Deposits

As of 06 April 2007 the Housing Act 2004 has placed additional requirements in respect of all landlords when letting residential properties. In short, this requires all such landlords to join a requisite Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme should they take a security deposit from a tenant. This basically means that any deposit taken by a landlord is held by the landlord under the terms of such a Scheme which will require that, in the event of a dispute at the end of a tenancy between a landlord and their tenant, the deposit is transferred to the administrators of that Scheme. The administrators will then arrange for that dispute to be adjudicated upon by an independent third-party case examiner.

Should a landlord not join such a Scheme, then a notice to vacate served upon a tenant will be invalid and a tenant can seek damages in respect of the deposit taken multiplied by 3.

If a landlord takes a deposit, they must, within 14 days from the date of payment, give the tenant, and any person who has paid the deposit on the tenant’s behalf, certain written information about the way the deposit is protected in the form of details of the Scheme under which it is to be held.

Top Tips
  • Obtain references and credit checks in respect of a tenant.

  • Obtain the consent of any lender or head landlord who has a charge over or who owns the dwelling to be let to the proposed letting in order to avoid being in breach of your mortgage or lease conditions. The Agreements prepared by Franklins Solicitors LLP are likely to be approved by any lender in that they meet the requirements of the Council of Mortgage Lenders because they stipulate that (1) the property is to be used as a residential dwelling only, (2) occupation for business purposes is prohibited, and (3) the tenancy is for a maximum term of 3 years.

  • The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 requires a landlord to keep in repair the structure and exterior of a dwelling (including drains and gutters), and to keep in repair and proper working order the installations for the supply of water, gas and electricity and the installations in the dwelling for space heating or heating water. However, it does not require a landlord to do small jobs which a reasonable tenant would do.

  • A notice shall be sufficiently served upon a tenant if sent by registered or recorded delivery post (if the letter is not returned undelivered) to the tenant at the property which is let or the last known address of the tenant or left addressed to the tenant at the property which is let.

  • As of 01 October 2008, Energy Performance Certificates are being introduced into the residential rentals market. The implications of this are that residential properties that will require a valid Energy Performance Certificate at the point of new tenancy. The Energy Performance Certificate will currently have a life of 10 years. However, this is expected to be reduced in the future. The inspection required in order to obtain an Energy Performance Certificate normally takes up to an hour and has to be carried out by a qualified and accredited Domestic Energy Assessor. An Energy Performance Certificate will only be required for properties which are having a change of tenant, not for existing tenants or for extensions of an existing tenancy arrangement. The Energy Performance Certificate is required to be available for viewing by any prospective tenant at the point of viewing or enquiring about the property.

  • Upon the ending of a tenancy check that the tenant has the meters read and pays all bills up to the date of vacation, and check any inventory against the items left within the property.
  • Always ensure that you complete a property inventory, get your tenant to sign the document, and provide them with a copy. This will ensure that you have proof of the condition of the property on the day your tenant moved in, and will help should any disputes arise regarding any damage.
  • Make sure that you stay on top of maintaining your property and carry out repairs when requested, If the property is not kept in good repair, this could affect your credibility and may result in your tenant withholding rent from you and in severe cases they could take action against you.
  • Obtain Landlord Insurance, this is extremely important and will cover a wide variety of losses.

Landlord Zone

Finding your own tenant is a simple process, advertise your rental property with Alternative Sale, and we will give you access to multi-site advertising on major property portals including Fish4Homes.

Let your house or flat with Alternative Sale even if you are currently using a letting agent, we do however suggest you tell the letting agent and be sure of the contract you have with them, this will ensure that you avoid paying a fee even if you find your own tenant.

Once you have found your tenant, you may wish to manage the rental yourself; if so you will find the necessary documents and an advice section to help make managing your property as simple as possible.

Alternative Sale has worked with Franklins Solicitors to gather together the Legal documents that you will need in order to Let & manage your own property. The Agreements can be used both in respect of houses and flats, and are suitable for tenancies granted for a term of 3 years or less. The arrangement will simply continue until terminated, subject to it lasting for no longer than 3 years.

The documents can be downloaded and then completed by you, should you have any special circumstances or considerations relating to your property or tenant, you may wish to consider requesting that Franklins Solicitors LLP completes the Agreement, if so then simply choose the relevant form from the selection below, and Franklins Solicitors will ensure the document is completed correctly.

Do you have a question regarding Letting a property out?

Send your question to Franklins Solicitors who will be happy to assist you.

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