Trust
It is important to trust the Letting Agent who you have chosen to help find the right home for you.
We recommend you scout more than one letting agent to achieve this, a good indication you have selected a good agent is to check they are a part of the Property Redress Scheme (PRS), or similar, this helps to protect you and your agent if there becomes any complaints or problems during your tenancy.
Another good indication is the Agent being a member of the Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) association, all members are required to have professional indemnity insurance cover and are covered by a bonding scheme which provides financial protection for your money.
‘ARLA members are also governed by the Code of Practice providing a framework of ethical and professional standards. The Association ensure that members are kept fully up to date with the latest, best practice’
Affordability
It is important you take care to ensure you can afford the property you have chosen to be your home.
Ways in doing this is:
– To check the Energy Performance Certificate for the property.
– To ensure you can pass the affordability check
Your household’s gross annual income needs to be 30 times greater than the monthly rental amount.
I.E., if the rent on the property is £700.00 PCM and your annual income needs to be a minimum of £21,00.00.
700 x 30 = 21,000.00
Please also consider the cost of utilities, council tax and service charges where applicable when you are thinking about your budget. Once you are happy with what you can afford, you need to decide where you want to live and what accommodation you need. We recommend you put together a must have list, register with multiple agents who will keep you informed with all new rental information.
Right to Rent
It is a legal requirement to carry out a right to rent check on any prospective tenants.
Any tenant aged 18 or over must prove they have the right to live in rented accommodation in the UK, this includes permitted occupants that may not be directly listed on the future tenancy agreement and lodges. You will need to provide documentation such as passports, registration certificates and residency cards.
From the 1st of July 2021 changes were introduced to Right to Rent checks on EEA citizens following the end of the grace period post Brexit. Following Brexit these citizens must now have evidence on their immigration status. This excludes Irish citizens who still only require providing copies of Irish passports, cards or Birth or Adoption Certificates.
References
We take care in ensuring we select the right tenant for the properties, to provide satisfaction to both Tenant and Landlord.
You will need to supply references from your employer or previous Landlord or Letting Agent, including character references, to ensure you can afford and continue to afford the rent on the property. We may also request you provide a guarantor in some instances.
Deposit
It is a legal requirement your deposit is put in a government approved tenancy deposit scheme (TDP)
From the 1st of June 2019 Landlords can only take 5 weeks rent as a tenancy deposit. For properties whose rent exceeds £50,000.00 per year this increases to six weeks.
For holding deposits Landlords can take a maximum of one weeks rent.
To find 5 weeks rent you need to: