Landlord Guide
Rental Valuation
Deciding on an asking rent can be a little tricky task for landlords, especially when you might get a number of different opinions from agents regards rent value starting from realistic to optimistic and all points in between. We aim to give you a range, an explanation on how we got there and a personally tailored strategy for marketing your property. Our goal is to get the best possible rent for you and there are number of ways of achieving this depending on the property and the amount of activity in the property market.
First Impressions Count
How you present your property will depend on what type of tenants you want to attract. The more effort you put in, the better the rent you stand to achieve. We will give you tips on what is worth spending time and money on- we can always arrange a professional help through our in-house contractors who can arrange anything from some staging to a complete makeover if needed. Students and graduates for example may want a furnished property, but are not likely to expect the same quality of furnishings as that expected by young professionals, corporate and family tenants.
Finding the Right Tenant
Different types of properties will appeal to different people, so it is important to understand your market in order to find the right tenants. As a hard working London Estate Agent we are in touch with hundreds of tenants every week and we aim to speak to those that may be interested and generate interest and viewings. We often let properties before they even become available on the market because we are in constant touch with our active applicants and always let them know about the proprieties coming on the market soon to secure a quick let. Open days are a useful way of getting people looking at a property in a condensed time, this also creates excitement since tenants know there are others interested.
The point is that we aim to attract the right tenant, not necessarily the first tenant and that takes planning, regular communication and hard work.
During this period you can expect us to be in a constant communication with you- we will present you with a marketing plan and we will review it with you every week and we will update you after each viewing.
Agreeing the Tenancy
Once a suitable tenant has been found and you have accepted the tenant application, there will be some important paperwork to complete before we can start the tenancy.
Selecting the right tenant from those that show interest is a key part of our job. We pride ourselves in never letting to anyone that we wouldn't let our own homes to and so there are high standards to reach.
References
We always recommend the use of independent specialist referencing company which can also offer other services, such as 12 month free Tenant Eviction Service where applicants have passed the referencing criteria. Initial referencing and Right to Rent checks are free to landlords who chose Rent collection pr Full Management Service by Carter Reeves. It is important to ensure this process is completed correctly and having a professional letting agent is advantageous for complete peace of mind.
Tenancy and Legislation
Once you have accepted the offer and agreed the terms we will arrange the contracts for both parties. Also, we will arrange when your new tenants get the keys. If you are managing the property yourself then we will make sure that the tenants have all your contact details should any issues arise. If we are managing the property for you then we will give the tenants a dedicated Property Manager to take the stress away from you.
Towards the end of the tenancy we will get in touch with you and see if you want to re-let your property.
Landlords can expect a steady stream of regulation as the Government is focused on this sector of the property market. Amazingly, there are over 140 laws that affect landlords and to help you through the maze, here’s a handy guide to some of the latest ones.
Right to rent
Under the Immigration Act 2014, all landlords have a responsibility to check that their tenant has a legal right to reside and work in the UK. As part of our detailed vetting of tenants, we carry out this check at the start of every tenancy to make sure that our landlords do not fall foul of this law.
Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms
New safety legislation came into effect in October 2015. It is now mandatory for all rented properties to be fitted with smoke alarms on each floor and carbon monoxide alarms in any room where solid fuel is being burnt. This applies to all current tenancies and we worked hard last year to make sure that all our properties are compliant. If you have any concerns about your property, then any of our offices can help.
Legionella risk assessments
Landlords have a legal duty to ensure that the risk of exposure of tenants to legionella is properly assessed and controlled. Risks are higher in certain types of properties and mainly occur when they are vacant for a period of time. During the course of this year, we are working with landlords when new tenancies are set up and in many instances we would recommend a legionella risk assessment.
Energy efficiency
Any tenanted property must soon have a minimum Energy Performance Rating of E as measured on their Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). From April this year tenants now have the right to request energy efficiency improvements to their properties. The regulations will come into force for new lets and renewals of tenancies 1 April 2018 and for all existing tenancies from 1 April 2020. We have very few properties affected by this legislation and are working with any landlords needing help. As energy costs go ever higher, tenants are starting to take more notice of a property’s running costs, and heating and lighting are inevitably the main focus. In our efforts to maintain properties and keep them making a good rental return in the long term, energy efficiency is just one of the many areas that we are happy to look at for landlords in maintaining and improving their property. If we can help in any way, then please contact us.
Electrics
Landlords are responsible for ensuring that their property has safe electrical circuits and fittings. We encourage all our landlords to get a Condition Report, depending on the age of the property. Old fuse boards and poor earth bonding are typical issues. We have a network of electricians who can inspect and report. Typical prices are £196 for up to three bedrooms or £232 for larger properties.
Wear and tear allowances
The Government has introduced legislation to remove the 10% wear and tear tax break from landlords. It came into force April this year. The Government feels that landlords’ rights to claim this allowance without having to prove they have incurred the costs is not encouraging the maintenance and repair of rented property. Landlords can still deduct actual costs from their rental income and this makes ongoing investment in maintaining and refurbishing property tax efficient. Our Property Management team is happy to help.
Notice to end a tenancy
A change in legislation means that landlords are restricted in ending tenancies in some circumstances where they either fail to protect the deposit properly or to supply information to the tenant at the start of a tenancy. This includes the Energy Performance Certicate, Gas Safety Certicate, details of the Deposit Protection, a signed Tenancy Agreement with prescribed information and, finally, the Government’s How to Rent checklist.
Ending tenancies by serving Section 21 Notices is an important part of a landlord’s toolkit in estate management, so we make sure that they do everything correctly at the start of every tenancy.
Retaliatory evictions
Recent legislation aims to encourage landlords to properly maintain properties and to prevent tenants from feeling unable to complain about problems for fear of eviction. The Regulation Act 2015 came into force in October, giving tenants new rights. We encourage all landlords to keep their properties in a very good condition as it helps us to keep them fully occupied in the long term and maximize rental income.
Moving the tenants in
The inventory listing should be made or updated before a tenancy starts. The new tenants will be asked to attend a check-in appointment with the inventory clerk at the start of the tenancy after which they will be handed the keys. Each adult tenant should have a set of keys. The inventory clerk should note the utility meter readings on the check-in report, confirm that he/she has tested the smoke alarms in the property and that they are in working order. If you do not use a Carter & Reeves-recommended inventory clerk then you will need to make sure these things have been carried out yourself.
As the landlord, you should provide instruction manuals for the various appliances and these should be made easily available to the tenant. You should leave instructions how to operate appliances that are less intuitive.
Visiting the tenants a few weeks into their occupancy can ensure they are comfortable and settling in. The visit can also allay any concerns landlords may have when taking on new tenants that they have not met before. All visits need to be arranged with at least 24 hours written notice given to the tenants, or as per the notice stipulated in the tenancy agreement. Any visits must be with the consent of the tenant as they are entitled to the quiet enjoyment of the property. Keep in mind, not to disturb your tenant too often even by appointment.
Tenants deposit
Legislation surrounding tenant deposits dictates that for ASTs a tenant cannot be requested to pay more than the equivalent of five weeks rent as a deposit if the annual rent is under £50,000. If the rent is over £50,000 then this increases to the equivalent to a maximum of six weeks rent. This restriction does not apply to non-ASTs nor to deposit guarantee products (even for ASTs).
Once you or your agent have taken receipt of the cash deposit from the tenant then it will need to protected with one of the government-approved tenancy deposit protection schemes within 30 days of it being paid by the tenant. All necessary paperwork will also need to be issued to the tenant and any other relevant party within that timescale.
The deposit should be duly returned to the tenant at the end of the tenancy. You will be able to fairly deduct from the deposit any unpaid rent, cost of dilapidations that goes beyond reasonable wear and tear, but this needs to be agreed with the tenant. If there is a dispute, then the scheme may be able to adjudicate, otherwise the small claims court or an independent arbitrator may be required. For the Zero Deposit Guarantee the tenant will be asked to make payment for any agreed damages, etc. If not the scheme will make the payment to you and look to the tenant for direct reimbursement.
