Completion

Tenancy Agreement

If you are happy with the tenant(s) then we will draw up all the necessary paperwork including tenancy agreements and standing orders for both parties to sign. Once the paperwork has been signed, we ask for advance payment of rent from the tenant. A deposit will also be required from the tenant, which we hold and will reimburse at the end of the tenancy, subject to the inventory check-out report and any other agreements in place.

Inventory

The inventory which is sometimes referred to as a "schedule of condition" is a listing of the contents and condition of a property, prior to the start and end of a tenancy.

This inventory will be undertaken by an independent inventory clerk, with the tenant(s) required to sign on the day of the move, shortly thereafter a copy will be provided to you as the landlord.

Completion

Once the inventory check has been completed, the lease signed, and the rent & deposits have been collected, then the keys will be handed over to the tenant to move-in.

Remember that we take pride in providing the highest level of personal customer service, therefore naturally even after completion our knowledgeable and experienced lettings team will be there to support you whenever you need us.

The Legals

There are many legal obligations if you decide to rent your property out. We can help and you with all of these regulations. But, as an initial guide, we outline some of the regulations that will apply to you and your property below...

The first ones are the general safety regulations for a tenant living at a property. They are obviously all extremely important, but the Gas Safety regulations are the most important. It is imperative that this is carried once a year by the correctly qualified gas engineer.

Other legal obligations include The Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994 and The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988.

Other regulations include adhering to the Consumer Protection Act when describing a property and having a valid Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), which is also required if you are selling a property.

One other consideration for landlords is, of course, tax. We would advise speaking to an accountant about the tax implications of renting your property out. And, if you are going overseas, then, by law, we have to retain 20% of the net rental income as overseas tax on behalf of the Inland Revenue, unless you have registered with HMRC's non-resident landlord (NRL) scheme.

Lastly, you need to consider obligations relating to the actual tenancy. The first of these is that your tenant will sign an assured shorthold tenancy agreement. These agreements last a minimum of 6 months, by law. And secondly, the dilapidations deposit must be registered with a recognised deposit scheme. The above is not an exhaustive list and there are many things that you need to make sure you adhere too regarding the above.