A Tenants Guide to Letting a Property in Brandon

Getting Started

Once you have made the decision that you wish to rent a property. A holding fee will need to be paid in order to secure it; this prevents any more viewings being conducted and confirms you as the sole prospective tenant(s). After paying the holding fee a referencing form will need to be completed by all the intended residents. This is a check of identity, credit history and future ability to meet rent payments.

Tenancy cannot be guaranteed until the return of the referencing form. A final decision of tenancy will be made based on the results of the reference check and a discussion with the landlord.

The reference check will require information such as name, address, occupation, salary. As well as financial employer and character references. These must be satisfactory otherwise we cannot proceed with the tenancy. Financial credibility will also be investigated by means of searching credit registers and previous landlords may be contacted if you had a previous tenancy agreement. Naturally these are routine procedures that would be carried out for all prospective tenants to protect all parties involved.

If you have any county court judgements registered against you it may be problematic offering a tenancy, unless however there is sufficient evidence suggesting that any debts have been cleared prior to the tenancy commencing.

If it is not possible to prove financial credibility it may still be possible to begin tenancy if a satisfactory guarantor is appointed. The guarantor must provide their own references and credit checks which must return a satisfactory result. The guarantor is then required to sign an agreement to guarantee your legal commitments in the tenancy, including payments of rent.

Subject to replies from the various references being satisfactory, you will be offered tenancy. This being subject to the specific terms of the tenancy agreement, payment of the deposit and the previously agreed advanced rent. Finally the landlord must agree to allow the tenancy to begin.

Identification – In addition to your application two forms of identification are required. Accepted forms of identification include: birth certificate, full driving licence, full 10 year passport or new style national insurance card.

Deposits and Rent

A security deposit is required for all tenancies and is usually equal to one months rent. This deposit is in addition to the advanced rent payment required.

Should rent and deposit be paid by cheque we must have at least 7 banking days to allow for clearance. Alternatively you may pay by cash or bankers draft.

The deposit acts as security for the performance of your obligations as a tenant under the tenancy agreement. This deposit will be returned to you at the end of the tenancy term without interest and subject to a deduction for damage or any other deductions that may be necessary to compensate the landlord for any breach of the tenancy agreement.

The same security deposit is required from Housing Benefit Tenants.

Further Guidance Notes for Landlords and Tenants are available upon request.