1. Finding a Rental Property: Whatever your rental needs, when you contact Franklyn James you can be assured of friendly and professional advice. We will discuss your requirements with you, and arrange to view properties that suit your needs.
2. Making an Offer: Once you have found a property that you would like to rent, we will liaise with the Landlord to negotiate rent and terms. The minimum term for tenancies is six months and rent (unless otherwise agreed) will be payable per calendar month in advance by standing order.
3 . Furnishing Clarification: In line with ARLA (Association of Residential Lettings Agents), of which we are a member agent, properties can either be offered unfurnished, part furnished, furnished or fully furnished. As a guideline we have provided the following definitions of what you can expect to find in a property advertised as one of the above:
Unfurnished: The property is offered empty with only the bare minimum of items, which would typically include kitchen appliances.
Part Furnished: The property is offered with basic furniture which could typically include sofas or beds or wardrobes. Kitchen appliances would normally also be included.
Furnished: A furnished property would typically include all of the above and appliances.
Fully Furnished: A fully furnished property will typically consist of everything a reasonable tenant would use on a normal day. These can include white goods (kitchen appliances), crockery, cutlery, glassware, pots and pans, beds, sofas, dining tables etc.Please note, the above definitions are for guideline purposes only, to avoid any disputes tenants are urged to seek clarification as to what main items are, or are not, included before finalising the tenancy agreement. Franklyn James will not be held responsible for any disputes if a tenant assumes certain items are in a property without seeking clarification before.
4 .Securing Your Deal: When the terms have been agreed for your chosen property, you will be required to put down a holding deposit, usually equivalent to two week's rent, to secure the deal. This will be deducted from your first month's rent before you move in. You will also be required to pay the fees for credit referencing at this stage. Should you withdraw from the transaction after this point, or your references are not acceptable, your deposit and referencing fees will not be refunded.
5. References: References will be taken on all Tenants. We will use a credit reference agency and will need certain personal and employment details. The Tenant will be responsible for the cost of referencing as detailed in the attached Schedule of Charges. In certain cases, e.g. students or new arrivals in the UK, we may require a guarantor. References will also be taken on the guarantor at an additional cost. In the case of Company Lets the Landlord reserves the right to obtain references.
6. Tenancy Agreement: When satisfactory references have been obtained, we will prepare a Tenancy Agreement between the Landlord and Tenant. This must be signed by both parties prior to commencement of the Tenancy. There will be a charge payable by the Tenant to cover the administration costs involved and this is detailed in the attached Schedule of Charges. A Tenancy Agreement template will be available upon request.
7. Before You Move In: Before you can move into a property, you must pay one calendar month's rent in advance and a security deposit equivalent to six weeks rent. The deposit will be returned after completion of the Check-out at the end of the Tenancy, subject to the condition of the property and payment of all utility accounts.
8. Moving In: There will usually be a Check-in inspection of the property with an inventory clerk before you move in to record the condition and contents of the property at commencement of the term. The Landlord will usually pay for this. As a Tenant, you will be responsible for paying all utilities, i.e. Gas, Electricity, Water, Council Tax, Telephone and TV Licence charges. Therefore, you must register with the relevant companies.
9 . Rental Payments: We will arrange a standing order mandate for your rental payments, however it is the tenant's responsibility to check that payments have been set up correctly as the bank will not discuss your account with a third party. Please note that where Franklyn James are responsible for the management of the property and/or the collection of the rent, late rental payments will incur a charge as detailed in the attached schedule to cover the additional costs involved in rectifying the situation. At the end of the tenancy it is the tenant's responsibility to cancel the standing order and Franklyn James take no responsibility for additional payments made from the tenants account.
10. Moving Out: There will usually be a Check-out inspection of the property with an inventory clerk when you move out to record the condition and contents of the property at the end of the term. This will determine the amount of the deposit to be returned after vacation. The charges for the check-out are payable by the Tenant and if Franklyn James are responsible for the management of the property the charges will be taken at the start of the tenancy.
11. Stamp Duty: The Tenant may be responsible for paying Stamp Duty on the Tenancy Agreement subject to current legislation.
12. Renewals: If you wish to stay on in your rental property after the end of your initial tenancy, we will be happy to arrange a renewal for you, subject to the Landlord's agreement. We will prepare a new Tenancy Agreement for you and the cost to cover the administration involved in processing the renewal will be discounted as detailed in the attached schedule of charges.
13. Company Lets: For a tenancy where the rent is paid by a Company, please note this will not be an Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement but a Common Law Tenancy Agreement. As a result the Tenancy Agreement will need to be signed by an authorised company signatory (usually a Director).
SCHEDULE OF CHARGES FOR TENANTS HOLDING DEPOSIT - 2 WEEK'S RENT When terms have been agreed with the Landlord for a rental property, the Tenant will be required to make a holding deposit equivalent to two week's rent to secure the deal. This amount will be deducted from the first month's rental payment. Terms of the return of this deposit can be found on your Holding Deposit receipt.
REFERENCES (Individual Lets) - £60.00 inc. vat per reference. References will be undertaken on all Tenants and guarantors via an independent referencing agent. This is to include the completion of the initial online application, submission of the same and dealing with all enquiries raised from the application and the obtaining of any additional information or documentation required to satisfy the conditions of the report.
REFERENCES (Company Lets) - £75.00 inc. VAT The Landlord reserves the right to obtain references for a company let.
ADMINISTRATION FEE £160.00 inc. VAT - Renewals £90.00 inc. VAT This fee is payable by the Tenant to cover the administration costs involved in processing the Tenancy including, but not limited to; obtaining relevant Identification and Proof of Residency documentation, production and setting up of Standing Order Mandates and the registering of tenants deposits, production of tenant welcome packs to include information on utility providers. A discounted rate will be payable on any renewal or extension.
CONTRACT FEE £120.00 inc VAT This fee is payable by the Tenant(s) to cover the administration and costs of the preparation of the Tenancy Agreement including initial draft, agreement of terms, obtaining of signatures, execution of final agreement and the provision of a copy to all parties.
SECURITY DEPOSIT - 6 WEEKS RENT security deposit of six weeks rent will be required for all tenancies, payable in advance.
LATE RENTAL PAYMENTS - PER TENANT -£120.00 inc. VAT Where Franklyn James are responsible for collection of the rental payments and/or management of the property, late rental payments will incur a fee as above to cover the costs of recovering payment. This charge is in addition to any interest or costs payable to the Landlord under the terms of the tenancy agreement.
CHECK OUT FEE - £150.00 inc.VAT The Tenant will be responsible for paying the Check-out fee for checking the inventory at the end of the Tenancy. Where we are responsible for the management of the property, this sum will be taken before the Tenancy starts and held for this purpose. In other cases the deposit will usually be deducted from the security deposit and the costs may differ to those above. The cost will vary according to the size of the property.
PLEASE NOTE THAT CLEARED FUNDS MUST BE RECEIVED BEFORE A TENANT CAN MOVE INTO A PROPERTY TO COVER;
- Referencing & Tenancy Agreement Fees
- First Month's Rent (Less Holding Deposit)
- Security Deposit
- Check-out Fee
The balance payable can be found on the deal sheet provided when the holding deposit is paid to secure your deal.
WE WILL ACCEPT THE FOLLOWING METHODS OF PAYMENT; BACS transfer to Franklyn James Clients Account (Bank details will be provided on request)Cash *Bankers Draft payable to "Franklyn James"Please note that there will be 3% charge for payments made by credit cards and payments for balance of rent and deposit should be paid at least 4 working days prior to the move in date.* Please note that there will be a cash handling fee for any cash payments received by Franklyn James as follows: for any cash payments up to and including £2,500 there will be a charge of £50 including VAT. For cash payments above £2,500 there will be a cash handling fee of £100 including VAT.
NEW LEGISLATION - Tenancy Deposit Protection April 2007An overview of Tenancy Deposit ProtectionWhat is Tenancy Deposit Protection?From 6th April 2007, all deposits taken by landlords for what is called Assured Shorthold Tenancies - the vast majority of tenancies - in England and Wales must be protected by a tenancy deposit protection scheme.To avoid disputes going to court, each scheme will be supported by an alternative dispute resolution service (ADR), whose aim is to make disputes faster and cheaper to resolve.How does Tenancy Deposit Protection work?Landlords will be able to choose between two types of scheme: a single custodial scheme and two insurance-based schemes.
Custodial scheme: • The tenant pays deposit to the landlord;• The landlord then pays the deposit into the scheme;• Within 14 days of receiving a deposit, the landlord must give the tenant the prescribed information (to be set out in secondary legislation) about the scheme being used;• At the end of the tenancy, if the landlord and tenant agree how the deposit should be divided, they will tell the scheme which returns the deposit, divided in the way agreed by both parties;• If there is a dispute, the scheme will hold the disputed amount until the dispute resolution service or courts decide what is fair;• The interest accrued by deposits in the scheme will be used to pay for the running of the scheme and any surplus will be used to offer interest to the tenant or landlord if the tenant isn't entitled to it.
Insurance-based schemes • The tenant pays deposit to the landlord*;• The landlord retains the deposit and pays a premium to the insurer - the key difference to the custodial scheme;• Within 14 days of receiving a deposit, the landlord must give the tenant prescribed information (to be set out in secondary legislation) about the scheme being used;• At the end of the tenancy, if the landlord and tenant agree how the deposit should be divided, the landlord returns all or some of the deposit;• If there is a dispute, the landlord must hand over the disputed amount to the scheme for safekeeping until the dispute is resolved.• If for any reason the landlord fails to comply, the insurance arrangements will ensure the return of the deposit to the tenant if they are entitled to it.Example: a tenant pays a deposit of £1000. At the end of the tenancy, the landlord says he wishes to keep £200 to pay for replacing damaged furniture. The remaining £800 will be returned to the tenant. The tenant disagrees, claiming the furniture was damaged when they moved in. Both agree to go to ADR, so the disputed £200 will be transferred to the scheme administrator until the dispute is settled.In each scheme, any proposals in relation to the return of the deposit are to be notified to all parties within 10 working days from the tenancy end date. Upon agreement from all parties to the proposals made the deposit will be refunded within 10 working days or within 10 working days of receipt of notification of an ADR/Court Decision.* In this overview 'landlord' refers to either the landlord or his letting agent.
For the future.... • Franklyn James will only provide written references. These are available by request and are charged at £30 + VAT per reference for this service.
