Advice for someone renting for the first time

adamzetec

I am meeting a letting agent tommorow to see what is available. I am looking to move out mid march with a friend in a 2 bedroom house/flat etc.

Don't have many requirements to be fair. Must be near to the railway station (10-15 mins walk max), clean, modern, has at least 2 parking spaces. There are some new flast 5 mins from the station in the middle of town for £700PCM which look like a possibility but I will discuss this tommorow.

So, before my meeting tommorow what should I know and how should I prepare? What additional costs am I likely to face with the arrangemnt of the tennancy, what additional charges (apart from utility bills etc) may I encounter as part of actually renting?

Seems to be a lack of information regarding things like this. I am keen to rent but don't want to be taken advantage of.

abaxas

http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/index.php?showforum=36


Is a good place to start as it's very pro tenant (dont be put off by the site name, jsut avoid the main discussion foums. Too many loonies there)

http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=36056

Is a good thread there on haggling on rent. If you dont get >10% you aint trying!

rosysparkle

A letting agent will charge a non-refundable administration fee to secure the property and to do referencing, draw up the agreement and so on. These vary in amount and some agents seem cheaper at first but add on further charges later on, some make one charge up front and that's it.

On signing your agreement you will need to pay your first month's rent (rent is always charged in advance) and a deposit which might by typically around 1.5 times the monthly rent. You might be offered a contents insurance policy. The landlord will insure the building and may insure his contents (but some self-insure if their furniture is not worth much). I would advise you to be covered against accidental damage to the landlord's f&f as if you (say)tip a pot of paint on a carpet or break a window, the landlord will expect you to pay, and you certainly should insure your own belongings.

Some agents charge check in fees or further admin fees at this stage (we don't, so I can't say what these might be).

You will be responsible for the council tax, water, gas, electricity, TV licence, telephone/broadband charges etc. If the property is managed, the agent will contact the council and utilities but cannot deal with TV licensing or telephone companies so you have to do this. If the property is let-only, the landlord should contact the council and utilities but again will not be able to deal with telepohones or TV licensing.

The agent will tell you who you should contact in case of repairs.

Read your agreement carefully and remember an AST is a legally binding document for the term of the agreement, subject to any break clauses. If you aren't sure, get advice before signing.

adamzetec

Ok thanks for the advice.

Regarding admin fees, how much am I looking at roughly?

With the managed example, do I pay the land lord directly for utility bills or would I have my own account with the utility companies?

prudryden

You arrange your own accounts with the utilitity companies and council tax.

Be sure to be present at the initial Inventory/Condition Report appointment or even better have your own Professional Inventory Clerk present.

adamzetec

Thanks for the links abaxas, I was going to ask about negotiation on rent later on. Looks like I can offer £600 for a place advertised at £700 which should save some pennies

prudryden

adamzetec wrote:

Thanks for the links abaxas, I was going to ask about negotiation on rent later on. Looks like I can offer £600 for a place advertised at £700 which should save some pennies

You can offer, but I don't think they will take you seriously from that moment on.

rosysparkle

In almost all cases you have your own accounts with the utility companies and council tax. The exception would be if a landlord included the council tax in the rent (rare except for HMOs) or if the property had a district heating or communal heating scheme, where the heating charge might form part of the rent.

Admin fees vary so widely around the country and depending on the charging structure, I couldn't tell you what other poeople charge. What we charge is £125.00 for a single applicant, £155 or £175 for a joint application depending on how long they have shared an address previously, £55 for each additional applicant, £60 for a guarantor reference. No agreement fee, no check-in or check-out fees, no renewal fees. The only fees we charge later on to tenants are arrears management, reference fees and an admin fee if we have to refund an uncancelled standing order.

You need to ask the agent what they will be charging and check if any fees will be levied later.

rosysparkle

adamzetec wrote:

Thanks for the links abaxas, I was going to ask about negotiation on rent later on. Looks like I can offer £600 for a place advertised at £700 which should save some pennies

I agree with prudryden, they won't take that seriously. Several of our landlords will not negotiate rent under any circs (usually the ones who don't have many void periods) and I can't imagine any landlord going for a 14+% reduction. Most will only go down a maximum of £10-£25 and it depends on the market, rentals (here at least) are fairly bouyant and though there's always the odd property that sticks, landlords don't need to take a hit on the rent to get the property let.

adamzetec

Ok, fair point. However from that rental negotiation thread it seemed as if people were getting massive reductions with very little effort. As I said, i'm new to this so am quite impressionable! I just presumed that was the norm.

I'm going to get a proper quote tommorow. Would like to see somewhere tommorow to get an idea of what i'm going to get for my money so should be an interesting couple of hours. I'm not moving in until mid march but they said it would be fine to start looking now.

prudryden

rosysparkle wrote:

In almost all cases you have your own accounts with the utility companies and council tax. The exception would be if a landlord included the council tax in the rent (rare except for HMOs) or if the property had a district heating or communal heating scheme, where the heating charge might form part of the rent.

Admin fees vary so widely around the country and depending on the charging structure, I couldn't tell you what other poeople charge. What we charge is £125.00 for a single applicant, £155 or £175 for a joint application depending on how long they have shared an address previously, £55 for each additional applicant, £60 for a guarantor reference. No agreement fee, no check-in or check-out fees, no renewal fees. The only fees we charge later on to tenants are arrears management, reference fees and an admin fee if we have to refund an uncancelled standing order.

You need to ask the agent what they will be charging and check if any fees will be levied later.

With your agency, who pays for the termination Inventory/Condition Report?