Where do you leave your bike overnight? I'm lucky enough these days to live somewhere with an adjoining lock-up garage, where my cycles spend their off-duty time, attached securely to a ground anchor set in the concrete floor.

But at earlier addresses the only bike storage has generally been corridors and stairways, whether my own or shared. In one flat I even stored two bikes in the kitchen, though to be fair it was an unusually spacious kitchen.

I got thinking on this after receiving a press release from a chain of estate agents which, unusually for such a document, contained a certain amount of common sense.

While car parking has long been a factor considered by potential landlords, Ludlow Thompson argue, it's important now that they also think about where would-be tenants can keep their bikes. Decent bike provision could even increase the property's price or rental value, it effectively says.

The chain operates only in London, but the advice of the eponymous Stephen Ludlow would seem relevant to anyone thinking of letting a property in an urban area:

Cyclists are increasingly important if you intend to let or sell to the 20-35 year old post-university market. Cyclists prefer not to leave their bike chained up on the street.

When renting a flat in converted houses, cyclists often ask if they can leave their bicycle in the shared hallway. Most contracts explicitly prevent this because if often leads to damage and can upset the other tenants. By agreeing, a landlord might have the edge if a tenant is weighing up two options.

Landlords of ex-local authority and new build housing can often offer the best solution, as those properties frequently provide storage sheds which are perfect for bicycles. But landlords in other housing types can make their properties more attractive to cyclists by installing safe storage, such as a secure shed unit which will fit in even a small front garden. Landlords that are leaseholders – either in a converted house or in a more modern block – can be proactive and negotiate with other leaseholders and the freeholder to provide shared storage. There will often be a net benefit as the desirability of the property is improved.

That all seems obvious to me. But it's astonishing how few properties, whether for rent or sale, have even the most basic secure cycle parking. The most common option is simply to carry your greasy, sometimes grubby machine into a hallway and repaint the scuff marks on the wall once in a while.

Central government guidance, even for new blocks, is pretty vague. A Department for Communities and Local Government transport planning policy document (pdf) advises that "the amount of good quality cycle parking in developments should be increased to promote more cycle use," but ultimately the details are up to local authorities.

Provision certainly seems patchy. My ride home takes me past a brand-new apartment block where you get a glimpse into a grubby store room where half a dozen hooks have been loosely screwed into a wall. I'm guessing this is the designated bike storage – unsuprisingly it's empty while the balconies are littered with bikes.

Is it wishful thinking that cyclists' pressure can change this? Would bike storage affect your property rental – or even purchasing – decisions?