8 September 2026 · 4 min read
10 Red Flags in a Serviced Accommodation Deal
The warning signs that separate a deal worth signing from one that quietly loses money for three years.
Deals rarely fail dramatically. They fail slowly, because something obvious was ignored at the start.
The red flags
- Break-even occupancy above 60%. There is no cushion for a quiet season.
- Nightly rates taken from the best-performing listing in the area rather than the average.
- No written permission for short-term letting in the lease or head lease.
- A leasehold block with a clause prohibiting lets under six months.
- Bills excluded from your cost estimate, or estimated from a domestic tariff.
- No planning consideration where the local authority restricts short-term lets.
- Parking that the listing photos imply but the property does not have.
- A landlord who wants a break clause in their favour but not yours.
- Furnishing budget estimated rather than quoted.
- Numbers supplied by the person selling you the deal, unverified by you.
How to test a deal honestly
Model it three times: at your realistic occupancy, at 50%, and at your worst plausible month. If the deal only works in the first scenario, it is not a deal — it is a bet.
The calculator gives you break-even nights and break-even occupancy in seconds, so there is no excuse for signing a lease without knowing both.