Tenants

Important Tenant Information from 1st June 2019

We may charge a tenant any or all of the following when required:

1. the rent;
2. a security deposit with a maximum of 5 weeks rent, or 6 weeks on a property with rent over £50,000 per year;
3. a holding deposit of no more than one weeks’ rent;
4. default fee for late payment of rent (after 14 days);
5. reasonable charges for lost keys or security fobs;
6. payments associated with contract variation, at £50 or reasonable costs incurred if higher, when requested by the tenant;
7. payments associated with early termination of the tenancy, when requested by the tenant; and
8. payments in respect of bills – utilities, communication services, TV licence, council tax and green deal or other energy efficiency charges.

The Application Process

We use a referencing agent to carry out checks on all of our prospective tenants. Prior to referencing, we will ask any prospective tenant to fill out a questionnaire to assess your initial suitability for the property. The holding deposit can be retained if the applicant provides misleading information, fails a Right To Rent Check, withdraws from the property, or fails to take reasonable steps to enter into the tenancy as per the terms and conditions stated on our advertising literature. Please refer to the property details for full information.

In order to rent one of our property’s you need to meet certain criteria.

Financial

Your household annual income must be at least 30 times the monthly rent (before stoppages).

Keep Your Credit in Good Shape
To help your application go smoothly, it’s important that there are no active CCJs or IVAs on your credit report.
Having some savings in a bank account in your name can also be a big plus during the verification process.

Employment

You need to be employed (or self employed), on a permanent contact, and not a zero hour contract.

Our referencing agent will contact your employer or accountant to verify your income and employment status.

Previous landlord

If you are currently renting a property, our agent will contact your previous landlord or letting agent. They are seeking to clarify on time rent payments, and to make sure they were happy with you as a tenant, as this may affect your application. Please note that some letting agents do charge a fee to provide you with a reference. This will be your responsibility to make payment to complete this part of the reference.

Guarantors

We appreciate that some tenants may require a guarantor for a tenancy. A guarantor must meet the criteria above, with the exception that their annual income must be 36 times the monthly rent.

Once we have completed the referencing process, we will be in a position to offer you a tenancy.

The Tenancy

Once we have confirmed a move in date, we will require the first month’s rent, and deposit cleared in to our/our referencing partners’ client account.

Also before you move into your new property, depending upon the service the landlord has chosen, we will instruct and carry out a gas safety certificate, electrical inspection, inventory, and Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), where required. We will provide you with this information before your tenancy starts.

Deposit and Inventory

We will take from you a deposit for your tenancy. Your deposit has to be registered with a government approved deposit protection scheme. Next Place uses the Deposit Protection Service (DPS) Custodial Scheme. This means that we do not hold the deposit, it is sent directly to the DPS.

We will perform a detailed inventory on the property prior to you occupying. This will detail the state of the property. When you move in. At the end of your tenancy, a check out inventory will be carried out. Any differences between the two reports will be charged against your deposit.

During your time at the property, we want you to treat it as your own home, however, before any changes are made, including decoration, you may need to seek permission from the landlord. Remember, that anything differing on the inventories, may be chargeable against your deposit. You are also responsible for all bills (excluding any service charges and building insurances) whilst you are in occupation.

If we are managing the property, we will perform inspections every 3 months to ensure that you are looking after the property for the landlord. If there are any maintenance issues, then we or one of our specified contractors will visit to deal with any issues. We also have a mobile phone application that will allow you to log any maintenance issues.

Redress and Client Money Protection

Next Place Property Agents Limited is a member of Client Money Protect (which is a client money protection scheme), our certificate is available here, and also a member to The Property Ombudsman Scheme (TPOS), which is a redress scheme. You can find out more information by contacting us directly.