For Tenants
Moving in:
We show you around the property and if you want to take it we ask you to pay one weeks rent as a ‘holding deposit’ to show your commitment. If the property is a shared house (HMO), this is split between the tenants, in other words it is not one weeks rent each. There are no other hidden costs or admin fees. This is not refundable if you change your mind, if your guarantor changes their mind, or if your guarantor doesn’t pass the checks or fulfil our criteria eg does not own property in the UK. The reason this non-refundable is because, once paid, the property is taken off the market and no one else is shown around. If you pull out, we have to re-advertise and would lose out on rent and time etc. This is within the law and standard practice. Once the tenancy is signed the ‘holding deposit’ will be taken off your first month’s rent.
We will give you a copy of our tenancy agreement for you to read on request; otherwise it will be emailed to you or printed out for you to read in our office prior to signing.
We do not take deposits however all tenants are required to provide a guarantor. The guarantor has to be a property owner, pass a credit check and show proof that their income could cover your rent if there is a problem. This normally means they have to be earning at lease £20,000 per year (this may need to be more for more expensive properties). If the guarantor is not employed they need to show they have at least £3,000 in savings. The best people are family members or close friends as the person should know you well and trust you and they take full responsibility for any rent or damage caused if you don’t pay.
You and your guarantor need to complete our online application form. We then do the credit checks and land registry checks and arrange for you and your guarantor to sign the agreement.
To move in you need to pay one month’s rent into our bank (we do not accept cash payments for rent) less the ‘holding deposit’, and then you need to set up a standing order for a direct bank payment each month (we can help you with this). The rent needs to be in cleared funds in our account by the first of each month which means you need to arrange for the Standing Order to go out three days before to allow transfer time. Your rent is paid into a ‘Client Account’ which protects it from insolvency of Davison Property.
We accompany you to the property to move you in and invite you to take part in the video inventory that we film. This then becomes evidence of the condition of the property for both you and the landlord for when you move out. Pictures may be taken, as well as video footage, along with meter readings.
‘Right to Rent’ Checks:
In order to rent property in the opies to the landlord or agent one of the following:
- A valid UK passport
- A European Economic Area passport or identity card
- A permanent residence card or travel document showing indefinite leave to remain
- A Home Office immigration status document
- A certificate of registration or naturalisation as a British citizen
- There is more information regarding this and the checks we may need to make on the government website: https://www.gov.uk/check-tenant-right-to-rent-documents
Late Rent:
We reserve the right to charge the maximum the law will allow for late rent penalty. If the rent is 7 days late a ‘Notice Before Action’ letter may be served, at a cost of £30. If court proceedings are required for rent recovery or for possession, under either Section 8 or Section 21 the court fees and any other allowable fees will be charged including the maximum interest allowable within the law.
Maintenance Work / Repairs:
Any maintenance issues must be reported immediately by email to russell@davisonproperty.co.uk
If you do not have access to email then by text message to Russell on 07973 123836 or by letter to
Russell Davison
Leftfield 21,Trowels Lane
California Derby DE22 3LS
Out of office hours emergencies should be sent by text to 07973 123836.
For all maintenance issues during the tenancy we will arrange for our contractors to contact you directly for access. Please note, if the maintenance person responding to your request arrives at the time and date you arranged with them and no one is in, you will be charged a call out fee, the fee would vary depending on who was called out from £20 to £150.
In order to minimise the risk of legionnaires disease tenants are advised to regularly clean and disinfect showerheads.
Boiler faults/fees:
Please note that before we can call an engineer to look at the boiler we need to ensure that it is a fault with the boiler and nothing else. If an engineer is called out for a non-boiler fault there will be a charge that will be passed on to the tenant, this can be from £40 to £150 depending on whether it’s a warranty call out. Clearly we do not want to have to pass this charge on to you so please will you makes sure these simple checks are done first:
- Check batteries in any remotes.
- Overflow pipe may be frozen: please check, if it is let us know we will send someone round to defrost the pipe and insulate it to makes sure it does not happen again.
- Low pressure: please look at the pressure gauge, if it is below 1 bar the system may just need filling with water, we can help you do this over the phone or send someone round to do it.
- Room stat turned down: make sure the room stat and the radiator valves are turned up.
- Clock not set correctly: please make sure you have set the clock correctly, if you are unsure of how to do this, help can be found online or call us.
- Is boiler getting power: are the lights on, on the boiler? If not are other appliances working in the house?
- If on card meter: has gas run out and does boiler need to be reset?
- Check if all radiators are hot at bottom and top: if not, bleed radiators.
Damp problems in the home:
If you have damp/mildew (black spores that form on walls, furniture & clothes etc.) or wet walls in your home the chances are it is due to condensation caused by the steam from baths and cooking, along with water vapour from drying washing inside. Sometimes it’s just from the water vapour in your breath. Gallons of water can be circulating in your home as a result of this and when this moist air hits cold surfaces like your windows and walls it causes condensation. This condensation can be so bad that water starts to drip and run off the surfaces. Left unchecked this moisture provides a perfect home for the build-up of fungi known as ‘mildew’ resulting in discoloration of the paintwork and black staining.
The solution to this problem is to make sure that the kitchen is well ventilated when you are cooking by having a window open; it also significantly helps to put lids on pans when cooking as this keeps a lot of the water from going into the environment.
In the bathroom, once you have finished bathing/ showering it is important to open the window for at least ten minutes afterwards to allow the moisture/steam that has built up to escape.
The house needs to be kept warm in order for the walls to stay dry so after ventilating it is important to heat the rooms.
If signs of mildew appear it is most important to wash the marks off immediately with bleach and water as the spores that are growing can be harmful to health if left unchecked.
Condensation resulting in mildew is the tenants’ responsibility, as it is the way in which the house is being lived in, which is not under the control of the landlord. There are plenty of websites that cover this subject that you may find helpful. This means that if you allow mildew to build up on the walls or furniture etc. then you will be charged for redecoration at the end of the tenancy.
If you follow this advice and still find there is a damp problem then the moisture could be coming from outside from either a leaking roof or faulty/blocked guttering. The way to check for this is to look at the guttering when it rains to see if any water is dripping down the outside walls. You can have a look at the roof to see if any slates seem to be missing or dislodged; normally if this is the case water will drip into the house through the ceilings. This is the landlord’s responsibility to repair. There could also be a leaking pipe which would also be the landlord’s responsibility to repair. If this is the case, please inform us immediately as above.
Tenancy Renewal:
If you are invited to renew your contract by the landlord we do not charge a renewal fee.
Moving Out at the End of Your Tenancy:
Prior to the final inspection please ensure that you have done the following:
- the property has been professionally deep cleaned throughout on the termination of the tenancy to reinstate it to the same condition in which it was provided at the commencement of the tenancy as per the inventory. This should include cleaning the bath, shower, basins, WC, sink, oven, fridge, freezer, mopping all hard floors, vacuuming all carpets. This includes steam cleaning carpets and curtains which have been soiled during the tenancy. (We can recommend B&Q to hire a good quality carpet cleaner, or you can have each carpet professionally cleaned for around £30 per room we use: Derbyshire Cleaning 01332 835331).
We do not charge for check out, but if the property is not left in a clean condition we will charge for professional cleaning, a guideline to these fees follows:
- bed £75
- bed £100
- bed £125
- bed £150
- bed £175
These fees could increase if the house is left in particularly bad condition, and if carpets/ curtains require steam cleaning, a further cost of £30 per room is chargeable.
- You have removed all of your personal possessions from the garden and all rooms, including cellar and attic, including posters, pictures etc. If belongings are left at a property after the tenant has moved out we have a legal duty to store them for a set period of time. We use a local house clearance company to box up and take the belongings to a local self-storage centre. The costs incurred will be passed on to you.
- You have filled in any holes left in the walls from hanging pictures etc. touching up with matching paint filled holes, scuff marks or marks from blue tack.
- You have tidied and weeded garden areas, mowing lawn/s (if you have any) and cutting hedges (if you have any).
- You have taken all rubbish that will not fit into the black wheelie bin to the tip (i.e. not leaving bin liners full of rubbish for the new tenants). Also please do not put rubbish in the recycling bins as the council will not take it, which will lead to a bill for you.
- Cleaned windows (if dirty)
Dusted the whole house including skirting boards and coving. - Emptied all food from the kitchen cupboards, fridge & freezer (if supplied) and cleaned & defrosted fridge/ freezer.
For Shared Houses (HMO’s) only:
Please also ensure that you have done the following:
- Washed or replaced the mattress protectors and left fitted on the beds (if they are stained/ dirty you will be billed for a new one – (usually about £15 from TK Maxx or Dunelm)
- Left all the key provided in the property, a fee of £10 per key is payable for any missing keys
- Please ensure that you leave all supplied items in a clean and working order:
Kettle, toaster, plates, bowls, glasses, mugs, saucepans, frying pan, cutlery, knives, chopping boards, utensils, colander, jug, grater, kitchen bin, washing up bowl, drainer, cutlery drainer, mop and bucket, brush and dustpan, vacuum cleaner, bathroom bin, toilet brush and TV.
It is far better that you do all of this prior to the final inspection as if it is not done we will have to bring in contractors to do this work and pass the bill on to you. Please bear in mind there is very little time between you leaving and the new tenants moving in. Please also bear in mind every effort was made to make sure the property very good condition and thoroughly cleaned prior to you moving in.
Moving out Early:
If any of our tenants want to move out for any reason during a fixed term we allow that on the condition that new tenants are found to replace them. We cannot and do not offer any guarantee of finding new tenants as it depends on the market.
In order for us to start the process of finding a replacement tenant we require an admin fee of £250. This is to help cover our costs of advertising, and arranging viewings etc. Please note; this is not a release fee and the tenants remain liable for the rent until we find new tenants. There is a risk that we may not find new tenants before the existing contract comes to an end. The £250 admin fee covers 2 months advertising. If new tenants are not secured during that time then a further £250 will be charged for another 2 months etc.
Please note we are not obliged legally to offer this service and it is only on offer when there is good will, in other words we may decide to not offer this service if there has been a fall out or if the tenants or guarantors have been rude or offensive.
Complaints:
All complaints should be made in writing by email or letter to:
russell@davisonproperty.co.uk
Russell Davison
Leftfield
21, Trowels Lane
California
Derby DE22 3LS
If you are not happy with the outcome of a complaint, we are members of the disputes resolution scheme ‘The Property Ombudsman’ (TPO) and adhere to their code of practice.
The Property Ombudsman
01722 335458
www.tpos.co.uk
Data Protection:
To comply with the law regarding your data protection, Davison Property is registered with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO).
Information Commissioners Office (ICO)
www.ico.org.uk
0303 123 1113
Fraud by False Representation:
It is our policy is to inform the police if we discover that any of the information or signatures provided by tenants/guarantors are false or suspicious.
Earn at least £50 for Tenant Finder’s Fee!
We believe we offer a great service and rely heavily on word of mouth recommendations to let our properties. We are very keen to increase the network we have and have a great reward scheme in place to encourage people we know to help us let our properties. When we have a new property to let we mail out to our network with the details of the property and whoever can find us a tenant gets paid at least £50, sometimes £100 depending on the deal.
It’s very simple, just sign up to our data base by clicking here:
We will then message you with new properties (including the reward amount, you then put the details out to your friends/network in any way you want to i.e. Facebook, Twitter, SMS, email etc. You then pass us the contact details of anyone who is interested and if they take the property we pay you the reward, bingo!
You can unsubscribe very easily too if you decide you don’t want to be involved anymore, we certainly do not want to be messaging people who don’t want to be messaged.