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Tenant Guide

Ready to rent your next new home?

That’s great news but before you take the leap to being a new tenant, there are some important things to consider to make sure it’s a happy and enjoyable experience for you.

The following guide will explain the process so that you know what to expect and of course, if you have any further questions after reading it, please get in touch with our helpful team who will be happy to explain anything you need to know in more detail.

Holding Deposits

Once you have found a property you would like to rent, you will need to put down a holding deposit to make sure the property isn’t let to anyone else while we are conducting your referencing checks.

Your holding deposit will be the equivalent of 1 week's rent.

Should your landlord decide not to rent to you, your holding deposit will be returned to you in full.

However, your landlord may keep your deposit if you change your mind and decide not to rent, give wrong or misleading information, or do not pass ‘Right to Rent’ checks.

If you fail because of credit referencing, it does not mean that you will definitely lose your holding deposit. If you have been open and honest throughout and it’s the landlord’s decision not to rent to you after reviewing your credit history, then you will get your deposit back in full.

Before paying your holding deposit, please make sure that you are fully committed to renting and confident that you will to the best of your knowledge fulfil the tenant referencing requirements detailed below.

Tenant Referencing

When you apply to be a tenant for one of our properties, we will conduct several important and legally required checks before you can be accepted as a tenant. These checks will help us make sure you are legally allowed to rent a property in England, can afford to pay your rent, and will take good care of your new home.

In compliance with the law, we do not charge a fee for tenant referencing.

Credit Checks

We use a credit referencing agency who will check your credit rating and whether or not you have any outstanding County Court Judgements (CCJ’s) against your name. You will need to provide us with all of your addresses over the last 5 years as part of this check.

Having a poor credit rating doesn’t necessarily exclude you from being a tenant as this could be caused by any number of things from redundancy to the economy, and we’re aware that things happen outside of people’s control, therefore, each case on its own merits with your landlord making the final decision.

In this instance, we would normally request that you provide a guarantor, just as we would for a student tenant.

Bank Statements

You will be asked to provide your most recent 3 months of bank statements.

This will help us assess your current financial situation and how affordable your rent will be against your incomings and outgoings.

Payslips

We will also ask for your last 3 months of payslips to confirm your income.

Employer Reference

We will ask for a reference from your employer(s) from the last 3 years to confirm a few details such as your reliability and employment history, and whether your job is currently regarded as secure.

They will need to reply using company-headed paper.

Proof of Address

The documents you will need to provide proof of address will a combination of 3 of any of the following:

Recent Utility Bill (gas, electric, water)

Current Council Tax bill

UK Driving Licence

Recent Bank, Credit Card or Building Society Statement

Previous/Current Tenancy Agreement

Proof of Identity

Photo ID is the best way to confirm your ID so we will need to see your Passport or Photo Driving Licence if you have either of these items available.

If you are unable to produce either of these items, there are other ways you can prove your identity which are included within our ‘Right to Rent’ checks.

Right to Rent

We are legally obliged to ensure that all tenants have a right to rent property in England and there are several ways to do this.

Many of the previous Proof of ID checks will count towards this.

If you have a biometric residency card, this can be done online.

You can also check your right to rent status HERE.

If you are unable to access any of your documents due to circumstances out of your control, there are still options available to you.

Click HERE to find out the other acceptable ways to prove your right to rent.

Previous Landlord References

We will ask your current landlord and any previous landlords you have had in the last 5 years for references. Should they fail to respond to our requests, we may at our own discretion accept a copy of your tenancy agreements and proof of rent paid.

Guarantors

If you are a student tenant or don’t fulfil any of the referencing checks above (excluding obligatory ‘Right to Rent’), you will be required to provide a guarantor.

Your guarantor will need to satisfy our referencing checks and will be a co-signatory of your tenancy agreement.

Deposits

Once you are ready to start your tenancy, you will need to pay a full deposit of the equivalent of 5 weeks' rent. Your holding deposit will be deducted from this so you will have an additional 4 weeks to pay upfront, as well as your normal first month’s rent on day 1 of your tenancy.

Your deposit will be registered with the My Deposit Custodial Scheme within the 14-day period of when you paid it. You can verify that this has been completed HERE.

This deposit is fully refundable, although some deductions are allowed for damage or owed rent, which must be agreed with you within 10 days of the end of your tenancy.

Disputes over deposits can be resolved by your scheme’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Service (ADR), which your landlord had signed up to adhere to their decisions.

Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreements (AST)

Before signing your AST agreement, it’s very important that you read it thoroughly and fully understand everything in it. If there is anything that you don’t understand, please seek legal advice as once signed, you are legally bound by its terms and conditions.

There may also be small amendments that we may be able to negotiate on your behalf with your landlord before signing.

Your tenancy agreement will list everything that you are responsible for at your property and what your landlord is responsible for.

It will also list all the things you may or may not do at the property, from decorating and pets, to your liabilities and end of tenancy responsibilities and everything else in between, so you really need to read and fully understand its contents.

Check-In and Check-out Procedures and Inventories

Once your tenancy agreement is signed and your deposit and first month’s rent has been paid, we will arrange to meet you at the property to hand over the keys and go through the check-in procedures and inventory.

This will involve showing you where the heating and boiler controls are and associated user manuals, stop-cocks and fuse boxes, as well as showing you the gas and electric safety certificates are valid. We will also check all fire and carbon monoxide alarms are working.

Working our way through the property with you, we will check and confirm that everything in the property is in the condition stated on the inventory. Any marks or damage must be identified and added to the inventory so that you will not become liable for it when it comes to the end of your tenancy check-out inventory and claims against your deposit.

This may all sound pretty overwhelming to start with but rest assured, we make it very simple and straightforward and we've helped hundreds of tenants through the same process and we’re sure we’ll be able to help you through it too and get settled into your new home in next to no time.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask us.