Guide to Renting Property

Think very carefully about what you can afford when looking to rent.

You should look at all the house costs that you will need to meet, such as council tax and utility bills (gas, electricity and water), phone bills & broadband, TV licence, insurance etc.

The most important and very first check when you wish to apply for a tenancy will be the “affordability check” that will be carried out before any referencing commences. In order to ensure you can afford the property you wish to rent, use this easy check: multiply the rent by 30 to give you the household income required for a property.

When you start looking for your new home, the clearer you can be on what you want and what you don’t want the easier your search will be. Make sure we know these preferences so that we can focus only on the properties that meet these needs and you don’t waste time seeing unsuitable properties.

The kinds of things you should consider are:

• Type of property – does it need to be a house? Are you happy with a flat? Would a bungalow suit best?
• Number of rooms – how many bedrooms do you need? How many receptions do you want?
• Size of rooms – do you need 3 double bedrooms, but the fourth bedroom can be small as it will only be used as an office? Do you want the kitchen to be spacious and looking out onto the garden?
• Furnished – do you want the property to have the basic furniture in it or do you have your own?
• Location – do you need the property to be close to certain local amenities? Close to a school? Close to a train station? Close to local shops?
• Garden – do you need a garden? Does it have to be a certain size?
• Parking – do you need off-street parking? For how many cars?
• Garage – do you need a garage?
• Pets – if you have pets then make sure we know beforehand so we can check if the landlord will accept them

Always try to understand what your ‘red lines’ are, things that if you do not have then you really are not interested in the property, and make sure you communicate this to us.

All of this is important for the longevity of your tenancy and for your happiness!

Good rental properties don’t hang around, they go quickly.

For a number of reasons there are fewer properties being offered for rent whilst the number of active tenants in the market continues to rise. If you see a property you really like then drop everything and come to see it right away!

We strongly advise signing up to our notification service so that you hear from us as soon as anything that fills your criteria comes to market. This also helps us get a feel for you so we can understand your requirements in advance and keep you in mind for opportunities coming up. If we know you, we can do our best to help you.

It is useful at the beginning to get a brief overview of the steps in the application process so you know what to expect:

• Identify a property you are interested in
• View the property
• Make an offer for the property – including the rent offered and the start date for the tenancy
• Landlord acceptance of the offer
• Pay the holding deposit
• Referencing and checks
• Review and approval by landlord
• Confirm move in date
• Issue of documents
• Sign tenancy agreement
• Pay deposit and first rent
• Move in !

When your offer has been accepted by the landlord you will need to secure the property by paying a holding deposit. The holding deposit can not be more than the equivalent of one week’s rent and will be deducted from your first payments (tenancy deposit and first month’s rent).

The holding deposit holds the property for you, removes it from the market and stops any more viewings being conducted by us.

The terms and conditions of the holding deposit will be shared with you when the deposit is requested. Very broadly, if you pull out of the tenancy before signing then you will lose the holding deposit but if the landlord pulls out then you will have the deposit returned.

The full tenancy deposit, which is payable before you move in, is due alongside the first month’s rent and must be received before you move into the property. The tenancy deposit is required to be protected in a Government Approved Scheme in line with current legislation.

Agents and landlords are required to send the Deposit Protection Certificate, the Terms and Conditions of the deposit scheme and Prescribed Information to the tenant within 30 days of receiving the deposit.

Tenants Fees: There are NO upfront tenant fees payable.

The only fees that may be charged during a tenancy are here.

Great, you’ve now found a house and you want to proceed with the application for a tenancy. What are you going to need to make sure this runs smoothly?

If you’re prepared in advance you will find this less daunting!

You will need to provide:

• Photographic ID for all of your household who are over 18 years old
• Proof of income (wage slips, investment/savings statements etc.)
• 3 months of most recent bank statements
• Your home address history for the last 3 years
• Proof of Address (bank statement or utility bill dated within the last 3 months)
• Proof of National Insurance Number (NI card, P45, P60, wage slip)

All of the above will be essential for our professional referencing process.

The professional referencing service we use will conduct a number of checks before approving your application. These checks will be for all adults on the tenancy agreement and will include:

• Identity – they will confirm that you are who you say you are using identity documents, bank records and electoral roll information
• Credit Check – your credit file will be checked to see if there are any County Court Judgements outstanding against you
• Employment Check – your employer will be contacted to confirm how long you have been working at the company and your salary
• Affordability – the confirmed, combined annual income for all adults on the tenancy must be 30 x monthly rent
• Guarantor Check – if there are guarantors on the tenancy agreement then similar checks will be conducted for them

Hopefully you will pass referencing with no problems. If issues are identified during referencing it does not mean that you will not be able to rent the property, but we will need to refer this to the landlord and he would need to decide if he was happy to continue with the tenancy.

Private landlords and agents are legally required to check the immigration status of all tenants, lodgers and any other adults who will be living in rented property.

The right to rent check has to take place before the tenancy starts.

You will be asked to provide documents to show you have the right to live in the UK, either permanently or temporarily.

The tenancy agreement (or Assured Shorthold Tenancy – AST) is a vital document outlining your rights to live in the property, your responsibilities, the landlords responsibilities and key terms such as the rent due, the deposit due and the duration of your agreement.

It is a legally binding document, so make sure you understand the document fully and that you are willing to commit to your responsibilities in the agreement. If you have any questions about the tenancy agreement then please do contact us and we will be happy to explain anything you are unsure of.

• The Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) for the property.
• If the property has Gas you will be provided with a valid copy of the Landlords Gas Safety Certificate
• The Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) to show that the electrics in the property are safe
• Fire Alarm Test Certificate, if your property requires it
• Property License, if your property requires it
• Tenancy Deposit Paperwork – details of the Government approved scheme that your deposit has been protected by the Deposit Protection Certificate(DPC) and the prescribed information
• Your Tenancy Agreement (AST)
• The How to Rent Guide
• The Inventory & Schedule of Condition Report (ISC)

On or around the day of you moving in you will be supplied with a schedule of condition for the property. This document records the condition of the property at the start of the tenancy and will be used to compare the condition in which it is returned at the end of the tenancy.

We use an independent company to compile these documents, to ensure that they’re fair and impartial. You do have a period of time, one week, to review this document before it is deemed accepted. If you find any errors or omissions on the Schedule of Condition then let us know within a week and we can record this so you won’t be charged for any remedial work for these items when you move out.

We will make arrangements with you to go through all the paperwork and sign the required documents prior to moving in.

The Inventory and Condition Report is also an important document that itemises, among other things, the fixtures and fittings and the condition of the property that you are about to move into at the start of your tenancy. You will have 7 days to go through this document and satisfy yourself that it is accurate or discuss it with us if there are any discrepancies.

As for utilities and bills, if your property is being managed by us, we lend a helping hand and will contact the water, gas and electricity supplier notifying them of the new tenancy and occupants. We will also notify the relevant council for council tax purposes.

If your property is being privately managed, make sure you take meter readings on day one and provide them to the relevant utility companies as soon as possible.

The landlord is responsible for the buildings insurance but you as a tenant are responsible for contents insurance for your own belongings.

Familiarise yourself with any appliances supplied in the property, we will ensure that you are provided with user manuals as and when appropriate. Also ensure you are aware of the location of the water stopcock for the property, in case of emergency water leaks, we always include this in the (ISC) and the location of the utility meters.

We will inform the existing gas and electricity suppliers that a new tenancy is scheduled to commence and they should contact you to offer energy tariffs with them. If you have not heard from them within a couple of weeks then do contact them as ensuring these accounts are set up is your responsibility.

We will inform the Council and the water supplier that a new tenancy is scheduled to commence and they should contact you to set up the new account with them. If you have not heard from them within a couple of weeks then do contact them as ensuring these accounts are set up is your responsibility.

• Pay your rent by the rent due date every month – failure to do so will put you in breach of your tenancy and at risk of potentially losing your home.
• Look after the property – this house is your home but you are expected to keep it clean and tidy.
• Reporting Issues - You are responsible for reporting any problems with the property particularly maintenance issues and you must inform the landlord/agent in a timely and responsible manner, not reporting issues can put you and your deposit at risk.
• Regularly Test Smoke alarms – whilst it is the Landlord's duty to provide working smoke alarms at the commencement of the tenancy, it is yours to ensure that they continue to work throughout the tenancy.
• Be considerate to your neighbours – always treat others how you would expect to be treated yourself. Excess noise or incorrect disposal of waste has the potential to cause problems and complaints, and could put your tenancy at risk.

• To maintain the building to an appropriate standard making sure the structure is safe and free from defects including the outside elevations and the roof.
• Ensure that the building is insured for damage, flood and fire.
• Provide smoke detectors on each level of the property.
• Provide carbon monoxide alarms in rooms that use solid fuels (wood/coal etc).
• Maintain appliances or furniture that they have provided.
• Carry out reasonable repairs – please advise at the earliest if you have any concerns relating to the condition of the property or issues relating to how you live day to day there.
• Maintain all required safety certificates.
• Provide 24 hour notice for visits relating to inspections or repairs and maintenance except in an emergency.

While the landlord is required to maintain a buildings and public liability insurance policy on your new home, he will not be insuring your personal contents in the property. To protect your belongings against fire, theft or other forms of loss you will need to take out your own contents insurance policy.

The landlord is responsible for resolving maintenance issues in a reasonable period of time, and we will normally be managing the resolution of any maintenance issues on behalf of the landlord.

You will need to report all maintenance issues as soon as you are aware of them on the following link - https://goldsmithproperty-maintenance.10ninety.co.uk/. The more details and pictures you can provide the better.

Please don’t call the office or send in emails about maintenance issues if you have not already reported the issue through the link above.

The speed with which a maintenance issue is resolved will depend on how urgent the issue is in terms of whether it is causing potential harm to you or the property and affecting your ability to reside in the property. It may also depend on how quickly we can get a contractor to attend the property, and except in the most serious of cases we will always give you 24 hours notice of a contractor attending.

We will conduct regular inspections, every 6 months, throughout your tenancy. These inspections will make sure there are no maintenance issues, check that everything is ok with the property and conduct the required Housing Health and Safety Rating System assessments.

We are required to give you at least 24 hours notice of any proposed inspection, but in reality will try to arrange at least a week in advance. If the timing does not suit you then please let us know a time and date that works for you.

Your tenancy agreement will almost certainly be an Assured Shorthold Tenancy agreement (an AST). The AST will have a time period, normally 6 months or 12 months, during which your tenancy in the property is guaranteed. You cannot be required to leave the property during this ‘assured’ period unless you breach the tenancy agreement – for example by not paying rent.

As you come to the end of this ‘assured’ period we will contact you with the two options that you have.

If you want to negotiate another assured period of tenancy, say another 6 or 12 months, then we can propose this to the landlord. Should the landlord agree to this then you will sign a new AST which will again guarantee your tenancy for the period defined in the tenancy.

If you cannot agree a new AST with the landlord or do not want to, then at the end of your assured period of tenancy your right to live in the property does not end, and nor does your contractual obligation to keep paying rent. Instead, you will move onto a periodic tenancy with your right to live in the property being renewed or extended by a month at the end of each month. You can remain on a periodic tenancy indefinitely.

There are benefits to each option, and the best one for you will depend on your circumstances. Signing a new AST gives you confidence that you cannot be asked to leave the property as long as you keep meeting your responsibilities under the tenancy. However, an AST is a legally binding contract and should your circumstances change (such as moving for work) then you can only break the contract with the consent of the other party to the agreement – the landlord. So if you require flexibility and don’t want to be tied into a new assured period then a periodic tenancy may suit best.

There are two ways that your tenancy agreement can be ended, either you can end it or the landlord can end it. The way in which your tenancy can be ended may depend on where you are in your contract in terms of your assured period of tenancy.

For you, the tenant:

• You need to give at least one month’s notice in writing of your intention to leave the property
• Your notice needs to indicate the date you will vacate the property
• You can provide notice of your intention to leave the property within your assured period of tenancy, but the landlord does not have to accept this and may insist that you continue to pay rent until the end of the assured period of tenancy

For the landlord:

• Under ‘no fault’ Section 21 proceedings:
  • the landlord needs to give you at least 2 month’s notice to vacate the property
  • the end of the notice period cannot be within an assured period of your tenancy
  • the landlord cannot serve notice within the first 4 months of an AST
• Under ‘breach of contract’ Section 8 proceedings:
  • the amount of notice the landlord needs to give you to leave the property depends on the breach of contract being claimed
  • generally the notice periods required under Section 8 proceedings are shorter than under Section 21

At the end of the tenancy a check out inspection will be carried out. The property will be assessed against the original Inventory and Schedule of Condition provided when you moved into the property. This is a very time-consuming procedure and each item is checked line by line and any differences noted and photos taken which will be used to consider whether there is a valid reason to withhold any deposit monies allowing for fair wear & tear.

The Deposit will be returned minus any agreed deductions direct to your designated bank account. If you do not agree with any proposed deductions, first speak to us or the Landlord and if this is unresolved you will then need to contact the relevant deposit scheme dispute service. Full details of this procedure will be provided at the commencement of your tenancy and at the end of the tenancy as and when necessary.

Ensure that all payments for rent and utility bills and council tax are up to date at the end of the tenancy. Failure to do so may affect both your credit rating and future referencing.

It makes good sense to take photos of meter readings for your records so that you can prove the readings when you move out.

All your personal items and waste must have been removed when the property is handed back. Always make sure the property is returned in as good a condition as at the start of the tenancy, allowing for fair wear & tear. Return all keys to the agent or landlord.

Until all keys in your possession are returned to the agent or landlord you remain legally in possession of the property and therefore you remain liable for rent and other costs until such time that the keys are in the possession of the agent/landlord.