Tenant Guide

There are many questions you should ask yourself about the type of property you want and need so that it best suits your lifestyle. Ask yourself the following:

• Do you need to be close to work or your children’s school?
• Do you need to be close to public transport links?
• Do you have a car and therefore need off-street parking or a garage?
• Do you need to commute to the mainland and if so, where are the ferry links?
• Do you choose a furnished or unfurnished property?
• Do you want or need a garden for yourself, children or pets?
• Do you have pets?

No fees are payable to either Hose Rhodes Dickson or the landlord for securing your rental home.

You will be required to pay rent and in most cases a tenancy deposit.

Changes to the content within: How much is the tenancy deposit?

The sum of a tenancy deposit is capped to a sum equal to 5 weeks rent.
i.e. Rent of say £700pcm x 12 months = £8400 / 52 weeks in a year x 5 weeks = £807.00

YES – take your gross (before tax) annual household income and divide that sum by 31.2 and sum will be how much rent you can afford.

i.e. £22,000 per annum household income / 31.2 = £700.13 rent per calendar month.

Guarantors are sometimes required to provide additional security. In these events, a Guarantor will have to have a gross (before tax) annual income of 31.2 x the sum of the monthly rent.

i.e. £600pcm x 31.2 = £18,720 gross annual income.

A guarantor must also have a clean credit history.

Once we have match suitable property to your search criteria we will arrange for you to view. 

Whilst most prospective tenants prefer to physically view the property, we provide both virtual viewings, which are video recordings with an audio description of the property and what are known as Property Tours, which are an animation of the still photographs. 

Both provide an excellent means of viewing property remotely if one is unable to travel or to consider or discount a property from your shortlist to make the viewing process more efficient and safer for you.

Once you have chosen the property that best suits your and your family’s needs and you and the landlord have agreed on terms in principle, you can apply for a tenancy by each intended occupant over the age of 18 years completing an application form. Upon submission of the application, you will be asked to pay a ‘Holding Deposit’.

The sum of the ‘holding deposit’ can be no more than a sum equal to 1 weeks rent. 

i.e. Rent of £600pcm x 12 months / 52 weeks = a holding deposit of £138.

Yes – subject to the provisions of the Tenant Fees Act 2019.

If your application is successful the sum on the holding deposit is set against the first months’ rent.

Yes – Below are the circumstance as set out by the Tenant Fees Act 2019, under which your holding deposit could be forfeited;

• providing false or misleading information that is found different from the correct information secured by reference checks which materially affects the Landlord’s and or Hose Rhodes Dickson’s consideration when deciding whether or not to accept my application and proceed to grant and enter into a tenancy agreement, calling into question suitability to rent the property – this also includes the conduct in providing any false or misleading information. 
• fails a ‘Right to Rent’ check, which includes failure to provide the requisite document(s) to allow the ‘Right to Rent’ check(s) to be completed.
• withdraws from the application to rent the property (unless the Landlord or Hose Rhodes Dickson has imposed a requirement that breaches the Tenant Fees Act 2019 or acted in such a way towards you, or a relevant person, that it would be unreasonable to expect you to enter into a tenancy agreement with the Landlord)
• fails to take all reasonable steps to enter into a tenancy agreement and the Landlord and or Hose Rhodes Dickson takes all reasonable steps to do so (unless a Landlord or Hose Rhodes Dickson imposes a requirement that breaches the Tenant Fees Act 2019 or acts in such a way towards you, or a relevant person, that it would be unreasonable to expect you to enter into a tenancy agreement with the Landlord).

What qualifies as false or misleading information?

Information provided by a prospective tenant to a landlord or a letting agent that is different from the correct information secured by reference checks and which materially affects a landlord’s and or a letting agent’s decision to grant a tenancy because it reasonably calls into question the applicant’s suitability to rent a property.

This is only likely to be the case where the difference between the information casts doubt on the applicant’s financial suitability or honesty, for example;

• if the income declaration is significantly higher than that confirmed by reference checks.
• If the prospective tenant has been provided which is clearly inaccurate about their income or employment.
• If the prospective tenant failed to disclose (when directly asked) any relevant information which later comes to the landlord’s or the letting agent’s attention, such as County Court Judgements.

As part of the application for a tenancy, a credit check will be carried out on all intended occupants over the age of 18 years.

The credit check will report the credit history of each intended occupant, flagging any County Court Judgements, whether satisfied or not, any Debt Relief Orders, any Bankruptcy Orders, any Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) that may be registered at the prospective tenant’s current, as well as any previous addresses, that they may have resided at.

Before applying for a tenancy we recommend that you check your credit history with service providers such as Experian or Credit Karma and many online banking apps now provide a credit checking facility.

If you are employed, a reference will be required from your employer to confirm your position and salary.

If self-employed, you will need to provide at least one years’ worth of accounts, a letter from your accountant showing income or SA302 form, or a reference from your accountant.

And if retired, you will be asked for proof of funds e.g. savings or pension income.

Landlords and letting agents are legally required to complete ‘Right to Rent’ checks on all prospective adult occupiers with follow up checks carried out where tenants satisfied initial checks using time-limited documentation. 

What documents are required to establish ‘Right to Rent’?

The simplest means of establishing Right to Rent is a passport (current or expired) 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.

If these documents are not available, there is a list of acceptable documents that you will be advised of.

This is now a good time to start gathering together documents that you will need to confirm your identity, immigration status, credit history and possibly employment status. 

• A tenancy agreement will be drafted setting out the terms agreed. The agreement will be sent to you for signing via electronic signature software, which will email you a copy of the signed agreement. 

Required documentation will be issued to you;

• The Governments ‘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)
  

• Paying the rent and deposit (unless a security bond is opted for), then just the rent is easy – you can by using online banking directly paying into our bank account or you can pay using a debit card over the phone.
  

• Paying the monthly rent going forward – the easiest way is to set up a standing order with your bank. Then it’s paid every month, without you having to remember to do so or do anything else.
  

• Keys will be available to collect from Hose Rhodes Dickson once the rent and any tenancy deposit have been paid.
  

• Originals ID documents must also be seen and verified by Hose Rhodes Dickson before keys can be released.
  

• Agree on the inventory and schedule of condition & cleanliness. This is known as the ‘Check-in’. If the landlord has requested that the inventory clerk ‘check you in’, the clerk will visit you at the property a few days after the start of your tenancy. They will check the inventory and schedule of condition & cleanliness with you and using electronic signature software, will confirm complete your ‘check-in’.

If your landlord has not opted for the clerk to check you in, the inventory and schedule of condition & cleanliness will be sent you by email for you to check and sign via the electronic signature software, which will send you a signed copy and will complete your ‘Check-in’. If you would prefer to be checked in by an independent, professional inventory clerk, at your sole discretion, you can appoint a clerk. Toogood Inventories will have produced the inventory and will be familiar with the property and you can contact them by email; info@toogoodinventories.co.uk or telephone; 07837 647260.

Yes – Where the meters are accessible and readable the readings will be recorded on the inventory and schedule of condition & cleanliness.

Hose Rhodes Dickson will notify the suppliers of the readings as recorded by the inventory clerk and of your name and the start date of your tenancy.

Yes – you can change to whoever you choose. However, you may like to get a quote from one of our partners Homeshift. You can contact them by email: partners@homeshift.com or call them on 0203 985 6123 and if you do, notify them that you are a tenant with Hose Rhodes Dickson.

Should you require a connection for broadband and telephone and Sky TV, you will need to subscribe to your preferred service provider. If you are looking for a good deal and a quick and easier way to get connected, try GET ONLINE WITH SKY .

As the tenant in occupation of the property, you will be responsible for the payment of Council Tax.  

The owner of the property is obliged to insure the building and may choose to insure any contents that may be let with the property belonging them. Any insurance policy that covers any contents belonging to the landlord will not extend to cover any of your possessions or contents.

You will be responsible for insuring your own possessions and contents. Get a quick quote for a great deal from our partner Bode Insurance Solutions here.

Disclaimer:

Hose Rhodes Dickson is a trading name of Leaders Limited. Leaders Limited is an introducer appointed representative of Bode Insurance Solutions (company no 03101637) Registered Address: Crowthorne House, Nine Mile Ride, Wokingham, Berkshire, RG40 3GZ.

Bode Insurance Solutions Limited are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under firm reference 313541.

You may check this on the Financial Services Register by visiting the FCA’s website https://register.fca.org.uk/s/ or by contacting the FCA on 0800 111 6768

If Hose Rhodes Dickson is instructed to co-ordinate repairs and maintenance on behalf of the landlord you will be advised as such at the beginning of your tenancy. You should report breakdowns and maintenance via our report and repair system here. 

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

You will be given your landlord’s contact details to report breakdowns and maintenance.

If Hose Rhodes Dickson manages your tenancy, you will receive notification approximately 2 months prior to the end of that term of your tenancy and an enquiry will be made of your intensions to either apply for a renewal of your tenancy or to vacate the property.

If you wish to apply to a further term and your landlord agrees, a renewal agreement will be prepared setting out the terms of the new term and you will be asked to sign the agreement via electronic signature software.

If you advise that you wish to vacate or the landlord requires possession of the property, arrangements will be made for a Checkout.

Can you end the tenancy at any time?

If the term of the tenancy is agreed as a ‘fixed term’, unless there is a provision (known as break clause) in the tenancy agreement to bring the tenancy to an end sooner than the contacted end date, the tenancy cannot be brought to an end sooner than the stated end date.

If any renewal of your tenancy has been agreed on the basis of a statutory or contractual periodic tenancy, you can bring the tenancy to an end by giving at least one calendar months’ notice to expire in accordance with the last day of the period of the tenancy (usually the date before the date the next months’ rent is due).

If Hose Rhodes Dickson manages your tenancy you will be asked to surrender the keys to the property on the last day of the tenancy by 4pm. You can drop the keys to your local Hose Rhodes Dickson office.

A checkout inspection will be completed by a professional, independent inventory clerk, who will compile a report of their findings, known as a checkout report.

The clerks are qualified and highly experienced in the application of the industry set allowances for ‘fair wear & tear’. Here’s a guide for you to download “What is fair wear & tear”.

YES! At Hose Rhodes Dickson, we know tenants currently face a lot of 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, more information can be found here or ask your local branch.