How to prevent festive season rental nightmares

If you live in a popular holiday destination, the festive season is an ideal time to make some extra money by renting out your property short-term.

But this can be risky, as Nick Taylor from NOX Property explains.

"We've seen it all," he says. "We've seen guests arriving and letting us know they're having a 'small celebration', and before you know it, it's turned into Club Camps Bay, with DJs and strobe lights and balloon arches – and tonnes of disturbance on the immediate community. So, it can get out of hand very, very quickly."

So, how can you tell whether your seemingly sweet tenants will become disturbers of the peace?

"Often what we find is that there are a couple of signals which can contribute towards a booking going bad – things like last-minute enquiries."

Taylor says the screening process needs to be very robust, with many questions asked. It's also essential to communicate the property rules and terms and conditions beforehand.

"Once the guests do arrive and check in, it's incredibly important to meet them on arrival to be able to just get a little bit of a gauge on how they are."

He also recommends including a damage deposit in the deal.

"It's about hands-on, proactive management. One's got to have a direct line of contact with the neighbours, or anybody that might be impacted by unruly behaviour – and they've got to be able to contact you immediately, preferably well in advance of anything getting out of hand."

Technology like noise-monitoring devices is also useful.

To listen to Taylor in conversation with CapeTalk's John Maytham, click below: