Feel confident renting on the Isle of Wight

When looking for your new home, consider your priorities and what you must have from your property. Do you need to be close to work or school? Are you looking for public transport links? Do you need off-street parking? Do you commute to the mainland?

When you rent with Hose Rhodes Dickson, there are no fees to pay us for finding you a home. You will pay rent, and if you don’t opt for the no-deposit option, you will have a deposit to pay. The deposit is capped at 5 weeks' rent.

Make sure you will be able to keep up with the rental payments. Take your gross annual household income and divide it by 31.2. This will guide you on how much you can afford each month.

Guarantors

A guarantor can provide additional security for your tenancy. The guarantor will need to have a gross annual income of 30 times the monthly rent, a satisfactory credit history and be a resident of the UK.

Cannot provide a guarantor?

An external guarantor service is available as an offering through Goodlord. The Goodlord Guarantor service can assist tenants, including non-UK tenants who are unable to provide a UK-based guarantor, students and other tenants who may prefer not to ask family or friends to act as their guarantor. For a one-off payment, the service provides guarantor cover for the tenancy for up to three years, subject to the product terms and eligibility requirements. If you are eligible, you will be offered the choice of using a standard guarantor or the external Goodlord Guarantor service during the referencing process. If you require further details, please speak to your local branch.

We’ll show you around a property in person. However, we offer a video and audio tour if you can’t get to us.

When you’ve found a property you like, you and the landlord will agree on terms in principle. Then, you’ll start the application – this is when you’ll pay a holding deposit of 1 week's rent. If your application is successful, this fee will go towards the first month's rent. It is refundable subject to the provisions of the Tenant Fees Act 2019.

As part of your application, we’ll check the credit history of all intended occupants over 18.

We will also ask for references from your current employer detailing your salary and position. If you’re self-employed, you’ll need a letter from your accountant with your income or an A302 form.

We'll need a few documents as part of the Right to Rent checks. You’ll need a passport showing that the holder is a British citizen or a citizen of the UK and Colonies having the ‘right of abode’ in the UK or a passport or national identity card (current or expired) showing that the holder is a national of the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland. There are other accepted documents if these aren’t available.

We’ll draft a tenancy agreement for you to sign when your application is complete. We’ll also give you the following documents to read:

• The Government’s ‘How to Rent Guide’
• The property’s current gas safety record (if applicable)
• Details of how any tenancy deposit that you may have paid is protected
• The property’s Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
• The property’s current Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR)
• Information on how to pay rent and deposit (if required)

Once you’ve paid the rent and any tenancy deposit and we’ve verified your original ID, the keys will be available to collect from Hose Rhodes Dickson.

We then agree on the inventory and schedule of condition and cleanliness. This is also called the ‘check-in.’ An inventory clerk will meet you at your property a few days after the start of your tenancy. Once agreed, you’ll sign to complete the check-in. If a clerk hasn’t been arranged, you’ll receive an email of the condition and cleanliness to check and sign. You are also within your right to request an independent inventory clerk.

Toogood Inventories produces our inventories and will be familiar with the property. You can contact them by email info@toogoodinventories.co.uk or telephone 07837 647260.

We will notify the suppliers of the most recent readings recorded by the inventory clerk.

You’re able to change suppliers at any point. Get a quote from one of our partners, Homeshift. Email: partners@homeshift.com or call them on 0203 985 6123 and if you do, let them know you’re a tenant with Hose Rhodes Dickson.

When it comes to TV and broadband, it’s up to you to find a supplier and get connected.

As the tenant, you’ll be responsible for council tax payments.

The landlord insures the building, but you need to insure your possessions. Get a quick quote for a great deal from our partner Bode Insurance Solutions.

If we’re managing the property, we will coordinate repairs and maintenance. Your landlord will let you know who you should report repairs to. You can use our simple report and repair system if it's us. If it’s up to your landlord, they’ll give you their contact details.

For any out-of-hours emergencies, please call 0333 0900 903

If your tenancy is an Assured Periodic Tenancy

Under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, from 1 May 2026, all Assured Shorthold Tenancies became Assured Periodic Tenancies. This means that your tenancy is now periodic and does not have a fixed end date. The tenancy will continue until either you or the landlord takes the appropriate steps to end the tenancy.

If your tenancy is outside the Renters’ Rights Act and is not an Assured Periodic Tenancy

If we manage the property, we’ll contact you around two months before your tenancy is due to end. You can then apply to renew your tenancy or let us know if you would like to leave the property.

If you want to stay and the landlord agrees, we’ll arrange a renewal agreement setting out the terms of your new tenancy.

If you want to leave, or the landlord needs the property back, we’ll make the necessary arrangements for you to check out of the property.

If your tenancy is an Assured Periodic Tenancy

Under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, from 1 May 2026, tenants can end an Assured Periodic Tenancy by giving two months’ notice in writing. However, if your tenancy agreement was in place before 1 May 2026 and it already included a shorter notice period, such as one month, that notice period may still apply.

It is important that your notice ends on a day when the rent is due, or the day before the rent is due. This means the notice expiry date must align with the relevant rent period.

If your tenancy is outside the Renters’ Rights Act and is not an Assured Periodic Tenancy

Your tenancy may have been agreed as a fixed-term tenancy. Unless there is a provision in your tenancy agreement, such as a break clause, which allows the tenancy to end before the fixed-term end date, the tenancy cannot normally be ended early and will continue until the stated end date.

Once the tenancy end date has been confirmed

We will make arrangements with you to check you out of the property.

In addition to RRA chancges, have also noticed there is an opportunity to offer the Goodlord Guarantor

If we manage your property, you’ll return the keys by 4 pm on the last day of your tenancy. You can drop the keys at your local Hose Rhodes Dickson office.

A professional, independent inventory clerk will inspect the property and report their findings in a checkout report. The clerk will follow industry-set allowances for fair wear and tear. If all is well and you have paid a deposit, you’ll get this back.

Not always. At Hose Rhodes Dickson, we know tenants face many financial pressures, from raising the initial deposit and costs of moving to saving up to buy their first home. That’s why we offer a no-deposit option for renters.

The no-deposit option is part of our Residency membership. Find more information here or ask your local branch.