This information is to advise you, at the time you apply for a tenancy in a property managed by RS Lettings, of how we carry out certain aspects of the management of the property during your tenancy and how we enforce certain contractual obligations that are included in your tenancy agreement, which you will be legally bound by.
By applying for a tenancy, you are stating that you agree to be bound by the content of this document in the event that your application for a tenancy is successful and you subsequently take up a tenancy of the property.
If you are in any doubt about the meaning of any part of this document, please ask us.
Rent Payments
Your rent is due and payable on the 1st of each calendar month by standing order. If your tenancy starts after the 1st of the month, then your 1st month’s rent will apportioned so that you pay until the end of the first month, and all subsequent rent payments are made on the 1st of each month.
If you are in receipt of housing benefit and there is an arrangement for the local authority to make payments on a different payment schedule, then any top up payment due (the difference between your housing benefit and your rent) is due on the 1st of the month.
Our properties are advertised on a per month rental basis. To calculate the apportionment of rent in the first month if your tenancy commences on a day other than the 1st of the month this is calculated by multiplying the monthly rent by 12 and then dividing by 365 to give a day rate for the rent. The day rate of rent is then multiplied by the number of days left in the month on which you move in, including the first day of the tenancy agreement or occupation whichever is the sooner.
Tenancy Arrangements
All the properties we manage are let on standard Assured Short-hold Tenancy Agreements (ASTs). The minimum term of an AST is 6 months, the maximum term is 3 years. By default, our standard term is 6 months, however, this can be varied and we can handle negotiations on this point between landlord and tenants.
You will be required to setup your Standing Order on an ‘Until Cancelled’ basis so that if you extend your tenancy beyond the initial term, it will not be necessary to setup a new standing order.
We have further payment options by arrangement including automatic direct debit collection, or facilities for those that are financially excluded for referrals to our service partners. If it is not possible for you to setup a standing order, please discuss this with us prior to applying for a tenancy so we can discuss your options.
Deposits:
A deposit of 1 month to 1.5 month’s rent will be required for all tenancies. The deposit amount is clearly stated in any property marketing material displayed on this website. The deposit will be held in an approved deposit scheme as required by law and you will be supplied information on how the deposit is held at the commencement of your tenancy.
Some of our landlords will accept rent guarantees, guarantee bonds or paper bonds from organisations like housing charities or local authorities. If you are not in a position of having a cash deposit, but are in a position where you are receiving some support or aid from a government or charity organisation with regards to securing a tenancy please speak with us prior to making an application so that we can check whether the landlord of the property you are seeking to rent will accept such arrangements.
Payment of Initial Rent & Deposit
The initial rent, deposit and fee, as applicable, must be paid in full on or before the commencement date of your tenancy. We will provide you with bank details for payments made by BACS or faster payments. Note that you must ensure however you send your rent that it will be cleared funds the day before your tenancy starts. If you intend to pay by Personal Cheque, 10 working days must be allowed for clearance of your Cheque. Payment during the 10 days prior to commencement will only be accepted if made in Cash or by Banker’s Draft.
If you are intending to pay cash for your deposit, fees and rent in advance at the start of your tenancy, please make sure you have contacted us to advise of this prior to your check in appointment.
Inspections
We will inspect your property during your tenancy on the following basis:
1st inspection 6 weeks after the commencement of the tenancy.
After that inspections will be conducted on a 3 or 6 monthly basis thereafter depending on whether the tenancy in question is a 6 month tenancy or for a longer period.
A pre-checkout inspection will be arranged with you no earlier than a month before your agreed check out date and no later than 7 days before your agreed check out date.
You will be given at least 7 days written notice of the date and time of any inspection. You may change that date and time provided that any change can be accommodated within our inspection schedule.
If a change of date is required, the date can only be moved by 2 working days prior to or after the scheduled date. Whilst it is preferable, you do not need to attend these inspections, as we will carry keys to your property. The primary purpose of these inspections is to keep us abreast of any minor repairs and maintenance that may be necessary.
End of tenancy delapidations
You will be provided with a comprehensive inventory of the contents, fixtures and fittings in the property, which you will be asked to check and agree or amend before signing. This inventory will record the condition of the contents, fixtures and fittings in detail and any variations in their condition.
This inventory will be referred to at the end of your tenancy to determine any damage or dilapidation’s for which you are responsible under the terms of your tenancy agreement.
We operate the following dilapidation’s policy
With the exception of hob and oven, utensils and plastic kitchenware, any item, including decorations, fixtures and fittings, that is damaged by virtue of a chip, crack, burn, stain, scratch or mark during your tenancy, as against suffering normal wear and tear, will be replaced at the end of the tenancy.
The full cost of replacement will be debited against your deposit. The damaged item, in this event, will become your property.
All the content of the property can be replaced on a single item basis to re-constitute any set where applicable and marks to paintwork can be painted in to exactly match the rest of the immediate paintwork, thereby reducing your potential liability.
The purpose of this policy is to maintain the standard of the property for future tenants and encourage you to take as much care of the property and content as if it were your own.
Pre-checkout inspection
This inspection will take place no earlier than a month before your agreed check out date and no later than 7 days before your agreed check out date. The purpose of this inspection is to check for and list any substantial damage or breakage.
You will be sent a detailed list of all the substantial damage and breakage that you will be held responsible for at the end of your tenancy together with the estimated cost of making good the damage.
You then have the opportunity to make good the damage before the last day of your tenancy. If the damage remains at the end of your tenancy, our contractors will be instructed to make good and the costs debited against your deposit.
Neither you, nor any of your contractors, will be allowed to enter the property to carry out any repairs or cleaning after you have been checked out of the property on the last day of your tenancy.
Check out at the end of the tenancy
On the last day of your tenancy, or at your check out date, we will attend the property, by appointment, to check the condition and content of the inventory.
It is important that the contents are arranged in the exact same order as listed on the inventory as, if this is not the case, you may incur a charge for re-arranging the content in line with the inventory.
Cleaning
Except for flats and apartments where the responsibility for cleaning the exterior of the windows lies with the management company and your responsibility is for the interior of the windows only, you must have all the windows cleaned during the last 7 days of the tenancy and provide evidence, by way of a receipt for payment, from a window cleaner and leave the property and content in the same clean condition as was the case at the commencement of the tenancy.
Failure to do so will result in a window cleaner being instructed by us to clean all the windows, and other cleaners instructed to clean the property and content, the costs being debited against your deposit.
Pets
In the event that you have kept a pet or pets in or about the property, with or without our consent, you must remove the pet or pets from the property before the last day of your tenancy and in sufficient time to enable you to have all the carpets and soft furnishings professionally cleaned and provide evidence, by way of a receipt for payment, from a locally recognised carpet cleaning company.
Failure to do so will result in a carpet cleaning company being instructed by us to clean all the carpets and soft furnishings, the cost being debited against your deposit.
The reason for this policy is that the next tenants may be allergic to animal hair and the only way to properly remove such hair is by use of commercial cleaning equipment.
Keys
You must hand over to us all the keys issued to you at the commencement of, and during the tenancy. In the event that any key is missing, the relevant lock will be replaced and the cost debited against your deposit.
Damage
In the event that you cause damage to the property or the content that cannot be repaired or replaced on the day that you vacate you will continue to be responsible for paying rent for the property after you have vacated until such time as the repair of replacement has been effected. Any such rent will be deducted from your deposit.
Personal Possessions
When you vacate the property, any personal possessions that you leave in or about the property will be disposed of without any further reference to you or compensation due to you.
Cooking Odours & Residue
If you cook heavily spiced or fried foods excessively, resulting in either an odour or oily residue in the kitchen or other parts of the property you will incur an additional cleaning charge, which will be deducted from your deposit.
Smoking
If you are a heavy smoker resulting in either a smoky odour or tar residue on the paintwork & soft furnishings of the property you will incur an additional cleaning charge, which will be deducted from your deposit.
Odours & Residues can be avoided or reduced by proper ventilation and on going cleaning of the affected areas.
Note – if you are letting a room in a shared property it is illegal to smoke within the communal areas of the property and fines can be imposed on anyone found to be smoking in these areas.
Return of Deposit
Your deposit or balance thereof will be returned after any dilapidations have been made good provided that we have received confirmation that all your liabilities in respect of your occupation of the property have been discharged. Normal repayment times are 5-10 working days, however, depending on any making good required deposit return can take longer.
Mould Growth
The first indication that Mould Growth is occurring in a flat or house is when small black specs start to appear in:
- The corner of the walls at ceiling level.
- In the back of or behind wardrobes.
- Behind chests of drawers.
- The grouting on bathroom, wc and kitchen tiles
- The plastic or metal frames of windows.
This is usually accompanied by damp clothing, bedding and curtains, with water (condensation) running down the inside of windows and on gloss painted or plastic surfaces.
The mould is a spore which is not a health hazard though it is unsightly.
The cause is a high level of water vapour in the air condensing on a cold surface, which provides an environment for the spore to grow.
The most common cause of water vapour is the use of baths and showers, plus the heating of water in the kitchen for any purpose, whilst the property is not adequately ventilated either by the use of extractor fans or the opening of windows to enable the vapour to disburse.
This may seem to be wasting heated air on cold days, but it is just such unventilated conditions that cause the initial condensation.
At the first sign, the black mould should be washed off with a damp cloth using a weak bleach solution, which will kill the spore.
Care should be taken from then on to properly ventilate the property even during cold spells when the heating is on.
If the mould growth persists then immediately report the matter to ourselves.
If the mould growth persists and is allowed to spread through the property the decorations will be damaged to the point where re-decoration will be necessary following treatment of the spores.
In this case, given that you have be warned of the effects of allowing mould growth to spread through the property, you will be responsible for the costs of making good the decorations.
To avoid this cost, please follow the procedures outlined above and, if in doubt, contact us immediately.
Carpet Care
The fitted carpets in your property have been chosen because they have a high level of stain resistance provided action is taken to remove any spots and stains when they occur or at least within 24 hours.
As a result, any marks or stains to the carpeting at the end of your tenancy will not be considered as fair wear and tear and will result in a deduction from your deposit.
When removing stains always use warm water first on water based stains, then a soap-less detergent solution, a weak bleach solution or a proprietary carpet cleaning solvent.
Scrape off any residue of the stain with a blunt knife or similar instrument, dab the cleaning solution on to the affected area with a toothbrush or small sponge and remove by blotting with an absorbent kitchen paper towel. Do not scrub or rub the affected area.
On completion make sure that all the detergent or solvent has been removed from the carpet, dry with absorbent paper and brush the affected area.
Do not use 1001 Carpet Cleaner or Dish Washer Detergents.
Use all cleaning solutions and water sparingly so as not to soak the carpet backing or the adhesive used to fix the carpet to the floor.
The following procedures should be used for identifiable stains in conjunction with the above.
| Adhesive & Alcohol | Use water/detergent solution | Indian Ink | Use solvent solution. Dry. Then use detergent solution |
| Ballpoint Pens | Use solvent solution. Dry. Then use detergent solution. | Jam | Use detergent solution |
| Beer, Beetroot, Bleaches, Blood, Butter. | Remove any surface deposit. Then use detergent solution. | Lipstick | Use solvent solution. Dry. Then use detergent solution. |
| Chewing Gum | Remove surface deposit. Then use solvent solution. Dry. Then use detergent solution. | Machine Oil, Milk, Mud, Vomit, Rust. | Remove surface deposit. Then use detergent solution. |
| Chocolate, Coca Cola, Coffee | Use detergent solution. | Shoe Polish, Tar. | Use solvent solution. Dry. Then use detergent solution. |
| Commercial Paints | Use solvent solution. Dry. Then use detergent solution. | Tea, Urine, Water, Colours, Wine. | Use detergent solution. |
| Cream, Excrement, Egg, Floor & Furniture Polish, Fruit Juices, Gravy, Ice cream | Use detergent solution. |