Renting with Barbers

Renting with Barbers

Renting can offer more flexibility than owning a property and this might suit your needs better than the more expensive, longer term alternative of buying. If you are new to renting, continue to read on for some useful tips and advice on the rental process:

Costs Applying To All New Tenancies

We may charge a tenant any or all of the following when required:

1.         A holding deposit of no more than one weeks’ rent – which is deducted from the first month’s rent payable.

2.         The rent – paid monthly in advance.

3.         A security deposit with a maximum of 5 weeks rent, or 6 weeks on a property with rent over £50,000 per year.

4.         Payments in respect of bills – main utilities, (council tax, water, electric and gas/oil).

5.         Any additional services the tenant has connected at the property (broadband, phone line).

 

The following can be charged throughout the Tenancy;

1. Default fee for late payment of rent (after 14 days).
2. Reasonable charges for lost keys or security fobs.
3. Payments associated with contract variation, at £50 or reasonable costs incurred if higher, when requested by the tenant.
4. Payments associated with early termination of the tenancy, when requested by the tenant.

Consider how much you can afford:

Budget Carefully – you will need to allow for council tax and the cost of all utilities, which you will normally have to pay for. We will be on hand to discuss what is included in the lease, so there is no need to worry. You can also try our useful Tenant Calculator to help work out your budget!

What type of property are you looking for:

You need to think carefully about the type of property you are looking for and which best suits your needs and budget. Once you know this you can brief us in order for us to match you out to correct properties. For example think about:

• Number of bedrooms you require.
• Do you need parking?.
• Do you have any pets or animals and would therefore require a garden or land?.
• Are you looking for a house or apartment.
• Are you looking for a short term or long term tenancy?.

What happens Next:

To ensure that we are as proactive as possible once you register your interest in a property, we initially provide a virtual video tour of the property and ask that if interested you complete an application form for all applicants over the age of 18. Any interested parties’ basic details obtained from the information provided are then passed to the landlord for their consideration. If the landlord authorises to proceed with your application, we will then ask for the holding deposit (one weeks rent) to be paid and a physical viewing arranged. As part of this application process, we require the following information from all applicants

• Photographic ID (Passport or Document that comply with Right to Rent).
• Proof of current address, dated within the last 3 months (Utility bill is ideal).
• Employer’s name and address to obtain salary confirmation and status (Full or Part time employment).
• Current and Previous landlords name and address / contact detail if applicable.

At this point we will provide details on your responsibilities as a tenant, and provisionally agree a date for the Tenancy to commence.

Signing Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement:

You will be asked to pay the deposit and the first month’s rent (minus the holding deposit already paid) and Deposit in cleared funds in advance. Once monies have been received all tenancy paperwork, full ingoing schedule of condition and relevant documents will be issued generally the day prior to the tenancy commencing for your completion, on the day you of commencement you can collect the keys to your new home! Your deposit will be registered with The Tenancy Deposit Scheme. This is a mandatory government backed scheme protecting the Tenant and Landlord.

Jargon Buster:

Managed Property

This means the landlord uses Barbers to manage the lease. In some cases the tenant may never meet or speak to his/her landlord and will soley deal with the Letting Agent.

Non Managed

This means that the landlord manages the property and deals with the tenants directly.

Guarantor

A person who is prepared to guarantee rental payments and other obligations of a tenancy to a Landlord. The guarantor is liable for rental payments if a tenant is unable to pay them, so the guarantor will need to have a regular income. References and credit checks will usually be taken up on a guarantor.

Inventory

An inventory details the contents of a property and can include the state and condition of a property including the fixtures, fittings and the garden. They should be checked in with the tenant at the start of the tenancy and then checked out with the tenant at the end. We have professionally qualified inventory clerks to carry out the inventory.

Notice Period

The amount of notice that the Landlord must give the Tenant to end the tenancy and vice versa.

References

Allows a Landlord to check a tenancy applicant’s suitability to be able to pay the rent and also the applicant’s track record in previous rentals. This often involves us contacting previous landlords, a nominated person to act as a character reference (non family member) and the present employer (or accountant if self employed).

Standing Order

Standing order mandate is an instruction that the tenant makes to their bank for payment of rent. Normally payments are made each month and the instruction will state the number of payments or will continue to be paid until cancelled by the tenant. A landlord or agent cannot cancel a standing order mandate, only the person whose bank account the fund are coming from. A standing order should not be confused with a Direct Debit, which is not often used for the payment of rent and is more common for payments that differ each month.

Tenancy Agreement

A legal binding document containing details about rental terms that is sometimes referred to as a rental agreement. It will state the parties, i.e. the landlord and tenant(s), the rental price and the property address .

Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS)

Run by the Company for the protection of tenancy deposits and the resolution of disputes between landlords, agents and tenants concerning the return of deposits at the end of a tenancy. The TDS is a mandatory scheme that has been set up in accordance with the Housing Act 2004.

Did you know that almost half the UK population own a pet! Taking a pets considered approach to lettings makes good sense as it maximises the return on all your rental properties. http://www.letswithpets.org.uk

 

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