Tenants

Renting a home, these days, is a relatively straightforward process. At whatever stage you are in life renting might be the best option for you. Many rent as a stopgap when buying or selling a home, move somewhere for work on a temporary basis or decide to rent a home in a new area to discover more about it before taking the plunge and buying. Whatever your reasons the process is really much the same.

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Finding a property

If you are looking to move to a completely new area property sections in local newspapers may not be feasible so usually searching online is the easiest and most time efficient option. We list all of our properties on our website and social media so sign up with us to ensure you don’t miss out on any new properties.

Zoopla and Rightmove will also list our homes and those of other agents within Sevenoaks so it is well worth registering with them as well.

To save a lot of time and effort make sure you think carefully about the type of property you need before registering and adapt your search selections accordingly.

How many bedrooms do you need?
Will you be commuting so want to be able to walk to the train station?
Would you like to be near good schools and leisure facilities?
Do you need somewhere to park a car?

All these questions will help you get the right search results so you don’t waste time trawling through properties that won’t be suitable for viewing.

Viewing

Once you’ve found something online, don’t delay in requesting a viewing. Things to look out for at the viewing include:

How well is the property maintained?
Do all appliances, taps, showers, toilets work?
Ask to check the central heating and hot water? How well is the property insulated?
How well is the garden maintained? Do you have rear access, garage or extra parking?
If you don’t know the area ask neighbours if they like living there? What’s good, what’s not?
What are local services like, how far are you from shops, schools, stations etc?
If relevant, whether they accept pets or smokers?

Understanding your role as a tenant

Once you have decided you would like to make an offer on a property you will be asked to pay a holding deposit equivalent to one week’s rent, complete referencing application forms and show us ID for us to copy and retain on file.  When the referencing process has been completed to the Landlord’s satisfaction you will be asked to put down a deposit (usually equivalent to five weeks rent) and will be given the tenancy agreement to approve and sign.  The agreement will include:

  • Your name as the tenants, and that of the Landlord.
  • How much your rent and deposit is.
  • When the rent will be reviewed.
  • The name of the Letting Agent.
  • Your rights and responsibilities as a tenant.
  • The Landlords rights and responsibilities.

As a tenant you will not be expected to maintain the building as this is the responsibility of your Landlord but you will need to agree as a minimum to:

  • Pay your rent on time.
  • Pay all household bills including council tax, utilities, TV licence and any landline telephone charges.
  • Respect your surroundings, which means keeping noise to a minimum, putting rubbish out in the correct place/time and look after any common areas. This is especially important if you are renting within a communal block.
  • Look after the property and do basic maintenance such as changing lightbulbs and smoke alarm batteries. You should also ensure you report any larger maintenance issues and request permission to hang anything on the wall or to redecorate.
  • You should never use the property as a business or sublet without permission.

 

We are members of The Property Ombudsman (www.tpos.co.uk), an independent redress scheme, and the Propertymark Client Money Protection Scheme (www.propertymark.co.uk).

As a tenant of Helen Breeze you will receive a Tenant’s information pack which gives you more detailed information when you sign your tenancy or please do contact us with any questions.