Information for Tenants

General Information

When choosing a property to rent, it is advisable to instruct an established and accredited letting agent able to provide a professional service which complies with present legislation Arkade Property is: Registered with the Property Ombudsman An accredited members of NALS (National Approved Letting Scheme) A registered member of Mydeposits These organisations ensure that as Letting Agents, we comply with defined service standards having Professional Indemnity Insurance in place, Client Money Protection cover, access to Tenancy Deposit Protection, and have a customer complaint procedure. Once you have chosen a property to rent, you will need to complete a referencing form and pay an administration fee which is non refundable. In some cases we will require a holding deposit to be paid. The holding deposit will be refunded in full if the landlord decides not to proceed with letting the property, however the holding deposit will not be refunded if you decide not to proceed. Arkade Property is regulated under the UK Money Laundering Legislation, hence we require a copy of tenants passports or driving licence (with photo) and a copy of a recent utility bill. We will discuss alternative forms of identification with tenants who can’t proved these documents.

References

These are obtained by an independent referencing agency. In some cases (such as students lettings) a guarantor will be required who will also need to complete a referencing form and pay a fee.

Tenancy

You (and the guarantor if needed) will be required to sign the Tenancy Agreement prior to beginning the tenancy. If you have any queries regarding the terms of the Tenancy as set out in the agreement, you can contact our office and/or seek legal advice from your solicitor. Most tenancies are ASTs (Assured Shorthold Tenancies), where the rent is under £100,000 per year and/or the tenant is an individual and not a company. The minimum term for a let is 6 months but some tenants/landlords will prefer 12 months minimum.

Deposit and rent

A six week deposit to be paid in advance is required for most tenancies, however, sometimes the deposit may be higher. The rent is paid monthly in advance, however, some tenants prefer to pay the rent quarterly or 6 monthly in advance.  Under current legislation, the deposit must be registered either by us or by your landlord and details of the registration will be sent to you. The deposit is held in a separate account until the end of the tenancy against dilapidations, it cannot be offset against the last month’s rent.