I think sometimes legislation can be forgotten! Not by us I’d like to stress but by the industry as a whole.  When its introduced there is a lot of ‘hype’ and information in trade literature and then 1 year on dangerously it all disappears, never to be mentioned again under the assumption that everyone is doing what they should be.

I feel the RIGHT TO RENT LEGISLATION falls into this category.

To summarise, as of 1st February 2016 landlords and their agents must check that a tenant can legally rent residential property in England. Under Section 22 of the Immigration Act 2014 a Landlord should not authorise an adult to occupy a property as their only or main home under a residential tenancy agreement unless the adult is a British citizen, or EEA or Swiss National, or has a ‘right to rent’ in the UK.

As an Agent we must;

-       Establish that the adults that will live at a property will do so as their only or main residence

-       Obtain original versions of one or more acceptable documents

-       Check documents in the presence of holder, copy documents and date

Acceptable documents are from List A, group 1 (single) or group 2 (combination)

Click here to see a copy of the list and government guide

You also need to have a plan in place to ensure that where a person has a time limited right to remain in the UK, acceptable documents will be from List B & checks should be undertaken not more than 28 days before the AST comes into effect with follow up checks being required.

Landlords that fail to check a potential tenants right to rent will face penalties of up to £3000 per tenant – so it’s not worth ignoring!

If you’re not sure what to do or you’re not sure whether your tenants have the Right to Rent your house then please do not hesitate to contact the office. As always, we are here to help with any queries you may have.

Sarah 

M&M Estate & Letting Agents are proud to have achieved the standards necessary to attain a brand new mark of excellence in estate agency. We achieved the high performance standards necessary to be rated as among the top 10% of branches in the country and as such are listed in the Best Estate Agent Guide.

The Best Estate Agency Guide, together with Rightmove, identified criteria that defined exceptional service to determined which branches were worthy of being called a 'Best Estate Agent' following a rigorous and thorough assessment of 25,000 estate and letting agency branches.

To choose which agents are listed in the Best Estate Agent Guide, each branch is scored against a unique set of performance and customer service criteria, using a combination of data analysis and mystery shopping.

Performance was measured over a 12-month period, involving analysis of:

• Over 25,000 branches
• 1 million properties listed at any point in time
• 3 million transactions
• 50 million leads
• 3 billion property views
• 30,000 mystery shops

'We are so proud to have achieved this status as it affirms our commitment to customer service in everything we do!'  Sarah

The rental market is a competitive one. There are often two or three suitable prospective tenants after the same property. In this market Landlords may wish to meet with you to ensure they are selecting the right tenant. 

So what will make you stand out from the crowd?

What should you be doing to ensure you make the best impression?

Firstly, I would suggest putting yourself in the Landlords shoes - what would you want to know about your tenants? What would you be worried about? If you can understand and appreciate this then you will already be ahead of other tenants in terms of mind set. Ultimately the Landlord is thinking ...Will this tenant pay their rent and will they look after my house? So, how can you reassure them that this will be the case?

1) First impressions count

 - Turn up to the appointment early (or at least bang on time). Making a Landlord wait is not a good start!

 - Dress appropriately ready for 'business'. Obviously, you won’t be turning up in a dinner jacket but smart clothing, showing that you care about your appearance will make them think about how you will look after the property, i.e. smart dress = clean and tidy house, dirty clothes and boots = dirty messy house! 

 - Take off your shoes! This will give the Landlord confidence that you will look after their house and take care of the finishes. 

2) Paperwork - be prepared!

Bring a long anything you think might reassure the Landlord;

 - Have photographs of your current house showing how clean and tidy it is

 - You may have a hand written note from your existing landlord or an email singing your praises

 - If you have a pet show the LL a photograph of that pet and where it sleeps etc - perhaps a photo of the garden still well kept and looked after. 

 - Bring your existing tenancy agreement illustrating when your rent is due along with bank statements showing that you pay your rent on time every month. 

3) Ask the right Questions

You’re looking to promote conversation and build a rapport with the Landlord i.e you want them to like you! Have some questions prepared to illustrate how conscientious you are, compliment the Landlord on the decor and the property. Example questions could be;

- Do you manage the property? Do we call you if there are any problems?

- Are we paying the rent direct to you or the agent? We'd want our standing order set up straight away.

- Do you know the details of a cleaner/ gardener as we'd want to get one? (if you do want to!)

Remember Landlords don't want to think you will be calling them every day with problems but at the same time want to know you will call if there is a real problem they should know about. 

4) Children

 - Can your children be a little excitable in new situations or empty houses? If so I would consider leaving them with a friend or family member - a tantrum never sets the right tone. 

5) Be honest!

If you have a dog tell the Agent or Landlord immediately. Any relationship that is formed will be dashed immediately if you are not honest. Your relationship with your Landlord & Agent is based on Trust. 

I hope the above helps you, however if you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact our office.

The whole lettings team are here to help with any queries you may have. 

Sarah 

An event that occurred recently in our office has caused my first blog to be somewhat 'heavy'.

A worried couple came in panicking that their agent had served notice on their tenants and they now couldn't supply some 'things' the solicitors were asking for. They were coming to talk with me as they didn't trust what their agent was telling them (alarm bells immediately!). The agent they had instructed they assumed knew what they were doing...which now didn't seem to be the case. Having spent 30 minutes with them running through the process, requirements and procedure they left happier and obviously wishing they had come to us in the first place. But it did get me thinking about just how much we do 'behind the scenes' that ensure tenancy's run as smoothly as possible and that notices served are actually valid. So to give you an idea, today I'm looking at the Section 21 Notice....

So you've decided you want your property back and generally speaking assuming your tenant has signed an Assured Shorthold Tenancy and there are no rent arrears a Section 21 Notice would be served. I'm not going to give you all the information you require to achieve vacant possession, what I aim to highlight here is just how much needs to be carried out BEFORE a tenancy has been signed to ensure a Section 21 noticed can be relied upon.

Whilst the notice itself will need to be served in its prescribed form, using the correct dates and served in the correct manner, to ensure it is valid (i.e. enforceable by law) the following must be true;

For tenancies in Wales or England that started before October 2015

1) Should a deposit have been taken it must be secured in a tenancy deposit scheme within 30 days of receipt (we are members of The DPS, should you wish to check a deposit reference number please click the link to visit their website)

2) Once a deposit is secured within a scheme, you must also serve your tenant with the scheme’s prescribed information within 30 days of receipt of the deposit (prescribed information is supplied by the scheme and amended by ourselves and includes relevant information relating to the deposit, including where it is held, how it will be returned and how disputes are dealt with.

For tenancies England that started on or after October 2015

1) Should a deposit have been taken it must be secured in a tenancy deposit scheme within 30 days of receipt

2) Once a deposit is secured within a scheme, you must also serve your tenant with the scheme’s prescribed information within 30 days of receipt of the deposit

• the tenant has made a written complaint to the landlord about the condition of the property before the notice was served; and
• the landlord has not provided an adequate written response (e.g. clarify what actions you are going to take to resolve the problem and to what timescale) within 14 days; and
• the tenant has then complained to the relevant local authority about the problem, who then serve an “Improvement Notice.”

As I'm sure you can see from reading the above gaining possession of your property is not just ensuring the right notice is served at the right time. To rely on the notice various documents must be served. 

Going back to the couple that walked into my office last week I hope that their situation has worked out and that they were able to move back into their home. There circumstance only served as a reminder that the lettings 'game' is a complex one and an experienced based business. Its not just about doing the job right but also keeping your Clients informed so they are confident in your ability.

Should you need any help or assistance regarding any of the matters above please do not hesitate to contact me at the office - 01474 321957 or sarah@mandmprop.co.uk

Thanks for reading and I promise something a little 'lighter' next time!

Sarah Driscoll

Director