More than 8,500 homes with tenants already in place are currently being marketed for sale across England, according to analysis by The Letting Partnership.

The latest figures show an estimated 8,553 properties are currently being advertised with tenants in situ, representing 1.8% of the 470,922 homes listed for sale across England.

Yorkshire and the Humber has the highest proportion of tenanted properties relative to its available sales stock.

The region has an estimated 1,575 properties being marketed with tenants in situ, equivalent to 5.1% of the 31,143 properties currently listed for sale.

The North West has the largest number of tenanted properties for sale, with 2,227 listings. This represents 4.6% of the region’s available sales stock.

The North East ranks third, with 601 tenanted properties accounting for 4.3% of the 14,113 homes currently listed for sale.

At the other end of the table, London has the lowest proportion, with tenants in situ accounting for just 0.3% of available sales listings. The figure rises to 0.7% in the South West and 0.9% in the South East.

For landlords looking to expand their portfolios, purchasing a property with an existing tenant can provide an established income stream from the point of completion.

The incoming owner can potentially avoid the initial void period associated with an empty property, as well as the time and expense involved in finding and securing a new tenant.

However, The Letting Partnership says buyers need to look beyond the property itself and understand the financial position of the tenancy they are acquiring.

The Letting Partnership chief operating officer Chris Mason said: “Buying a property with a tenant already in situ can be an attractive proposition for landlords. Rather than acquiring an empty property and then having to find a tenant before generating a return, the income stream is already established from day one.

“But landlords need to remember that they aren’t just acquiring the property and the tenant, they’re also taking on the financial history of that tenancy.

“That means understanding exactly where the deposit sits and how it is protected, whether the rent account is completely up to date and whether there are any outstanding balances. If completion takes place part-way through a rental period, there may also be rent already collected that needs to be correctly apportioned between the outgoing and incoming landlord.”