Guide to Letting

Landlord’s considerations

Checklist:

• Insurance – let your insurance company know that you are letting out your property and make sure everything you hope to be covered by your policy is.
• Tax – you are liable for income tax on the rent you receive if it pushes you over your tax threshold. See www.hmrc.gov.uk for further information.
• Mortgage Company – if you have a mortgage on the property you may need to seek your lender’s permission before renting it out.
• Gas & Electricity Testing – all gas pipework and electrical appliances need to be checked by a qualified professional to ensure they meet current standards.
• Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) – landlords in England and Wales are required to present an EPC to their tenants to show the energy efficiency of the property.
• Furniture & Fire – does all of your furniture carry the fire safe symbol? As this is now a legal requirement, all furniture that does not comply must be removed from the property. Also, all rental properties (built since June 1993) must have mains powered smoke detectors fitted on each floor.
• Valid Gas Safety Certificate - If there is a gas supply at the property, landlords must arrange a gas safety inspection every 12 months. Landlords must provide a copy to the tenant before they move into the property.
• Valid Electrical Safety Certificate - It is strongly recommended that the landlords arrange an electrical safety inspection. Even though it is not compulsory, if the tenant is hurt as a result of an electrical issue, the landlord will be held liable.
• Valid Energy Performant Certificate (EPC) - Landlords must have an EPC to legally let a property in the UK. From April 2018, properties must achieve a minimum rating of E. The EPC must be provided before the tenancy is formed i.e. on the viewing.
• Smoke alarms- A smoke alarm must be fitted on all floors of the property
• Carbon Monoxide Alarms - A carbon Monoxide detector must be fitted in any rooms with fuel-burning devices.
• Costs Involved: First of course there are agency fees (paid annually or monthly depending on the package you’ve chosen),; then there are management fees if you would like us to look after all of the issues that arise during a tenancy, such as; refurbishment, repair or maintenance before, during and at the end of a tenancy; gas and electrical appliance safety inspection costs; energy performance certificate; and the cost of a professionally prepared inventory.

An accurate valuation

Every successful tenancy starts with an accurate valuation. Get it wrong at this stage and you could be underselling your property asset or leaving it to stagnate on the proverbial shelf. All of Equity Estate Agents’ valuers have at least five years of experience behind them, so you can be sure that their valuations will offer you the maximum practically achievable rental value for your property.

Decide on your agreement

• Let Only – this is where we simply find you a tenant (handle the contracts and referencing) and you do the rest.
• Rent Collection – we can collect rent from the tenant for you on a monthly basis.
• Managed – we’ll take care of everything for you, so you can sit back and relax with rent collected and tenant issues dealt with by us.

Presenting your property for viewings and tenants

First impressions count, so when we’re showing your property it’s always best that it is clean and tidy, uncluttered and any repairs or renovations completed. Before a new tenant moves in it is sensible to have your property professionally cleaned, to complete any decorating work, and to make sure that everything is in working order.

Our key holding service

If you are busy and not always available when we need to show prospective tenants your property, or if we are managing your property for you, we will hold a set of your keys in our secure lockbox, accessible only by our consultants.

Marketing for most impact

We want to ensure that our landlords’ properties are always tenanted, so we market them to the widest possible audience well in advance of the end of each tenancy term. To start with we have our quadruple-fronted window displays in both of our Enfield locations, then there are the property adverts that we place in the local press and property portals such as Rightmove, where millions of visitors search for just the right home every month.

Accompanied viewings

We would be delighted to accompany every potential tenant on a viewing of your property. Our agents are professional sales people, skilled at guiding prospects through your home and their own wish list to show how these match up. Post-viewing feelings will be gathered by our consultants and we will remain in contact with all prospects to ensure that those who are interested have the opportunity to make an offer.

Offers

Our consultants will ensure that any prospective tenants who show interest are encouraged to make as favourable an offer as they can. All offers will be presented to you, and we will arrange for you to meet with prospective tenants if you wish. Once you have accepted an offer we will seek a holding deposit as commitment from the tenant and will proceed with referencing.

Referencing and rental insurance

To ensure that only the best tenants are given the opportunity to call your property home, we use a professional referencing company to thoroughly check all those whose offers you have accepted. Another way to minimise risk is to consider a rental insurance policy. Of course we hope a tenant will never default on their rent, but it is always sensible to protect yourself anyway if possible.

Deposits, Contracts and Inventories

Firstly, cleared deposit funds (registered with the Deposit Protection Service (DPS)) need to be collected before contracts are signed, then a professional inventory needs to be carried out to validate the DPS requirements for having a claim against damages. If you have decided to instruct us to manage your property for you all of this will be included in our service, otherwise for a small fee we can take on this responsibility for you.