Landlord
Info
If you currently own or intend to purchase
residential property for rental in YOUR AREA,
you should consider engaging our property
management service. You'll find it both
professional and cost-effective. As we are
specialists, we know how to manage property for
optimum performance, whilst ensuring smooth
running tenancies, and compliance with the
various landlord/tenant laws. Maximise the
return on your investment - contact
us now.
Our Services include:
- Visiting you at your property, and providing
a rental valuation and any other advice which
you may require about letting your property.
- Advising you on compliance with the various
safety regulations.
- Locating suitable tenants. Your property
will be advertised if necessary, however we have
excellent contacts with various company and
other establishment personnel departments, and
furthermore usually have tenants waiting.
- Accompanying tenant applicants to view the
property.
- Obtaining and evaluating references and
credit checks.
- Preparing a suitable tenancy agreement and
arranging signature by the tenant.
- Collecting and holding as stakeholders a
deposit (bond) from the tenant.
- Preparing an inventory and schedule of
condition.
- Checking the tenant into the property and
agreeing the inventory.
- Supervising the transfer of gas, electricity
and council tax accounts into the tenant's name.
- Receiving rental payments monthly in
advance, and paying you promptly, together with
a detailed statement from our computerised
management systems.
- If required paying regular outgoings for you
from rental payments.
- Inspecting the property periodically, and
reporting any problems to you.
- Arranging any necessary repairs or
maintenance, first liaising with you in the case
of larger works.
- Keeping in touch with the tenant on a
routine basis, and arranging renewals of the
agreement as necessary.
- Checking tenants out as required, reletting
and continuing the process with the minimum of
vacant periods to ensure that you receive the
optimum return from your property.
We maintain a flexible attitude, and are
generally able to adapt our service to meet our
client's individual circumstances and needs, for
example by providing a part only service, or
alternatively by taking on additional tasks and
duties.
Our Fees
Our initial letting and advertising charge is
just £75, and our ongoing management
commission is only 10% of monthly rental
payments. We make an admin charge of £35 for
each renewal of an existing agreement. There is
also NO VAT to pay giving you even
greater RETURN ON YOUR INVESTMENT.
There are no other standard fees or charges.
No up front charges - nothing to pay until a
tenant moves in and starts paying rent.
< top
Guide for Landlords
Before a property can be let, there are
several matters which the owner will need to
deal with to ensure that the tenancy runs
smoothly, and also that he/she complies with the
law. For brief details of a subject click on a
blue link below, or scroll down the page. If you
require further advice or assistance with any
matter, please do not hesitate to contact
us:
Mortgage
If
your property is mortgaged, you should obtain
your mortgagee's written consent to the letting.
They may require additional clauses in the
tenancy agreement of which you must inform
us.
Leaseholds
If you are
a leaseholder, you should check the terms of
your lease, and obtain the necessary written
consent before letting.
Sub-letting
If you
are a tenant yourself, you will require your
landlord's consent.
Insurance
You should
ensure that you are suitably covered for letting
under both your buildings and contents
insurance. Failure to inform your insurers may
invalidate your policies. We can advise on
Landlord's Legal Protection, and Landlord's
Contents insurance if required.
Bills and
regular outgoings
We recommend that
you arrange for regular outgoings e.g. mortgage,
service charges, maintenance contracts etc. to
be paid by standing order or direct debit.
However, where we are Managing the property, by
prior written agreement we may make payment of
certain bills on your behalf, provided such
bills are received in your name at our office,
and that sufficient funds are held to your
credit.
Council
tax
Council tax is the responsibility
of the occupier. You should inform your local
collection office that you are leaving the
property. During vacant periods the charge
reverts to the owner. When unoccupied but
furnished, the charge is 50% of the normal rate.
When unoccupied and 'substantially' unfurnished,
there is no charge for the first six months, and
thereafter a charge of 50% of the normal
rate.
The
inventory
It is most important that
an inventory of contents and schedule of
condition be prepared, in order to avoid
misunderstanding or dispute at the end of a
tenancy. Without such safeguards, it will be
impossible for the landlord to prove any loss,
damage, or significant deterioration of the
property or contents. In order to provide a
complete service to the landlord, we will if
requested arrange for a member of staff to
prepare an inventory and schedule of condition,
at a cost to be quoted.
Income tax
When the
landlord is resident in the UK, it is entirely
his responsibility to inform the Inland Revenue
of rental income received, and to pay any tax
due. However, where the landlord is resident
outside the UK during a tenancy, under new rules
effective from 6 April 1996, unless an exemption
certificate is held, we as landlord's agents are
obliged to retain and forward to the Inland
Revenue on a quarterly basis, an amount equal to
the basic rate of income tax from rental
received, less certain expenses. An application
form for exemption from such deductions is
available from this Agency, and further
information may be obtained from the Inland
Revenue.
Important
safety regulations
The following
safety requirements are the responsibility of
the owner (the landlord), and where we are to
manage the property, they are also ours as
agents. Therefore to protect all interests we
ensure full compliance with the appropriate
regulations, at the owner's
expense.
Gas Appliances
& Equipment
Annual safety check:
Under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use)
Regulations 1998 all gas appliances and flues in
rented accommodation must be checked for safety
within 12 months of being installed, and
thereafter at least every 12 months by a
competent engineer (e.g. a CORGI registered gas
installer).
Maintenance: There is a duty to
ensure that all gas appliances, flues and
associated pipework are maintained in a safe
condition at all times.
Records: Full records
must be kept for at least 2 years of the
inspections of each appliance and flue, of any
defects found and of any remedial action taken.
Copies to tenants: A copy of the safety
certificate issued by the engineer must be given
to each new tenant before their tenancy
commences, or to each existing tenant within 28
days of the check being carried out.
Electrical
Appliances & Equipment
There are
several regulations relating to electrical
installations, equipment and appliance safety,
and these affect landlords and their agents in
that they are 'supplying in the course of
business'. They include the Electrical Equipment
(Safety) Regulations 1994, the Plugs and Sockets
Regulations 1994, the 2005 Building Regulation -
'Part P, and British Standard BS1363 relating to
plugs and sockets. Although with tenanted
property there is currently no specific legal
requirement for a qualified electrician to carry
out an inspection and issue a safety certificate
(as exists in the case of gas appliances), it is
now widely accepted in the letting industry that
the only safe way to ensure safety, and to avoid
the risk of being accused of neglecting your
'duty of care', or even of manslaughter is to
arrange such an inspection and certificate.
Furniture &
Furnishings
The Furniture and
Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988
(amended 1989, 1993 & 1996) provide that
specified items supplied in the course of
letting property must meet minimum fire
resistant standards. The regulations apply to
all upholstered furniture, and beds, headboards
and mattresses, sofa-beds, futons and other
convertibles, nursery furniture, garden
furniture suitable for use in a dwelling,
scatter cushions, pillows, and non-original
covers for furniture. They do not apply to
antique furniture or furniture made before 1950,
bed clothes including duvets, loose covers for
mattresses, pillowcases, curtains, carpets or
sleeping bags. Therefore all relevant items as
above must be checked for compliance, and
non-compliant items removed from the premises.
In practice, most (but not all) items which
comply must have a suitable permanent label
attached. Items purchased since 1.3.90 from a
reputable supplier are also likely to
comply.
General Product
Safety
The General Product Safety
Regulations 1994 specify that any product
supplied in the course of a commercial activity
must be safe. In the case of letting, this would
include both the structure of the building and
its contents. Recommended action is to check for
obvious danger signs - leaning walls, broken
glass, sharp edges etc., and also to leave
operating manuals or other written instructions
about high risk items, such as hot surfaces,
electric lawnmowers, etc. for the tenant.
Preparing
the property for letting
We have
found from experience that a good relationship
with tenants is the key to a smooth-running
tenancy. As Property Managers the relationship
part is our job, but it is important that the
tenants should feel comfortable in their
temporary home, and that they are receiving
value for their money. This is your job. Our
policy of offering a service of quality and care
therefore extends to our tenant applicants too,
and we are pleased to recommend properties to
rent which conform to certain minimum standards.
Quality properties attract quality
tenants.
General
condition
Electrical, gas, plumbing,
waste, central heating and hot water systems
must be safe, sound and in good working order.
Repairs and maintenance are at the landlord's
expense unless misuse can be
established.
Appliances
Similarly,
appliances such as washing machine, fridge
freezer, cooker, dishwasher etc. should be in
usable condition. Repairs and maintenance are at
the landlord's expense unless misuse can be
established.
Decorations
Interior
decorations should be in good condition, and
preferably plain, light and
neutral.
Furnishings
It is
recommended that you leave only minimum
furnishings, and these should be of reasonable
quality. It is preferable that items to be left
are in the property during viewings. If you are
letting unfurnished, we recommend that the
property contains carpets, curtains, and a
cooker.
Personal items, ornaments
etc
Personal possessions, ornaments,
pictures, books etc. should be removed from the
premises, especially those of real or
sentimental value. Some items may be boxed,
sealed and stored in the loft at the owner's
risk. All cupboards and shelf space should be
left clear for the tenant's own
use.
Gardens
Gardens should
be left neat, tidy and rubbish-free, with any
lawns cut. Tenants are required to maintain the
gardens to a reasonable standard, provided they
are left the necessary tools. However, few
tenants are experienced gardeners, and if you
value your garden, or if it is particularly
large, you may wish us to arrange maintenance
visits by our regular gardener.
Cleaning
At the
commencement of a tenancy the property must be
in a thoroughly clean condition, and at the end
of each tenancy it is the tenant's
responsibility to leave the property in similar
condition. Where they fail to do so, cleaning
should be arranged at their
expense.
Mail
forwarding
We recommend that you make
use of the Post Office redirection service.
Application forms are available at their
counters, and the cost is minimal. It is not the
tenant's responsibility to forward
mail.
Information for the
tenant
It is helpful if you leave
information for the tenant on operating the
central heating and hot water system, washing
machine and alarm system, and the day refuse is
collected etc.
Keys
You should provide one
set of keys for each tenant. Where we are
Managing we will arrange to have duplicates cut
as required.
< top |
