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What is the administration fee for?
Commitment: This fee initially demonstrates your commitment to rent a student house. Each additional year requires the additional drafting, meeting and signing of a new contract, very similar to any previous year.
Contracts: the administration fee covers costs for drafting, appointing and signing student contracts.
What is seldom realised is that the admin fee may cover not only the initial set up but also the annual administration of each property. Our nearest competitors charge £125, £150, and £200 admin fees. So in this light we compare very favourably.
Peripheral Matters: We assist with setting up standing orders; responding to and confirming rent related queries, documenting guarantor forms, liaising with parents/guardians; vetting client and guarantor suitability.
We deal with various requests to alter payments according to a variety of different course and university student loan release dates.
Other Matters: These include collating contact information after chasing same and entering onto tables and checklists, with subsequent updates following changes to address, email and telephone contacts. Add to this the need to record next of kin, parent contact details if different, student I.D cards and numbers and furnishing these to authorities legally entitled to demand or receive same. All the while data protection rules must be observed. Establishing room to student allocation is important in case of key loss so we are able to replace keys to specific students without incurring disruptive delays - this can take longer when students have not established who is having which room. This in turn delays the set up of standing orders as these permit variable room-guide-rents.
Further administration: Each year we liaise with Canterbury City Council to help secure student exemption from council tax. There are numerous matters arising throughout the year such as arranging garden maintenance, preparing student accounts and statements, providing students with these, procuring and submitting references to and from employers, landlords, authorities and the like, filing references and finally shredding all information no longer required following a suitable lapse of time after termination of the tenancy agreement date.
Arrive and Departure: In addition we check in /out, perform inspections and reports, read electric, gas and water meters. This is not an exhaustive list.
Returning Tenants: Each year we go through the same process whether or not a tenant is arriving for the first time or renewing their contract. Logically returning tenants should be quicker to process, however, statistics as well as feedback from other Canterbury student landlords, reveal that returning student tenants can often take longer to process than those arriving for the first time. Most of the admin in an earlier year is again required in subsequent years. From experience we spend a great deal more time trying to organise an appointment to re-sign the contract, than for new tenants. Returning tenants tend to make a re-signing a lower priority than new tenants, causing us more time in organisation. Anyone who has ever tried to organise a meeting of even a handful of people will know how long it can take to get everyone to agree to meet even for a coffee, far less sign a contract. The cost of staff to process all of this, exceeds administration fees received from students. The admin fee is therefore merely a contribution towards the actual costs.
How to Obtain a Refund of Your Admin Fee:
Leydon Lettings nevertheless provides a way for your admin fee to be refunded in full. Pay your entire rent for the academic year in \... |
/... advance by a set date (normally last day of May preceding the start of the tenancy) and we will refund your admin fee in full - this is in spite of all the above costs still incurred . In times of low interest rates this represents a very good deal. For foreign students who otherwise pay regular currency transfer charges for each smaller payment this is especially beneficial as they only have to pay one bank transfer charge. The logic behind our refund is that we save some time otherwise spent chasing rent payments and obviates the need to update your rent account at regular intervals. In addition, provided you pay your rent at the outset prior to signing the contract, we can also dispense with the need for a parental guarantor - one less form to complete. If, however, this guarantor form is delayed we insist upon the Guarantor form in any event. To do otherwise defeats part of the reason for the incentive, to save time and provide advanced security.
Delays are the most costly expense we incur.
Returning tenants. Where a group of tenants remain for a further year it is not possible to let a house to holiday makers with the continuing group’s possessions remaining over the vacation and this is fine.
Some groups may initially state their intention to remain for a further year but later change their mind – perhaps due to falling out with each other. Should groups drop out after Leydon Lettings take a property off the market it can result in having to pay re-advertising costs and accept potentially unsuitable late viewers.
Leydon Lettings without obligation often either maintain the same rent for a further year to remaining tenants only; or offer a loyalty discount. This actually represents a reduction in real terms considering inflation. The level of any increase is likely to be around £2 per person and applicable to contracts signed before 1 December in any year. Check the web site for prices and the contract rent prior to signing.
The payment of the admin fee in addition to covering our costs has the additional bi-product advantage to us of confirming that re-bookings are reliable. Without an admin fee tenants could reserve a house with impunity; then change their minds when it is too late for Leydon Lettings to find a replacement group.
Groups will normally only view between October and January.
After January any vacancies involve cobbling together a group of individuals who may not be compatible - with predictable additional problems and costs.
Most of Leydon Lettings houses are in popular areas and offer outstanding features. Leydon Lettings therefore do not need to reduce rents (nor hold the price) in order to let properties.
Continuing tenants on the one hand pay admin fees but on the other hand have a loyalty discount if they book early enough. New tenants pay both.
If the timing of the admin fee is a problem, discuss this with Leydon Lettings.
Providing most housemates pay before signing we may accept a possible late admin fee depending on the proposed date.
It is important to Leydon Lettings that you do not feel resentful in any decision to remain - for this reason we have taken the time to explain our policies together with our costs.
There is always a landlord offering a house which is bigger / better; nearer / nicer; and cheaper – at Leydon Lettings we firmly believe we are one of them. We hope you agree! |
Rebooking Deadlines are necessary to reserve your house for a further year.
By November we will have several appointments to view most houses.
So for some tenants it will be too late to reserve a house in November and for others their house will still be available.
We need to be certain which groups are committed to remaining so we can focus our time viewing houses not being retained.
There is no deadline to reserve a house per se, however, we will not hold the house without your commitment.
This means that a group expressing an interest in a house is insufficient - only your admin fee will enable us to reserve it.
Some tenants misinterpret the fact that most students view in November to mean that they have until November to decide.
By 1 November 2008 almost half Leydon Lettings houses had already been reserved for 2009-2010.
Initially viewings concentrate on houses occupied by final year students unlikely to want to remain after their degree course has ended.
However, if a new group in October definitely want a specific house then, if a current group linger they will lose it to the new group!
Having provided a group with an opportunity to remain, should they fail to confirm, this is a clear indication they are uncommitted. |
