making letting better

THE COMPLETE

GUIDE TO FINDING

THE PERFECT

PROPERTY

making letting better

Introduction

Whether you’re leaving home for the first time or a family looking for a bigger place as your children grow, finding a property to rent that is right for you can be exciting, but it can also be time-consuming, stressful and frustrating.

We’ve put together this guide to help you find that perfect property with minimum stress, so that you can focus on setting up home in your new place. Inside you’ll find information and helpful tips on:

We hope you’ll find this guide useful, but if you have questions or any tips of your own to share, we’d love to hear them via our Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/lettingweb.

Good luck!

The Lettingweb Team

Understanding your legal responsibilities as a tenant before you sign on the dotted line

How to make your enquiry stand out and maximise your chances of successfully securing the property

What Next?

How to plan your search for best results

How to find the best letting agent

What paperwork you’ll need to provide to rent a property

Welcome to OUr Finding the Perfect Property Guide.

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Find the perfect property for rent: Search tips

With hundreds of flats and houses advertised for rent, it is easy to get caught up in a whirlwind of contacting agents and booking viewings.

The best way to find the perfect property for you is by having a plan before you start.

Decide on your priorities

Think about what is important to you in advance, and you’ll have criteria to measure advertised properties against.

For example, is location the most important thing to you? Do you want to be near work or uni? Or are you happy to travel if it means you can be near a park or places to go out?

Are you looking for somewhere with lots of modern amenities, or are you willing to sacrifice that en-suite bathroom for somewhere with lots of character?

What about layout; are smaller bedrooms ok if that means a bigger social space?

These consideration are even more important if you are moving in with someone else – read our top tips on page 4 for more on this.

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Figure out your finances

Compare your income with the average prices in different areas, and research council tax bands. Consider what the bills might be like (the Energy Performance Certificate, which by law must be listed on all adverts, will be helpful with this) and think about extras like broadband costs. You might also have factoring or maintenance charges to pay on top of rent.

Doing this early in your search means that you don’t run the risk of falling in love with a home you just can’t afford.

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Be specific when talking to agents

If you’re responding to a specific advert, you’ll have a good idea of what’s on offer. But if you’re contacting agents generally about available properties, be as specific as possible about what you’re looking for (back to your list of criteria). That way, they can make good recommendations, rather than suggesting options that just aren’t suitable.

Understand what you’re signing up for

Most tenancies are for an initial period of six months then roll month-to-month after that, but before you sign anything, make sure that you understand exactly what is involved, all the charges, and what your responsibilities are (e.g. maintaining a garden).

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Moving in with someone: 5 tips

Sharing a property can be a lot of fun, and generally is more cost-e�ective than renting by yourself. But with two (or more) people to please, it can also be more complicated. Check out our top �ve tips for making this as easy as possible.

1. Before you start looking, make a list of the things that are really important to each of you and talk through them in detail. This way you won’t waste time looking at places which don’t meet important criteria and you’re less likely to get stressed out. You might have to think about what you are prepared to compromise on and what is, for you, absolutely essential.

2. Talk about how you’ll manage the �nances: will you divide everything in half? Or will someone pay the rent and someone pay the bills? Talking about money can be awkward but it’s important that you can �gure out what you can a�ord upfront to save trouble later on.

3. It’s unlikely that you’ll both be able to keep all your stu�, so think about what you want to keep/sell/recycle and be prepared to make some compromises.

4. Put all your names on the lease. All of you are now equally responsible for the property, and have the same rights so you are all legally protected should things go wrong later.

5. If you’ve lived by yourselves previously, you’re bound to encounter some teething di�culties living together at �rst. This can have even more of an impact if one of you is moving into the other’s home. Be patient until you’re both properly settled.

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After lots of searching, you’ve found a property for rent that you want to move into. But the property is only part of the deal; you’re actually signing up for a professional relationship along with it. So how can you make sure that you’re picking the best letting agency?

Legal compliance

First of all, there are legal requirements that landlords (and letting agents acting on their behalf) must follow. Check your landlord is compliant with these - if not alarm bells should be ringing for you. Your landlord and letting agency should both have landlord registration numbers. These must be included on any property advert. You can double-check these are legitimate using the Landlord Registration website.

Follow the checklist below to make sure your landlord or letting agent is compliant with the law.

How to find the best letting agency

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Recommendations and memberships

Ask around for recommendations, or look online for reviews.

You can also check to see whether the letting agency is a member of any professional bodies, such as the Council of Letting Agents , the Association of Residential Letting Agents or Let Scotland To be a member, agents must comply with a code of practice, providing reassurance that you are working with a reputable company.(This also gives you an avenue to make a complaint if things go wrong later).

5 things your landlord or letting agent must provide you with

1. Copies of your tenancy agreement, signed by all parties2. A Tenancy Information Pack3. A valid gas safety certificate (and ideally a carbon monoxide detector)4. An inventory5. A note of which Tenancy Deposit Scheme your deposit has been stored with

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Know your rights

Letting agencies cannot charge you a fee for helping you find a property or registering with them. You can be charged a deposit but this must be stored in an approved deposit scheme. Letting agents who don’t comply with these are operating illegally and you should walk away.

Ask, ask, ask

It’s ok to ask questions, and the best letting agency should ask you questions too. This is hopefully the start of a long-term renting relationship, so take this opportunity to find out as much as you can so you can make sure this is the right property (and partnership) for you.

Check out some suggestions below.

Five questions to ask a letting agent

1. What comes with the property? E.g. Do I have a parking space? Am I responsible for maintaining the garden?

2. What council tax band is the property in?

3. What can you tell me about the neighbours?

4. What number should I call if there is an emergency, like a leak?

5. Will I have one dedicated person to manage my property and tenancy?

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Information you’ll need to rent a property

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When you find a flat or house for rent that you like, the landlord or letting agency will likely ask you to provide some information. It’s worth getting this together in advance if you can, as it speeds things up – particularly important if there are lots of people interested in the same property, you don’t want to miss out!

Different letting agencies might need you to provide different things, so ask. We’ve put together a guide to the most common documentation you’ll need below. Bear in mind that you will likely need these for every adult named on the lease.

Identification

You’ll likely need to show some kind of ID, usually government-issued, like a passport, driving licence or birth certificate. Take copies AND originals, that way the agent can see the original but have a copy to take away.

If you don’t have any ID, you can get a copy of your birth certificate from the General Registers of Scotland – have a look on the GRO website for more details. Bear in mind this can take up to eight working days and will incur a charge.

If you’re not a UK citizen, the letting agent may also want to see proof that you are legally allowed to be resident in the UK. This is because of new laws coming into power in 2015 that require landlords and letting agents to check the immigration status of their tenants. Your passport or national identity documents should be enough to demonstrate this, however check with your letting agency.

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Proof of income

One of the most important things you need to be able to show your prospective landlord or agent is that you can pay the rent.

If you work, you will likely need to provide payslips for the last few months. If you receive any kind of benefits, such as child tax credits, you may also need to provide letters from the government to show how much you receive. If you are a joint tenant, each person will need to provide this information.

If you don’t work, you may need to find a guarantor. This is a person who has sufficient income to support you in paying the rent if you fall behind. They will be held legally responsible for any rent arrears you build up, and will need to provide details on their salary or other income.

If you have a job lined up but haven’t started yet, ask your employer to provide you with a letter outlining your job role, contract type, start date and salary. This may be enough to support your application for the lease.

Bank statements

You may also be asked to provide bank statements for the last few months. Usually these can either be ones received in the post, or printed out from online banking. If you don’t have any, pop into your nearest branch and ask for printouts.

If you don’t have your own bank account you may be asked to provide the statements from the account you get your income paid into, which could be a partner or relative. Just make sure you explain your situation to your letting agent so they can advise you on what to do.

Sometimes it can feel awkward sharing financial information with people you don’t know, but just remember that ultimately all they are doing is ensuring that you have enough money to pay the rent every month. This protects both sides from the stress of rent arrears.

References

If you have rented before, you’ll be asked for your previous landlord’s contact information so that they can be asked for a reference.

If you haven’t rented before, you could offer details for a character reference, for example an employer or university or college lecturer.

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What to do if you can’t provide these details

Having this information gathered together early will help you move quickly when you find the right property. But letting agents know that there are individual circumstances which might make it tricky for you to provide this information. We’ve outlined the most common scenarios and how to deal with them here, but if your situation is different, the main thing is to discuss it with your letting agent or landlord. They may be able to suggest another piece of documentation you can use instead, or offer another way around so that you can still get your hands on the keys!

Checklist of information you’ll need

Government-issued ID (passport, driving licence, birth certificate etc)

Bank statements

Payslips or proof of income (this could include benefits letters)

Contact details for references

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Tenants’ Legal Responsibilities

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It’s important to understand your legal responsibilities before you commit to taking on any property.Here are some issues to think about when you’re thinking about renting a property, to make sure you stay on the right side of the law.

Paying the rent for the duration of the lease

Tenants are responsible for paying the rent during the lease term. It is only on very rare occasions that leases are ended early, so it’s important to be sure that when you sign a lease you’re sure you can commit to the full period. If you change your mind, you will likely still have to pay the rent until your lease term is complete, even if you decide not to live there.

If you share your property, depending on how your lease is worded, you may find that you are responsible for paying the full rent if your flatmate moves out early. Make sure you understand the financial implications of this and that you can afford it. It is better to make sure that you each have responsibility for paying your share and have this written into your lease agreement.

Making changes

Most rental properties are decorated in neutral colours, but if you favour dramatic reds over magnolia, it’s tempting to make the place your own. Before you do that though, you need to get permission from your landlord or letting agency. If you don’t you could be in violation of your lease, and you may find yourself with a hefty redecoration bill when you move out.Bear this in mind when you’re looking at properties; if you really hate the decoration, can you live there happily if you don’t get permission to change it?

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Wear and tear

You have an obligation to look after the property and its contents. You’re not legally responsible for ‘wear and tear’, i.e. anything that results from living day-to-day in the property, but if you damage something (even unintentionally), you are responsible for fixing or replacing it.

If the property comes furnished, think about what the implications are of your lifestyle, the chance of things getting damaged, and what this could mean. For example, if you have small children or pets, you may not want to move into a property furnished with very expensive items unless you can be sure they are very well-behaved.

Providing notice

If you decide to move out, you need to give notice. How to do this will be explained in your tenancy documents. For most, it is one month’s notice in writing once your first six months has elapsed, however you must follow what is in the original agreement or you could find yourself liable to pay rent even if you’re not living there.

More information

This is not an exhaustive list of your legal responsibilities as a tenant. For more information about your legal responsibilities as a tenant, visit the Renting Scotland website.

Letting agents may receive dozens (if not hundreds) of enquiries for a good property, so you need to stand out.

Documentation

The first step to doing this is to make sure that you have all the required paperwork. See our guide on page 7 - 9 for everything you’ll need. Having this ready in advance will speed up the enquiry process and hopefully put you ahead of other interested parties.

Sell yourself

Second, when you’re enquiring about the property, tell the agent a bit about yourself. If you sell yourself, you’re more likely to make it near the top of their callback list than the generic responses they’ll receive from others.

Tell them about what you do for a living or give some background to your studies if you are at college or university. Explain the make-up of the flat if you’re sharing, for example if you are two close friends who have shared before this may provide reassurance, or if you have pets then discuss how you plan to make sure there is no damage to the property (dogs have been to training classes or you are prepared to pay an additional pet deposit, for example).

This is also a good time to specify if you are attracted by something specific about the property. This has two aims, firstly it means that the letting agent knows what you are looking for, so won’t suggest another property that isn’t suitable, but also shows that you have considered the implications of taking on this particular place. For example, you could say that you are especially keen on this house because it has such a lovely garden, and as a keen gardener/parent of small children/cat owner you would value this outdoor space.

The majority of the enquiries that letting agents will receive will be the generic response generated by the website the enquiry comes through. While this is no bad thing, it doesn’t give the letting agent any guide to who will be a good tenant, so help them to help you by crafting something a bit different.

Do the agent’s work for them

MyRentalCV is an easy way to present the agent with everything they need to know about you, including references and credit checks. This means a lot of the letting agent’s work is already done for them, and when agents are busy (i.e. always) this means you might well leap to the top of the queue!

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Making yourself the best candidate

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What Next?

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Hopefully this guide has helped you in your search for the perfect property. And remember, if you haven’t found it just yet, stay positive and keep searching! Following the ideas we’ve suggested will mean that when you do get to this stage, you should be fully prepared.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on this guide, particularly if you have found something useful that has worked for you, or if you have your own suggestion which might help someone else. You can send us these via our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/lettingweb.

Best of luck in your search for the perfect property!

The Lettingweb Team

P.S. When you do find somewhere new to call home, the next step is organising your move. Luckily there’s a Lettingweb guide for that too! Download a copy of our Complete Guide to Moving House:

It’s full of handy hints and tips about how to organise a smooth and stress-free house move, it’s a must-read for anyone about to relocate.