A recent Letting Agent Today piece put some numbers behind something most agents already feel on the ground: voids are getting more expensive. According to Dwelly’s analysis of December 2025 data, the average void period in England increased from 21 days to 23 days over the year. At the same time, average monthly rents rose from £1,370 to £1,424, pushing the average cost of a void from £946 to £1,077. That is a 13.8% increase in a year.

That might only sound like a couple of extra days. But when rents are higher, those days cost more.

For landlords, that is lost income. For agents, it means the gap between tenancies matters more than it did before. Not just because the property is empty, but because this is usually where the admin builds up too. Dates do not always line up neatly. Bills arrive late. Utility notifications get missed. Paperwork gets picked up later than it should. None of that is unusual, but it all adds time, cost and pressure.

It is not just about the empty days

A void period can look simple on paper. One tenant moves out. Another moves in.

In reality, it is usually less tidy than that.

There is often a lot going on in between. Tenancy details need to be updated. Utility accounts need to be sorted. Bills still need to be dealt with. Landlords want clarity on what is happening and what it is costing them. If any part of that drifts, the void ends up costing more than it should.

That is really what these latest figures highlight. It is not just that properties are sitting empty for a bit longer. It is that the financial impact of every delay is now greater because the underlying rental value is higher.

Why agents should care

Most agents do not need reminding that voids are expensive. The bigger question is where the avoidable cost comes from.

Usually, it is not one major issue. It is a build-up of smaller ones. The next tenancy is added too late. Occupancy dates do not line up properly. A bill is sent to the property instead of being requested digitally. Something has to be chased that could have been picked up earlier.

That is why reducing void cost is not only about re-letting quickly. It is also about what happens around the void itself. The smoother that process is, the less chance there is for extra cost and delay to creep in.

There is also a wider regional story here. The same reporting says the West Midlands saw the largest increase in void costs, up 63.6% year on year, driven by the average void period rising from 18 days to 28 days. Yorkshire & Humber was the only region to see a slight fall.

A few simple ways to reduce void costs

There is no single fix, but there are some obvious pressure points.

One is getting ahead of the next tenancy earlier. The more that can be lined up before move-in, the less likely it is that avoidable delays will stack up at the wrong moment.

Another is treating the void as an active part of the tenancy journey rather than a passive gap. That means keeping communications visible, making sure utility admin does not drift, and not letting billing become another bottleneck.

It also helps when everyone involved has a clearer view of what is happening. That sounds basic, but better visibility usually means fewer missed steps and fewer things being picked up late.

Where Homebox fits in

This is where better process can make a real difference.

At Homebox, one of the recent changes we have made is around occupancy updates. Where tenancies and voids do not line up properly, clients now see clearer errors. It is a small thing, but it helps teams spot issues earlier instead of finding them later when they have already created more work.

The next step for us is a digital mailbox for each void period. In simple terms, each void gets its own dedicated email address. Utility notifications can be sent from there, and digital bills can be requested directly. The aim is to make communications easier to track, increase digital billing, and reduce reliance on paper bills.

Once a bill comes in by email, our AI can scan it, check it against the void period, and send it on to the landlord or agent for payment. The point is not to overcomplicate the process. It is to reduce manual handling, improve visibility and help things move faster.

The bigger point

The latest void figures are useful because they put numbers around what many agents are already seeing.

Voids are costing more. That means the gap between tenancies matters more. And when that gap matters more, the way it is managed matters more too.

For agents, that is the real takeaway. Not that voids can be eliminated, because they cannot. But that the process around them can be handled more tightly, with fewer delays and less avoidable admin.

That is better for landlords, and usually better for agency teams as well.

Final thought

The Letting Agent Today report is a reminder that even small shifts can have a real financial effect. A two-day increase in the average void period, combined with higher rents, was enough to push the average cost of a void in England above £1,000.

The latest figures do not just show that voids are getting more expensive. They show that the margin for error is getting smaller.

That is why the process around a void matters just as much as the void itself. The agents who stay close to the detail will be best placed to reduce delays, control costs and give landlords more confidence.