After deciding you want to rent out your property, you will be required to prepare you property for rental and below are a few guidelines to help you:

The rental market as with any other is competitive therefore; in order to obtain the best possible Tenants you must present your property in the most effective way.

1. The front door should be clean and the entrance hall clear of any obstructions as first impressions are important
2. The entire property should be clean and well-aired and the garden tidy.
3. Interior walls should be neutral colours and carpets plain
4. Fabrics and furnishings (if any) should be able to withstand reasonable wear and tear and be of suitable quality
5. Animals and their odours should be eliminated

On average a property should be on the market for no longer than 20 days. In the peak times it is not uncommon for property to be let the same day! Once your property is let, we will re-market the property one month before the Tenants are due to leave. This ensures that we minimise any vacant periods.

1. Utilities such as gas/electricity/water/telephone & council tax will have to be transferred to the successful Tenant.
2. Further copies of keys will need to be provided if you have take on the management option.
3. Mail should be redirected with the Post Office
4. The Inventory is required whether the property to let is furnished or unfurnished and accurate descriptions of the overall condition of wall/floor coverings, kitchen and bathroom fittings to name but a few are essential. Amounts cannot be withheld from the Tenant's deposit unless the loss or damage is proved to have been caused by the Tenant. In the event that any dispute concerning loss or damage to your property is not amicably resolved then the matter will be referred to the courts and arbitration but should be noted that any judgement will be on the basis of written documentation – the Inventory.

Potential Tenants are fully referenced via an independent referencing Agency. The information we gather are as follows:

Employment status
Personal reference
Bank reference
Previous Landlord (if applicable)
Voters roll, any County Court Judgements and Bankruptcies also any adverse credit registered against the applicant.
Guarantor (if applicable)

The first month’s rental is collected in advance. It will be up to the Landlord to collect any future rents from the Tenant if we are providing a Tenant find only service.

Legal Duty of Care

Under common law, the Landlord must ensure that properties to let are safe.
As your Managing Agent, we can carry out safety checks upon your request, deducting the cost from your rent. The following regulations must be adhered to without fail by the Landlord and as Agents; we must ensure that they are carried out:

Gas Safety (Installations and Use) Regulations 1994 (1996)

A qualified Engineer (CORGI or British Gas) must check all gas appliances and fitted installations annually.
This includes such items as Gas Fires, Central Heating boilers, Gas cookers and other gas appliances. It also insists that flues and chimneys are clear of obstructions and in the correct place. A Gas Safety Record (GSR) must be kept with the dates of inspection and any defects identified. This record must be provided to the tenant upon signing the tenancy agreement. A gas appliance with an open flue should not be installed in a bedroom. Where the gas meter is installed in a meter box, you should supply the tenant with a suitably labelled key to the box. After work on any gas appliance, a defined series of safety checks must be performed. Instructions for any gas appliance must be left for the tenant.

Any gas appliance that is suspected or known to be faulty or incorrectly installed must not be used by anyone and should be removed/replaced or repaired immediately. Ventilation is needed for gas appliances to work correctly and safely. You should take care not to block vents and air bricks. Any items that fail to comply with the regulations must be fixed or removed immediately.

Smoke Detectors

Whilst only properties built after 1992 legally require the fitting of smoke detectors (Building Regulation 1991), we would strongly recommend that smoke detectors are fitted to each floor of the property being let.

The above is only a guide to the legal safety requirements and should you have any further enquiries, we would recommend that you contact a qualified solicitor who will be able to verify these in full.

If you have employed us as your Managing Agents the only service that we may not be able to help transfer for you is the telephone, as BT or cable will only deal with the subscriber and not with a third party. Please, therefore, arrange transfer on the day the Tenants take occupation if possible. Your assistance will also be welcome with any final meter readings.
If we are not managing the property, you will need to arrange the following:

Gas and Electricity

Inform them of the date of transfer to the new Tenants, plus their names the meter reading and you’re forwarding address in order that they can send you a closing account.

Water Rates

Water Rates will become the Tenant’s responsibility in most cases, but please advise them of your new forwarding address. If your water charges are on meter the tenant is responsible and a meter reading and date of transfer needs to be supplied to the Authority together with your forwarding address.

Council Tax

If the accommodation is self-contained, then the tenant must by law register for Council Tax. If you have joint Tenants, they must each pay their share of the Council Tax.

Simple Homes is part of the Tenancy Deposit Solutions Ltd (TDSL). A government approved insurance-based deposit protection scheme for Landlords and Agents. On April 6th 2007 radical changes in the way tenant’s deposits may be held. Agents or Private Landlords who are not a member of a government approved scheme are no longer able to hold a Tenant’s deposit. For more information call 0871 703 0552 or visit www.mydeposits.co.uk

Arrangement will be made to collect a deposit of 6 weeks rent from the prospective Tenant at the start of the tenancy to cover for any dilapidations and damage plus for any breach of their Tenancy Agreement obligations.

With affect from the 6th April 2007 all deposits, up to the level of £25,000, taken by Landlords in England and Wales must be protected by a tenancy deposit protection scheme. Tenancy Deposit Protection has been introduced to ensure good practice in deposit handling, so that when a tenant pays a deposit, and is entitled to get it back, they can be assured that this will happen. It will also encourage Tenants and Landlords to have in place, from the outset, clear agreement on the condition of the property through the use of inventories.

The Landlord not the tenant – will have the option to choose whether to safeguard the deposit in the custodial or insurance-based scheme. A Landlord will have 14 days to safeguard a deposit from the day he receives it. The Landlord will have to provide the tenant prescribed information about the scheme safeguarding the deposit within 14 days. To avoid disputes having to go to the courts, both schemes will be supported by an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) service, although the use of this will not be compulsory. When the Landlord and tenant agree how the deposit should be returned, in full or in part, it must be paid back within 10 days.