General guidance notes for prospective tenants
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LENGTH OF TERM
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Most tenancies are drawn up for one year less. There is no legislation preventing a tenancy from being longer or shorter but this is by negotiation to suit both Landlord and Tenant and within the restrictions of the property (some buildings have a minimum period of 3 months and up to a maximum of 3 years in one agreement).
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BREAK CLAUSE
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In some tenancies the Landlord or the Tenant (or both) may, by negotiation, have the option to terminate the agreement without penalty, usually by giving a minimum of two months written notice. Most tenancies however, require a minimum commitment of six months from both parties.
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OPTION TO RENEW
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The Tenant may, by negotiation, have the option to continue the tenancy for a further term (with a pre-agreed rental increase). This would normally have to be taken up 2 months prior to the end of the initial term and you must not be in breach of the agreement or it will be void.
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RENT
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Always paid in advance by standing order either monthly, quarterly, six monthly or annually subject to negotiation.
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DEPOSIT
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Usually the equivalent of six weeks rent (or sometimes more if the property has exceptional furniture or there are pets involved). This is generally held by Bodens as stakeholder in a bonded client account allocated to the Tenant with interest accruing to the Tenant. It is only released once dilapidations (if any) have been agreed by both the Landlord and the Tenant at the end of the tenancy (and within the boundaries set by the TDSRA if the tenancy is an Assured Shorthold Tenancy).
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REFERENCES
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We normally use a credit referencing service (MARAS) to give the Landlord an overall assessment of the Tenant's background or we will write to your bank, employer, solicitor and/or accountant to gain an understanding of your situation. These will all need to be approved by the Landlord before the start of the tenancy. The tenant is responsible for the costs of the references, even if, as a result, the tenant is rejected by the landlord. You also need to supply us with a copy of your passport or driving licence (photocard).
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INITIAL COSTS
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The Landlord is our client and pays our fees. However, in order to process the offer we will need a payment from the Tenant in the sum of £250 (inclusive of VAT) to cover the costs of referencing, the tenancy agreement and other adminstrative costs. We will give you a separate invoice for this in addition to the invoice for the initial rent instalment and the deposit. We accept payment of this fee by cheque, cash or credit card or you can add it to your transfer for the rent/deposit if required.
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INVENTORY
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We will organise for either an Inventory Clerk or the Landlord to prepare and check in an Inventory at the time the Tenant takes possession of the property. The purpose of this is to record the state of the property at the start of the tenancy. This will be used against the inventory check-out at the end of the tenancy. We usually recommend that you, or your representative, attend both the check-in and check-out.
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UTILITIES
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The Tenant is responsible for all the utilities in respect of the property unless these are already included in the landlord's service charge (e.g. communal heating). We will therefore transfer the Gas (if any), Electricity, Water and Council Tax into your name. Meter readings will be taken at the time of inventory check-in. The tenant is also liable for all costs associated with any telephone service ( the provider needs to be contacted direct i.e. for British Telecom dial 0800 800 150 to set up the telephone service.) If you have a television (even if supplied by the Landlord) you will have to pay the television licence fee and for any cable or satellite service. If there is a burglar alarm/security system any monitoring charges would usually be payable by the Tenant as well as the callout charges if the alarm is accidentally activated.
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INSURANCE
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The Tenant's own possessions are not covered by the Landlord's Insurance policy. The Landlord will insure his own contents. You should have "Tenants" contents insurance policy for your own possessions. We can suggest an independent insurance broker if you wish.
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MANAGEMENT
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We will always inform you who will be managing the property, including their name and contact details, so that you will have a point of contact in case of an emergency (e.g. a leak). In the case where we are managing the property you will have a professional property manager allocated to you. We will also provide you with an emergency contact number for disasters that occur outside office hours.
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DOCUMENTS
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We recommend that you keep a copy of your offer letter, tenancy agreement, inventory and check in and any correspondence in a safe place. You should also make diary notes of when you able to serve notice or activate your option to renew.
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