This year has forced businesses in every industry to adapt in order to continue offering the services their clients and customers expect in a Covid-secure way. This is a challenge Tyneside Lettings Company has risen to at the start of the new student lettings season.

Towards the end of October, students in Newcastle typically begin their search for their accommodation for the next academic year. Despite the shaky start to university life in 2020, students across the city have been looking ahead to 2021-22 and signing up for their next new home.

The Tyneside team has been working hard over the last month to help these prospective tenants source their perfect property, while also protecting the welfare of staff and existing tenants.

360 Viewings

As the global pandemic took hold earlier this year, we could already see that the usual lettings process would be severally disrupted in 2020 and our team made sure to plan ahead.

We used the summer tenancy changeover period to record 360 video tours of all our properties, allowing us to provide high-quality virtual viewings alongside traditional property photographs.

These videos, which are all hosted on the Tyneside Lettings YouTube channel, have been an invaluable tool for our team this year, allowing students to view multiple properties from the safety of their own home, with no risk to our staff or tenants.

In-Person Viewings

While we have had great success signing up properties for 2021-22 using just our virtual viewings, we have also carried out a limited number of physical property viewings as well.

As an ARLA registered agent, we have been following both the Government guidance and our industry-recommended best practice to keep everyone safe at all times during in-person viewings.

In line with the regulations, viewings are carried out only with the consent of the existing tenants, at a time when they are able to be out of the property. Only two viewers from the same household can accompany the agent and gloves and face coverings are worn at all times.

Our staff are well-supplied with disinfectant and hand sanitiser, ensuring that key touch points such as door handles are wiped down and sterilised.

Nothing about this year was ever going to be easy or normal, but we are confident we can still provide our new student tenants with a great experience, helping them to find properties they love as we all look forward to better things in 2021.

To find out more about Tyneside’s available properties for 2021-22, please get in touch with our team today.