Chichester Property News: legal requirements

Showing posts with label legal requirements. Show all posts

Thursday, 11 April 2024

Five things to check when choosing a letting agent

Using a letting agent to manage your rental property should relieve you of hassle, whilst improving your return on investment. Here are five things to look out for though to prevent you being stung by a poor performing or sneaky letting agent.

1. Legal requirements
It is a legal requirement for all letting agents to be a member of a property ombudsman or redress scheme, which ensures you have a port of call if you have reason to complain about their service. Letting agents should also have indemnity insurance to protect you against any mistakes, as well as Client Money Protection insurance, which will compensate you if the agent should misappropriate your funds. Certificates for all of these should be provided upon request and be available on their website - if they don’t have them, they are breaking the law!

2. Service
Ensure you understand what level of service you expect from a letting agent and whether they can deliver it. Discuss what options are available and what the proposed service includes as letting agents’ interpretation of ‘fully managed’ can vary, and this can be at odds with landlords’ expectations. Ask what marketing the agent will undertake, what tenant referencing they perform (and if they’ll supply you with copies) and what the move-in process entails (including which deposit scheme they use and the level of detail to their inventories). Ask how often they will undertake inspections at your property and what their process is if rent isn’t received on time.

3. Fees
A major factor in choosing any service is its cost (although I’d argue value for money is more important than ultimate price). Fortunately, it is a legal requirement for letting agents to list all their fees on their website and in their offices. You should question those who aren’t doing this - firstly because it’s illegal not to, but secondly…what are they hiding?! A myriad of extra fees hidden away in the small print of their management contract can soon add up. Also, ask if they add commission to maintenance invoices; this isn’t illegal (if it’s made clear), but you might wonder why organising repairs isn’t simply part of their management fee.

4. Reviews
Perhaps the best way to choose a letting agent (like with any service) is by seeking a recommendation or referral from someone you trust. Failing that, letting agents are likely to offer up testimonials from their current clients, although it’s perhaps better to seek them out for yourself by looking up their reviews online.

5. Contracts
Whichever agent you decide upon, make sure you receive a written management contract. This should set out the service the letting agent will undertake for you, whilst clearly listing all the fees you’ll ever need to pay. This will provide clarity for both parties and should help avoid any mis-understandings or disputes at a later date. Be sure to carefully read the contract and raise any terms you are unhappy with before you sign it and the agent starts working for you.

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If you are looking for an agent that is well established, professional and communicative in Chichester, then contact us to find out how we can get the best out of your investment property.

E-mail me on clive@crjlettings.co.uk or call 01243 624 599.

Don't forget to visit the links below to view my previous buy-to-let deals and Chichester Property News articles:

^{_{c/o CRJ Lettings, 30B Southgate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 1DP}}

Thursday, 8 December 2022

Five things to check when choosing a letting agent

1. Legal requirements
It is a legal requirement for all letting agents to be a member of a property ombudsman or redress scheme, which ensures you have a port of call if you have reason to complain about their service. Letting agents should also have indemnity insurance to protect you against any mistakes, as well as Client Money Protection insurance, which will compensate you if the agent should misappropriate your funds. Certificates for all of these should be provided upon request - if they don’t have them, they are breaking the law!

2. Service
Ensure you understand what level of service you expect from a letting agent and whether they can deliver it. Discuss what options are available and what the proposed service includes as letting agents’ interpretation of ‘fully managed’ can vary, and this can be at odds with landlords’ expectations. Ask what marketing the agent will undertake, what tenant referencing they perform (and if they’ll supply you with copies) and what the move-in process entails (including which deposit scheme they use and the level of detail to their inventories). Ask how often they will undertake inspections at your property and what their process is if rent isn’t received on time.

3. Fees
A major factor in choosing any service is its cost (although I’d argue value for money is more important than ultimate price). Fortunately, it is a legal requirement for letting agents to list all their fees on their website and in their offices. You should question those who aren’t doing this - firstly because it’s illegal not to, but secondly…what are they hiding?! A myriad of extra fees hidden away in the small print of their management contract can soon add up. Also, ask if they add commission to maintenance invoices; this isn’t illegal (if it’s made clear), but you might wonder why organising repairs isn’t simply part of their management fee.

This article was featured in...

^{_{c/o CRJ Lettings, 30B Southgate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 1DP}}

Thursday, 13 August 2020

Do you have the right to rent?

Since February 2016 it has been a legal requirement for landlords in England to check their prospective tenants or lodgers have the right to live in the UK. A landlord’s failure to undertake these checks is a criminal offence, which can lead to five years imprisonment and an unlimited fine - so they will want to do them!

As such, all individuals over the age of 18 wanting to live in a property that they or a family member don’t own, will be asked to provide certain documentation to prove they have the ‘Right to Rent’. The most commonly valid document that can be used is a passport or identity card from a European nation. Whilst these don’t need to be in date to prove your birthplace and thus residency status (assuming the photo is still a good likeness of the individual), what about those estimated 9 million+ Brits who don’t have a passport?

They certainly do have the right to rent, but the law states that proof needs to be provided and a copy taken accordingly. A driving licence can be used (the second most readily available form of ID) but only in conjunction with another ‘acceptable document’. A birth certificate counts as one of these, as do a variety of letters from official sources, all of which can prove relatively difficult to get a hold of.

Of course, not everyone has the right to rent, otherwise the checks would be pointless. Non-EU citizens typically need to apply for permission to stay in the country (and thus the right to rent a property). These individuals will normally be provided with a dated visa, which provides them with a time-limited right to rent. Proof that this date has been extended when the time comes will need to be provided to the landlord / letting agent to stay within the law.

I currently have the unfortunate situation as a landlord whereby my tenants’ visa has expired. Originally valid until the end of May, with the expectation of it being extended (as it had been several times before), the tenant’s work contract was not renewed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This meant his visa would not be extended and thus he has to leave the country (albeit a grace period has been granted due to the ongoing travel restrictions).

It is sad to see a decent family no longer allowed in the country, whilst it also means I’ll lose a good paying tenant and have an uncertain wait for when they can actually leave.

The above situation also illustrates why the right to rent checks have been called discriminatory against those without a UK passport (providing them with unlimited right to rent and, importantly, proof!). A High Court ruling last year proclaimed the Right to Rent checks were discriminatory and breach human right laws. This is why proposals to extend the law to the landlords of Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland were put on hold, although landlords and letting agents in England are still required to follow the legislation as is.

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crjlettings.co.uk

clive@crjlettings.co.uk

01243 624 599

Thursday, 18 June 2020

Five things to check when choosing a letting agent

1. Legal requirements
It is a legal requirement for all letting agents to be a member of a property ombudsman or redress scheme, which ensures you have a port of call if you have reason to complain about their service. Letting agents should also have indemnity insurance to protect you against any mistakes, as well as Client Money Protection insurance, which will compensate you if the agent should misappropriate your funds. Certificates for all of these should be provided upon request - if they don’t have them, they are breaking the law!

2. Service
Ensure you understand what level of service you expect from a letting agent and whether they can deliver it. Discuss what options are available and what the proposed service includes as letting agents’ interpretation of ‘fully managed’ can vary, and this can be at odds with landlords’ expectations. Ask what marketing the agent will undertake, what tenant referencing they perform (and if they’ll supply you with copies) and what the move-in process entails (including which deposit scheme they use and the level of detail to their inventories). Ask how often they will undertake inspections at your property and what their process is if rent isn’t received on time.

3. Fees
A major factor in choosing any service is its cost (although I’d argue value for money is more important than ultimate price). Fortunately, it is a legal requirement for letting agents to list all their fees on their website and in their offices. You should question those who aren’t doing this - firstly because it’s illegal not to, but secondly…what are they hiding?! A myriad of extra fees hidden away in the small print of their management contract can soon add up. Also, ask if they add commission to maintenance invoices; this isn’t illegal (if it’s made clear), but you might wonder why organising repairs isn’t simply part of their management fee.

This article was featured in...

^{_{c/o CRJ Lettings, 30B Southgate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 1DP}}