Tenant Support Information

When you have found the property that you want to rent you will be asked to complete a Tenancy Application form available from one of the staff at Richmond Harvey. You will be required to produce proof of address and either your passport, national ID card or driving license and six months bank statements before the credit checking process can start.

Unless otherwise stated properties are let on an Assured Shorthold Tenancy, under the Housing Act 1988 for a minimum fixed term of six months.

At this point you will also be required submit your application and make a payment to ourselves as agents to cover the cost of enquiries by a Credit Reference Agency and administration of your application.  (Please be aware such payment is non-refundable should you either change your mind or your application is rejected due to poor credit, poor landlords reference etc.)

The credit check can take between one to two weeks and you will be notified by our staff if there is any further information we need, you may be requested at the discretion of the Landlord to provide a Guarantor for the rent, or you have passed the credit check and arrangements can be made ready to for your tenancy to start.

Procedure Following Acceptance of Applications:

We will normally agree with you a suitable day/date from which the tenancy is to commence and you will be requested to come to Richmond Harvey office to sign the tenancy agreement and collect the keys for the property.

You will also be required to pay the Tenancy fee, first month’s rent in advance and the security deposit (1.5 times the monthly rent).

The purpose of the security deposit is to protect the Landlord against loss of rent or damage to the property during the tenancy itself. The Housing Act 2004 has made provision for both the protection of tenancy deposits and the resolution of disputes over their return.

Any Landlord or Agent who takes a deposit from a tenant for an assured Shorthold Tenancy must safeguard that deposit in an approved scheme. As Agents we are members of a Deposit Protection Scheme under which all deposits must now be registered. An explanatory leaflet will be issued as part of our service and you will also be required to sign in addition to the tenancy, the Tenancy Deposit Protection Prescribed Information (Housing Act 2004) agreement.

A detailed inventory and schedule of the condition of the property and any furnishings, where the property is let furnished, will be prepared which will also be signed upon commencement of the tenancy. You will need to check this when you move in to the property. If you feel any amendments are necessary then you will need to notify our office within 10 days of you signing the inventory.

All future rental payments are per calendar month in advance (unless otherwise confirmed in writing) and will normally due on the anniversary of each monthly period. The preferred method of payment would be by standing order from your bank and a bank mandate will be offered to you for completion upon signing the tenancy. Your tenancy may be at risk if for any reason payments are not received on or before the date the rental falls due.

Upon signing the tenancy you will be committed to the term agreed (usually six months). The tenancy will not automatically terminate upon the six month anniversary, unless the requisite notice has been given to you by your landlord or us as the agent. Should you wish to vacate upon this anniversary we would request you notify our office of your intention to leave the property at least one month prior to the tenancy end date. If you do not intend to vacate and the landlord has not served you with a notice to quit, the tenancy will revert to a Statutory Periodic Tenancy upon the same terms as the Assured Shorthold Agreement.

Should you wish to vacate following expiry of the original term then you will need to give a minimum of one month’s written notice to terminate the tenancy upon the term date (i.e. the date your rent is due). Conversely your landlord would be required to serve you with a minimum of two months’ notice should they require the property back again ending on the term date. You may be asked to sign a further six month agreement or the tenancy may be allowed to continue on, on a rolling monthly basis. At this time the landlord would reserve the right to review the rent or vary the terms of the agreement.