possessions will be taken good care of?

When occupied, your property will be seen at least every 7 days: when guests first arrive, when the linen is changed and when they leave. If they stay longer than a week we check the property every 7 days. Our guests are overwhelmingly professional people. They are in London, often for the first time, on holiday. They are interested in seeing London, not having wild parties! Read what our guests say about our service to get a feel for the sort of people they are. They're a far safer bet than a random punter answering an advert, or from an agency!

Small valuable items should be locked away or removed from the property. You will need to provide storage space (wardrobe & drawers)for the guests - just imagine how much space you would like if you were coming to stay in the property. We'll make a 'photo inventory' showing the condition of the property prior to guests coming in. Any damages will be charged against the deposit paid by guests before they arrive. You should also notify your insurance company, as well as your lender if you have a mortgage.

One of our team checks the guests in and gives them a full briefing about the property and the local neighbourhood. After departure one of our team will check over your property and ensure that all is OK. Any damage, very rare in our experience, is charged to the guest.

What about the cleaning and linen?

You will need to ensure the property has all the necessary towels, bath mats, bed linen, tea towels etc. (normally two full sets). For cleaning and laundry, if they are time-wise sufficiently flexible, we can use your own cleaner (paid by us through you) to clean and change the linen once a week, alternatively this can be done by our housekeeping team. Our guests are responsible for leaving the property in the same state that they found it (with the exception of the bed linen and towels). They have a strong incentive to do so as any out-of-the-ordinary cleaning costs are charged against their deposit.

Inevitably there is the occasional breakage. It's advisable not to leave the best china and glass out for guests' use! Significant breakages are charged to the guests.

You remain responsible for the line rental. The cost of calls made by guests are charged against their deposit and reimbursed to you. We determine this using BT's "Call My Bill" service or equivalent if you do not use BT.

You remain responsible for the cost of gas, electricity and water. For all gas appliances you will need to arrange inspection and certificate of safety issued by a qualified Corgi engineer, cost about £50, prior to guests staying.We can help you do this.

Problems? We are available at the end of a telephone to resolve any problems with equipment or utilities. In the unlikely event that repairs or replacements are necessary we will always contact and consult you first. We work closely with, and highly recommend, The Keyholding Company.

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The Keyholding Company act as guardians of your home by safeguarding a copy of your property keys. In doing so, they can then provide you with their security and essential home services, available 24/7 to attend to alarm activations and other domestic emergencies. As a member you also have access to a variety of added value services to help you manage your home; from sourcing and managing vetted contractors at fixed rates, to checking your home when you are away, forwarding mail, or even facilitating deliveries for purchases bought on the High Street or Online.

We sign an agreement whereby we rent your property for the periods it is available and you authorise us to sub-let it to our guests. Prior to occupancy, guests are required to have paid in full the sum due plus a security/damages deposit and also to sign a holiday let agreement and the photographic inventory.

Unless you wish otherwise, we have a No Smoking policy for all our properties.

Virtually nothing! We'll help you prepare brief notes on your property, appliances, heating & hot water, security systems etc. and some information about the local area: restaurants, cafés, pubs, tube etc. You must leave the place clean and tidy. Just give us the keys and we'll do the rest. We'll hand your property back to you in the same good condition in which you left it.  Remember, the average lead time for bookings is 6-8 weeks so forward planning is important.  

Phone Harley on 020 8355-3192, complete the web form or e-mail us at: owners@chslondon.com.

Over the telephone we will discuss your property, its potential availability, its suitability for us and the suitability of our services to you. We will also be able to give you a fairly accurate estimate of the rent we will be able to pay you. You're welcome to check references which we'll be happy to give you.

If you decide to proceed we will arrange to meet you at your property, confirm its suitability and finalise agreement on the rent we will pay. We will also explain in detail how we operate and what you need to do to prepare your property for our guests.

We will then arrange for our writer/photographer to come to the property to take photographs and write up the description for our web site.

Then ...... you tell us when the property will not be available - in which case we will not take any bookings, when it might be available - in which case we will always ask you first before making an offer, and when it is definitely available (without the need to refer to you) - in which case we will make offers and inform you whenever we have a booking.

After that, before a let it's your responsibility to clean, tidy and prepare the property with fresh linen on the beds and towels put out ready for the guests, and it's our responsibility to hand it back to you in the same state as you gave it to us; if you want us to prepare the property too - that's fine we are happy to do this but the charge would be for your account.

 Not for you but you know someone who might be interested? Do please tell them about us.