Tenant Information

Renting with Lloyds of Watford Estate Agents

This is a brief guide to the various steps involved in renting a property. It outlines what we require from a prospective tenant and the costs involved. However if you have any questions regarding the process please feel free to contact us

1– Expressing an interest.

Once you’ve viewed a property that you would like to rent, we will ask you some questions regarding your circumstances (i.e. number of tenants, ages, occupations, children, pets, smokers etc.). We will then speak to the landlord and seek their consent to reference you.

2 - Reserving a property.

We will require you to pay a holding deposit to secure the property. The amount of the deposit will be no more than the equivalent of one month’s rent. This payment will go towards your overall deposit but is non-refundable if your references are deemed unacceptable or you decide for any reason not to proceed with the rental of the property on the agreed date.

3 – Referencing.

We will require every adult who is to occupy the property, to complete a reference form and these will normally be processed by a specialist referencing agency. Typically, you will be asked to provide employer / income details, current landlord’s details (if applicable) and your last 3 years addresses. A credit check will also be carried out.

The referencing agency may well ask for a guarantor to be provided. (I.e. This may be the case if your income is not considered to be high enough or your credit score is low). A guarantor is normally a family member or close friend who will also need to be referenced and required to sign the tenancy agreement.

4 - Pre-Tenancy.

Once we have agreed a move in date and initial tenancy length (normally 6 or 12 months) we will send you a draft tenancy agreement to read, so that you may familiarise yourself with its contents and specifically your obligations and rights. This is a legally binding contract between you and the landlord, so please ask us for clarification if there is anything within it you don’t understand, or you may wish to seek advice from a solicitor or the Citizens Advice Bureau. At this stage we will also provide you with a ‘How To Rent’ checklist.

Prior to taking occupation, you will need to pay your first month’s rent and the balance of deposit.

5 – Move in Day.

In most circumstances we will agree a time for you to come to our office to sign the Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) agreement, provide photo ID (Passport or Drivers Licence) and collect the keys.

If the landlord has requested an inventory, you will then meet the inventory clerk at the property for the check-in.

6 – Once you’re in.

Towards the end of your initial fixed term, we will contact you to establish whether you would like to renew your tenancy and if so for what period (normally 6 or 12 months) .

Fees

Tenancy alteration fee: £50
To cover the administrative cost of any material change to the original tenancy agreement.

Early termination fee: £350
To cover the re-marketing, administration and referencing costs. This is only in the event of the landlord agreeing to the termination of the original agreement.

Inventory

An inventory is a document detailing the condition of a property and the items included therein. It is referred back to at the end of the tenancy and is vital in protecting your deposit. On your move in day the inventory clerk will walk you round the property and ask you whether you agree with the contents of the inventory. He will revisit at the end of the tenancy to carry out the check-out.

Deposit

Where Lloyds of Watford are instructed as managing agents we will lodge your deposits with the Deposit Protection Service (DPS) which is a government approved body. At the end of the tenancy if there is a dispute between landlord and tenant regarding some or all of the deposit both parties will be given the right to use the DPS’s resolution service (You can find more at www.depositprotection.com).

Client Money Protection

 

Contact us for more information.