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Landlord Letting Guide

Thank you for taking the time to consider the services provided by Leydon Lettings Agency. Whether you are letting your own home or an investment property, we can provide a service tailored to you.

Legislation is changing fast and to ensure your protection and compliance, Leydon Lettings Agency is a qualified member of Propertymark, the foremost professional body for letting agents in the UK.  In addition, Leydon Letting Agency are registered with Safeagent (client money protect), the Property Ombudsman, and the National Residential Landlord’s Association (NRLA).

We hope this guide will offer you some helpful advice about letting your home, whether you're a first-timer or an established landlord. 

The Market Appraisal

At a mutually convenient time, we will meet you at the property to discuss your specific needs, service level requirements, relevant property details and legal requirements placed upon a landlord and specific to your home; e.g. if letting a HMO. 

From our meeting, we will finalise a market appraisal for your approval. If you are satisfied with our market appraisal and you have chosen your level of service, we will prepare your terms of business and the property ready for marketing. We market all properties across high-profile portal sites including our website, Rightmove and Zoopla. 

Finding a Tenant

Upon receiving your instruction, Leydon Lettings Agency will market the property through a variety of media to find a suitable tenant to fit in with your time frame. Details of any applicant will be forwarded along with any advice we may be able to offer.

When suitable applicants are accepted, subject to contract, Leydon Lettings Agency will arrange the application forms and apply for references through an independent referencing agency.

Rental payments in accordance with your requirements (usually monthly or quarterly) along with any required deposit will be collected prior to key collection. 

Safety

Year on year, more and more legislation is introduced governing the safety of tenants, which is why using an agent like Leydon Lettings is beneficial.  The main areas of compliance are covered in more detail in our terms of business.  Non‐compliance of certain legislation is a criminal offence and so all the safety measures and checks covered in our terms of business are strongly recommended.

Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998: Gas equipment, pipework and flues must be checked by a Gas Safe Engineer annually.  The Gas Safety Record must be provided to the tenant at the start of the tenancy and within 28 days of any subsequent check during the tenancy.

Electrical equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994: Landlords are required to ensure electrical installations and equipment are safe.  Although Electrical Installation Condition Reports are only legally required for houses in multiple occupation, were an incident to occur the landlord could face criminal charges where they are unable to evidence safety.  Therefore, Electrical Installation Condition Reports and PAT are required.

The Furniture and Furnishing (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 (as amended 1989 and 1993): The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988* set levels of fire resistance for domestic upholstered furniture, furnishings and other products containing upholstery. They should pass the 'smouldering cigarette' and 'match flame' resistance test and carry a label confirming this. Generally, items manufactured in the UK after 1990 are likely to meet the required standards and display the appropriate permanent label confirming their compliance. If items do not comply they should be removed from the property before it is let.

The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015: A smoke alarm must be equipped on each storey of the property and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a solid fuel combusting appliance (e.g. log burning stove).  Each alarm must be checked on the first day of each tenancy which may be evidenced by an electrician’s report.

Energy Performance Rating: An energy performance certificate must be obtained and ratings made available on all marketing materials of the property.  The certificate details the efficiency or otherwise of the property along with recommended improvement measures.  From April 2018 regulations require a property to meet a minimum EPC rating of E

This list of legislation is by no means exhaustive.  We will discuss legislation relevant to your property at the market appraisal or immediately after.

Mortgage Lender and Insurance

Before letting your property, you will be obliged to obtain permission to let from your mortgage provider (if applicable).  Failure to do so may result in the lender requiring the whole loan to be immediately repaid.

Residential building and contents insurance are unlikely to provide sufficient cover for your let property.  Specialist landlord insurance is offered by a number of providers and will include public liability insurance.  Adequate levels of insurance are a legal requirement.

The Tenancy Agreement 

Prior to the start of any new tenancy, a legal agreement between the landlord and tenant will be drawn up, usually referred to as a tenancy agreement.  Most residential properties will require an assured shorthold tenancy agreement (AST). We will discuss with you and the tenant any specific clauses that you wish to agree on. 

If you have found this landlord letting guide helpful or you would like to know more, please don't hesitate to contact us and let us know.