By Q&A with Alvarine Coulton, Winner of Landlord of the Year at the 2025 National LIS Awards
We had the pleasure of speaking with Alvarine Coulton, who, for the second time, took home the Landlord of the Year award at the 2025 National LIS Awards, which took place on 13th November 2025. Hosted by the National Landlord Investment Show, the awards were an evening dedicated to celebrating the shining stars of the property services market, and Alvarine Coulton certainly is a shining star when it comes to her landlord journey.
We sat down with her to find out more about her landlord journey so far, the challenges she has faced, her future goals and any advice she has for any other landlords or anyone looking to make their first move on their property investment journey.
Q: Can you tell me a little about yourself and how long you’ve been a landlord?
Alvarine answers: For as long as I can remember, I’ve been interested in property and knew from the age of 16 that it was my future. My inspiration comes from my family, specifically my grandparents, who moved to the UK from Jamaica and invested in property to survive and also did it to help people making a similar move at the time. I grew up always seeing my family rent out rooms and knew I wanted to do the same. Despite my family not being fully on board and, in fact, wanting me to follow a traditional path of education by going to college, I knew I wanted to get a foot on the property investment ladder.
I began my landlord journey in 2012, buying my first property in Manchester when my sister moved there to study nursing. I had just been made redundant, so I thought there was no better time to do it and but I had savings in place, so I took a chance and bought the property outright with cash. My family couldn’t believe I’d taken such a risk, but from that moment on, I haven’t looked back – it was the true start of my property investment journey. I always wanted to keep that property mortgage-free, but to expand and build my portfolio
Q: What kind of properties do you currently manage?
Alvarine answers: The bulk of my portfolio is HMO properties and 1 Airbnb. I am looking to diversify this into more family homes, especially for social housing. I’ve only ever invested in Manchester as I believe it gives the best returns with affordable house prices for property investment.
Q: Were there any moments that significantly changed how you manage your properties?
Alvarine answers: Over the years, I’ve used various management agents to help me run my property portfolio. Living in London with properties in Manchester, I’ve always needed people on the ground to help manage this and right now have an amazing team of people to help me do this. There were times were I didn’t have the best experience with management services, but after making a transition to higher-quality services and building a strong team, as well as having more control over the management of my properties, I see this as the best formula.
The COVID emergency also opened my eyes, as I realised that a social landlord side to my business was essential for a well-balanced business and to ensure I maintained good communication with my tenants.
Q: What does being a “good landlord” mean to you?
Alvarine: A good landlord is proactive, forward-thinking and stays ahead of the curve – you shouldn’t wait for legislation to make improvements to your properties and to how your business is run. Good landlords make improvements a central pillar of their portfolio. If I have a new idea that can not only benefit my business and management of my properties, but also improve the tenant experience, then that is key. For example, I’ve always been a strong advocate for always improving my properties and keeping them to a high standard through energy conservation and better insulation. Again, communication is key and understanding your tenants’ needs. From my experience, I have accepted tenants with no deposits if it helps them with move-in costs, do regular property inspections, and maintain quick responses to maintenance and repairs.
A good landlord has better standards, better organisation, and better communication with their tenants.
Q: What are the biggest challenges landlords face today, in your view?
Alvarine: There’s always been change in the private rented sector, and today it is no different. Regulations are tightening from measures such as the Renters’ Rights Act, and landlords need to navigate and embrace the changes, or they will fall behind. You really need to be hands-on.
I think the challenge for landlords is ensuring they stay up to date, but also ensure they can invest in their properties to keep up with the standards. I have already started upgrading all my properties (from about 18 months ago), and I have focused on one property at a time. All properties are being bought up to an EPC rating of C or better. I have invested in new boilers, insulation and other areas such as modern bathrooms and en-suites. Tenants are happier, and I would rather get the properties to higher standards before I am forced to by law.
Q: Do you think the 2025 Renter’s Rights Act will cause many challenges for you?
Alvarine: For me, the Renters’ Rights Act won’t cause many challenges. The whole point of it is to professionalise the sector, and I think if you’re a good landlord, who always makes improvements to your properties, stay educated and are part of a wider property community with a good support network, you shouldn’t have anything to worry about.
Q: Looking ahead, what are your main goals for the next few years?
Alvarine: I’m looking to finish upgrading my properties and then re-focus on two things. Firstly, I want to expand my portfolio, and secondly, I want to work closely with local authorities and private care companies to offer housing for vulnerable people (working in partnership with care providers who are CQC registered). This has the effect of diversifying my tenant types. I want to have around 20-25 % social tenants, 20-25 % students and 50% professional working tenants. I’m doing this by building strong relationships with local authorities and looking into alternative supported accommodation providers, such as children’s homes.
Q: What advice would you give to someone thinking of becoming a landlord or looking to invest in property?
Alvarine: Get educated, be professional and do not cut corners. Being a landlord is a full-time job, and you need to put the time into it to be professional and stay compliant. Get good quality expert advice and be part of supportive property community networks, as I am. And my final piece of advice is to treat your properties like your children – look after them, nurture them, and give them good attention.
The National LIS Awards 2025 are hosted by the National Landlord Investment Show, the show for professional landlords. Full details of the award winners can be found here.
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