Guidelines to Tenants

Should you have any questions regarding any aspect of renting one of our properties please ask at the earliest opportunity to avoid wasted time, expense or misunderstanding later.

1) The type of Tenancy will usually be an Assured Shorthold for a minimum contract of six calendar months.

2) During the term of the Tenancy, unless specifically agreed otherwise in writing, the Tenant will be responsible for all services including Gas, Electric, Oil, Water, Sewerage, Telephone, Television Licence and Council Tax.

3) Rent is payable in advance per calendar month from the date of the Tenancy Agreement. It is to be paid by way of Standing Order mandate unless otherwise agreed in writing before the commencement of the tenancy.

4) The Agents will accompany viewing of properties by prospective Tenants unless agreed differently; properties cannot be viewed without making prior arrangements. Please note that you must have viewed a property before submitting an application to rent it.

5) When you have found a suitable property you will be asked to complete an application form and return to the Agent together with an administration fee of £150.00 plus VAT * . This fee is non-returnable in the event of you withdrawing your application for any reason. It will be refunded in full, however, if the Landlord withdraws the property from the market or decides not to proceed for any reason. Henson Burdge and Evans accept no liability or responsibility for any costs or inconvenience suffered by applicants when an application is withdrawn. If you have any doubts please ask us for clarification of the administration fee.

6) An individual application form must usually be submitted for each party signing the Tenancy Agreement. We always take up references on applicants. These will comprise of Bank or Building Society status enquiry, employer's reference, character reference, previous Landlord or Agent reference, or any other source we may deem necessary. We will also carry out a Credit check and we will need to take copies of a proof of residence and a proof of identity.

7) We do not charge a commission from tenants; the administration fee meets all costs. This includes costs in respect of references, preparation and execution of the Tenancy Agreement, inventories and necessary paperwork. However, if a Tenant falls into arrears, a charge will be made for the recovery of such arrears or any sums outstanding to the Landlord.

8) A deposit equal to a months rent will be required from the Tenant to be held against dilapidation, damage or non-payment of rent. If we are providing a fully Managed service for our Landlord this deposit will be held in an Interest Bearing account (interest will be calculated at Lloyds Bank prevailing base rate). If we are providing a Letting service for our Landlord, this deposit will be passed to the Landlord.

9) In some instances the Tenant is liable to make a payment to the Inland Revenue in respect of Stamp Duty on signing a Tenancy Agreement. When Stamp Duty applies we will calculate the duty payable and advise of the costs well before you make a commitment to a property. If no stamp duty is due, as is usually the case, we will not ask you to pay, it is that simple.

10) A Tenancy cannot be finally confirmed until satisfactory references have been obtained, consent of the landlord has been given, a Tenancy Agreement has been signed and all monies due have been paid in full. An application for Tenancy can be rejected at any time and no correspondence regarding the rejection will be entered into.

11) All monies in respect of the months rent in advance, the deposit, the administration fee and the Stamp Duty must be paid in full before the signing of the Tenancy Agreement and occupancy of the property. This money should be paid by way of cash, banker’s draft or building society cheque. Personal and Company cheque’s are not acceptable without prior agreement and will require at least 7 working days for clearance. You will also be required to complete and sign a Standing Order Mandate for subsequent rental payments before signing a Tenancy Agreement.

12) Once you have moved into your new home, our involvement does not end. In the majority of cases whether we are fully managing the property, or not, we will continue to be your first point of contact in the event of any problems. Unlike other letting agents in the area we will not only be available to answer your queries (you can call our main telephone line at any time ((24/7)), but also to give advice or sort out any problems that might arise – in most cases we can help you find a solution, so if you are in difficulty get in contact before a situation becomes a major problem, we do not shout!.

13) Maintenance, most major areas of maintenance are the landlord’s responsibility and if a fault arises, please contact us immediately. For instance, a leak if ignored could result in further damage and if we are unaware then the problem will not be rectified in time. In extreme cases this could affect the return of your deposit so please remember to keep us advised of any significant problems but please do not do what a tenant did once and call us at 2:00am to tell us a light bulb had blown, since, sorry, light bulbs are the tenants responsibility.

For obvious reasons we must reserve the right to charge you for unwarranted call outs. Similarly, no third party invoices for trades, services or good supplied will be met by the the landlord unless the contractor has been approved by Henson, Burdge & Evans.

14) Because of the high numbers of properties that we Let each year we are able to hold our charges at a lower level than our competitors. We are also very open about our charges. All costs to a tenant are detailed in advance so that there are no unbudgeted surprises in the future. Apart from the charges mentioned above there is normally only one additional cost item to be considered. That is, when a tenancy is due for renewal, you have two options. You can if you wish renew the tenancy for a month at a time (provided that the landlord is agreeable) our administrative charge for doing this is £15:00 per month (plus VAT) over and above the rent and any other costs. Realistically this is only cost effective if you need say a one or two month extension. Most tenants opt for a full term (6 months or more, again by agreement) renewal in this instance the charge is £45:00 plus VAT per term irrespective of length (6, 12, 18 months etc). Besides cost, there is a further advantage in taking a full term (six or more months) renewal tenancy. With a full tenancy, you have the security of a “term certain”. That means that excepting in exceptional circumstances the landlord is granting you a fixed minimum period of occupancy together with a rent held at whatever figures are agreed whereas, with short renewals the landlord only has to give you 28 days notice and he/she can ask for a higher rent at any time.

We will of course be please to advise you and answer any questions that you may have with regard to charges and renewals.

15) While most of the specific obligations of tenancy are confirmed in the individual tenancy agreement the onus is with you as a tenant to ensure that you understand those terms and that all relevant paperwork is in you possession. As is usually the case in law ignorance is no defence and if your documentation is not up-to-date your rights may be compromised so make a diary note of important dates e.g. Rent day, notice to quit dates, renewal dates, inventory dates, meter readings (only when you move in and out) and if you do not receive any notices (sent by post) contact us immediately because items can be lost in the post and if we do not hear from you at the end of say four months (if the initial length of the tenancy is six months) we will assume you are moving out and make arrangements accordingly without further notice. We really want to be as helpful as possible but we need to be kept informed as indeed you do.

These guidelines can never be exhaustive though we hope we have covered the major relevant points, for the avoidance of doubt you will be asked to confirm when you sign a tenancy agreement your understanding of these terms.

* Administration fees, single applicant £150.00 + VAT. Two applicants £175.00 + VAT. Three applicants £200.00 +VAT. Guarantor £50.00 + VAT