There are lots of reasons people let their property, here is some information on letting your
property out.
The following information is a good guide to many frequently asked questions, any not on here or
needing more detail please do not hesitate to contact the team.
Please click on the titles for more info.
If you haven’t yet got your property, speak to us first about demand and yield.
Demand: The highest demand is usually for small three bedroom family houses with parking
– located near a station is also a bonus. The more modern property you have the better
as it will be less maintenance and more efficient.
Yield: When choosing your investment the most important factor is yield. Gross yield is
the annual rent divided by the purchase price. So if a property lets for £850pcm and you
buy it for £170,000 your yield is 6% per annum. To work out your net Yield you need to
take off the rent any costs (fees, tax, maintenance etc). Also some landlords (airing on
the side of caution) feel 10 months paid rent per year could be more prudential for
their figures. If you are looking at properties pop in and see us and we will work this
all out for you.
We access all of our let properties on a regular basis. We look at other similar
properties to decide an amount per calendar month a tenant would pay. We don’t believe
in losing a great tenant for £10/£20 per month though. We always make our suggestions to
a landlord and give guidance and advice. Rent can only change once per year.
Letting can be labour intensive. Yes when a tenancy is perfect is can be easier but busy
landlords just want to know everything is right and get the rent in their account every
month. Some tenancies we have managed we have had to visit the property with tradesmen
more than once a week. Boilers not switching on, leaky tanks, fuses blowing, air in the
radiators the list goes on. We also monitor our telephone calls and emails night times,
Sundays and bank holidays. We remove all the stress and work from the landlord.
You will need a smoke alarm on each level as well as a Carbon Monoxide alarm in every
room with a solid fuel burning appliance. Properties with any gas appliances will need a
current annual gas safety certificate (we can help with this). It is also recommended
(not mandatory) to have your electrics safety checked. You will also need an Energy
Performance certificate of at least an E - these last 10 years - we can organise this
for you.
If you have a mortgage on the property you will need to ask their permission before you
let it out. You will also need to keep up buildings insurance in the property – some
offer a landlord's policy if not check with us as we can arrange this. Our landlord’s
insurance covers you for non payment of rent and legal protection if you need to take a
tenant to court.
Cooper Adams will takes your instructions on whether you accept children, pets, smokers…
etc
We want to remove as much risk from a tenancy as we can. A regular paying tenant who
receives housing benefit is great but what if the government change their policy on this
benefit? I heard of a had a tenant who had problems with this benefit – the council
advised her she didn’t need to pay, the landlord had no insurance and didn’t get any
rent. The council said they would only re-home the tenant after the full eviction
process finished – it can takes months and months. After that the landlord vowed never
to take housing benefit again.
When you let out your residential property, the tenancy will now automatically be an
assured shorthold tenancy (AST) under the Housing Act 1988 – unless you specifically
agree another form of tenancy in writing (eg a company let).
In summary this means:
You have a guaranteed right to get your property back after six months
You can charge a market rent
You can get your home back before six months if the tenant doesn’t pay the rent –
but it must be at least eight weeks rent owing
Cooper Adams will prepare this for you, we have our agreements checks annually for
current new legislation. If you want to see a sample one before we commence – just ask.
The tenants pays a deposit (1.5x rent) this is safeguarded in a government approved
scheme. There are procedures in place to sort out problems about the deposit at the end
of the tenancy, should they arise. The rent is paid in advance usually per month. Some
tenants if their income is not high enough to pass the referencing as if they can pay
six months in advance. The landlord should be drip fed this monthly but it may be
difficult to get landlord’s rent insurance if they fail the referencing.
The inventory should be checked and agreed by both parties, then signed and dated. Our
comprehensive inventory details everything about the property with lots of photographs.
Cooper Adams will organise this and advise the relevant parties of the changeover, this
includes service companies as well as the council.
Cooper Adams do regular inspections and report back to you the landlord. We legally have
to give a minimum 24 hours’ notice with the full permission of the tenant.
The minimum fixed term is currently six months, after that you can renew. At the end of
the fixed term, a new fixed term agreement is often made or the tenants move out.
Alternatively, the tenancy might become a periodic tenancy. Periodic tenancies do not
have a fixed end date, but continue on a month by month basis.
If your tenant advises us there is a problem we first try to sort this out with the
tenant. If a tradesman is needed we have our own vetted panel that we trust or you may
have your favourite – whatever happens we like to get the problem sorted out properly
and swiftly without paying over the odds.
This could be late payments on rent which we chase straight away or not looking after the
property. Luckily this is very rare as we do thorough referencing before they move in as
well as home checks and regular property inspections. We like to deal with any problems
straight away and we would keep you the landlord in the picture at all times.
You will need to complete a NRL1i form, once HMRC agree you can then do self assessments to
pay tax. Until then the letting agent will have to withhold tax from the rent.
This can happen from time to time and it’s never easy explaining to a tenant you need the
property back. We would give as much notice as possible after all it is the tenant’s
home. This cannot happen during a fixed term we would issue a Section 21 notice with two
months notice.
Sometimes a tenant may pay rent on a debit card, although with an authorisation code this
has been paid it can take five days to be cleared. When this is processed and sent to a
landlord’s bank account via BACs this takes another three working days to clear.
Although we act for you the landlord, it is the tenant’s new home, which must be
respected.
Our view is firmly – a happy tenant is a good tenant.