TENANTS GUIDE

Welcome to our guide for you, the tenants. You should find everything you need here, if there is something not listed, please don’t hesitate in contacting us where we will be happy to help.

Before you begin to look for a property, it’s important to be financially prepared. Renting is a big commitment that requires credit checks, referencing, security deposit, a month’s rent in advance and a tenant contract of a minimum term period (usually 6 months).

You know what you can afford so now it’s time to start your search. It’s worth looking on the big sites like Zoopla and Rightmove as they will have the most properties to view. It’s worth registering with us too so you will receive emails as soon as we add properties that fall within your search criteria.

So, you’ve found somewhere that you like, the next step is to view the property. Some things to consider when viewing:

• How much is the rent?
• What is included in the rent? Are there any bills included?
• If the rent just includes the property, what additional bills are there? It’s a good idea to add them all up to get a total expenditure.
• How much is the deposit and where will it be stored?
• What are the tenant fees and how much are they?
• How long is the rental agreement for?
• If you choose to leave the property, what is the notice period?
• Emergency contacts, are these readily available?
• Does the landlord have the appropriate insurance for the property? What does this include? Do you need to take out any additional insurance?

When you are viewing a property, remember that you are also being viewed to make sure that you are a suitable tenant for the landlord. References will be required so it will be favourable to gather a few together beforehand as well as previous landlord checks which will also be carried out.

You’ve found the perfect property and you’ve passed all the necessary checks and paid your deposit and your first month’s rent in advance. Now it is time to sign the rental agreement. This is a legal document for you, the tenant and the landlord. You will then have a walkthrough with either the landlord or the agent who will carry out an inventory checklist. We must press the importance of this because if anything get broken/ goes missing and it is not reported, money from your deposit will be taken to cover the costs to replace/fix that particular. It might be an idea to take photos as you go around and then get the landlord or agent to sign the back of the photos to say that they agree with the condition of the property before you walk in.

All that is left is to dot the I’s and cross the t’s and you’ll be able to move in on a day agreed by everyone.

WELCOME TO YOUR NEW HOME!