Renting a flat in UK can be quite a task. You need to be careful not to fall into fraudsters traps. The purpose of this article is to make you aware of such pitfalls and provide guidance on property search.
UK property market (rentals and sales) is completely taken over my agents.
The procedure is: You browse through several property websites and shortlist some properties. You then contact the agents who advertised them and schedule a viewing. You can also ask them to show you some more similar properties. Once you like the flat and decide to take it, you pay the agent's fee and deposit. You can search for privately listed properties on www.gumtree.com but be aware of all those frauds! (check my post on frauds)
About the agent's fee: Agents fee for tenents can be anything from 'exorbitant' to 'nil' . In anycase, you should not be paying more than 100. You do not have to pay for the viewings. If an agent is asking you to pay before they give you any service, run!
Areas: Every council has good and bad areas. If you like a property, make sure you visit the area once early in the morning (6am) and at around 6 pm, 9pm and 11pm. During the day time and in the evenings, see if you find families and children around. Such areas are usually safe. When you visit late in the night, the picture becomes more or less clear. If you find hooded groups hanging around or if you find broken bottles on the street, it is likely to be an unsafe area. Even after you do your research, contact the nearest police station to verify your facts. There are several nice areas in Central London but they are expensive. We've just finalized a property in Bromley. We were told the area is good and safe. I'll update this with my experiences after a few months.
About Deposit: Once you decide to rent a property, you usually pay your agent 'holding fee'. This is usually a part of your deposit. It is a norm to collect 6weeks rent as a deposit. Make sure your deposit is being held in a deposit protection scheme. There have been several cases where the landlord refused to return the deposit or the agent playing dirty. So it is very important that you deposit is being held in a council approved deposit protection scheme
Rental agreements: Rental agreement are generally for a min of 6 months. Templates are available online. Even if you landlord gives his own template, do not sign in haste. Take a copy home with you, read it inside out and discuss any doubts that you may have. Make sure there is no maintainance clause on you. All the appliances should be maintained by the landlord (unless the damage is not accidental).
Moving into your new rented home: Before you take the keys, make sure you run the inventory with your landlord and make a note of existing damages in your rental agreement. The landlord should not have a spare key to your property. No one without your approval should have access to your property
Maintenance: You are expected to maintain the house in a reasonable standard. Normal wear and tear are accepted. Some landlords expect you to have your flat professionally cleaned when you move out. Check if such phrase is included in your rental agreement. Make sure you are aware of the costs involved. Incase of any maintance required to property or appliance, inform the landlord and expect him to respond within a reasonable timeframe. You can break the contract or sue the landlord if the property is in a bad state and the landlord is refusing to spend on getting it repaired.
Moving out: You generally give 2 months notice before moving out of your property. Make sure you are aware of the costs involved if you are breaking the agreement. Just before you return the keys to the landlord, run the inventory with him and get his signature on the deposit return form. Some agents will want to do it after you vacate. Insist on doing the inventory in your presence.
Legal hassles and where to go for help:
Resources:
Property websites:
www.findaproperty.com
www.zoopla.com
www.rightmove.com
www.homesandproperty.com
Negotiating Rent: Remember, the rent and agents fee both are negotiable. When you look at a property and like it, dont show it yet! Call the agent after a few hours and say you'd like to put forth an offer for it. We managed a 50pcm discount. We could have walked away from the property and 'perhaps' got more discount, but we really really loved the flat. If the property is on the market for over 3 weeks, put forth a nice offer...atleast 150pcm less than the asking price and then raise it a bit if necessary.
Finding the right flat: Coming up soon!!
Coming up in this section soon:
- How to negotiate rents
- How to look for the right property
We searched for estate for a few years with the intention of constructing a single house. Put merely no plots were suitable due to our requirement for a comfortable sized piece of land within our budget. After various discussions we decided to team up and figure one house for us and a second retirement house for my parents, giving us an advantage when searching for larger plots and potential cost saving in the establishing.
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