Using housesimple for letting TA

thenap80

Has anyone used HouseSimple to let a property. In particular their Tenancy Agreement. I am comparingit to .gov one and wondering if i should just do myself as gov one seems more easy to follow.

Also do i get the deposit sent to me or direct to DPS if not using HouseSimple?

buggy_boy

Have you ever let a property before....?

There have been so many new regulations recently, legionella report, right to rent, deposit protection and issuing of various documentation. I would suggest get a good letting agent to do a tenant find service including tenancy agreement, inventory etc. Then use that documentation as a guide so next time you can do it yourself...

What I do is all the documentation, DPS, viewings etc but I get an agent to advertise and do reference/right to rent checks, usually pay only £100-£150 for this, make sure you get in writing that the agent is taking on the responsibility of the right to rent checks so if they are not done correctly it is them in trouble not you...

thenap80

No i have not. But a contract is a contract as far as i can see.

thenap80

The rigmarole of sending tbings bk and forth to online rstaye agent is ludicrous. Easier i feel just to meet and dign face to face

G_M

Never seen their tenancy agreement. Make sure whichever you use meets your needs.

Join a landlords association (see links below) - they will have TAs.

If you are managing the property, you should register the deposit yourself - otherwise when it comes to returning it you have to go back to the agent who no longer works for you - potential issues.

As buggy_boy says, there are new regs since Oct 15 so make sure you are up to date.

See

Tenancies in Eng/Wales: Guides for landlords and tenants This thread is intended to provide information to both landlords and tenants relating to Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs) in England and Wales.

Topics covered:

* Repairing Obligations

* Deposits: payment, protection and return

* Ending/renewing an AST: what happens when a fixed term ends? How can a LL or tenant end a tenancy? What is a periodic tenancy?

* Rent increases: when & how can rent be increased?

* Repossession: what if a LL's mortgage lender repossesses the property?

* New landlords: advice, information & links

* Letting agents: how should a landlord select or sack?

Boatdweller

thenap80 wrote: »

No i have not. But a contract is a contract as far as i can see.

A contract is a contract, but that isn't the only thing you need to let a property.

As others have linked there is far more to it than that.

thenap80

Is it okay and seen as normal for me to add into additional terms of .gov tenancy agreement the following....

Landlord will be responsiblefor the replacement or repair of only the fillowing electrical items: cooker, washing machine and tumble drier.

theartfullodger

thenap80 wrote: »

Is it okay and seen as normal for me to add into additional terms of .gov tenancy agreement the following....

Landlord will be responsiblefor the replacement or repair of only the fillowing electrical items: cooker, washing machine and tumble drier.

You've never been a landlord before yet you are contemplating re-writing a contract to rent out a £100k+ (presumably) asset? And, no offence, can't get spaces between words or spelling correct in just one simple sentence?

Sigh!

If you are trying to wriggle out of what most fair-minded people would see as your reasonable responsibilities then you can guarantee a bad relationship with your tenants.

So you won't be responsible for the pump in the central heating & want tenant to fix it? Lighting, fuse-box, sockets in the wall??

Read all of G-M's post links, go on a course about how to be a landlord, then have another think.

Apologies for being blunt but, and I speak from painful experience here when I started as a landlord, not understanding what you are doing as a landlord can be expensive, painful and time-consuming.

Gigervamp

You asked about tenancy agreements in one of your previous threads.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5459622

buggy_boy

I have to agree with the artfullodger, and don't forget in contracts any ambiguity, favour is generally decided against the person that wrote the contract. Also anything in the contract will be overridden by your statuary obligations, in addition you cannot put anything in the contract that is seen to be unfair (for a wild example you cant put the tenant must to an authentic rain dance every Thursday at 16:00).

Just remember you are going to be a landlord, that is essentially a business, If you got injured at work and your work was found to be negligent just think about what you would expect, compensation, possible criminal prosecution, now think you as an individual can be held responsible if you do not comply with certain regulations, regardless of what is in the contract... Remember one thing... "Ignorance of the law excuses no man".

You definitely need to read a lot more and I would highly recommend at the very least using a good high street letting agent to do a tenant find with all associated paperwork at least for you first letting.