There are a lot of things to consider before you rent out your property.
Mortgages, tax and insurance
If your property is mortgaged, you must obtain your lender’s written consent to let. If you are a leaseholder, you should check the terms of your lease, and obtain the necessary written consent before letting. If there are terms in the leasehold that will affect the tenants then you must inform us prior to the letting of the property.
If a landlord is a UK resident, it is his responsibility to inform HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) of rental income received, and to pay any tax due. However, where the landlord is resident outside the UK during a tenancy and unless an exemption certificate is held, we as landlord’s agents are obliged to retain and forward to HMRC on a quarterly basis, an amount equal to the basic rate of income tax from rental received, less certain expenses. Further information is available and an application form can be downloaded from the HMRC website http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/cnr/nr_landlords.htm
Landlords are responsible for the building insurance and also insuring any contents of their own. Failure to inform your insurers that you are letting may invalidate your policies. We are in contact with specialist insurance companies who can help to ensure that you have appropriate landlord insurance, please ask for details.
Bills
Regular outgoings such as mortgage, service charges, and maintenance contracts are your responsibility to pay but in most circumstances the tenant will be responsible for council tax, water rates and gas and electricity. During vacant periods these charges will revert to the owner. For council tax a vacant property receives a discount.
Getting your property in order
It is important that an inventory of contents and schedule of condition is prepared in order to avoid misunderstanding or dispute at the end of a tenancy. Without such safeguards, it is near impossible for the landlord to prove any loss, damage, or significant deterioration of the property or contents. Citypadz offers an inventory service to both managed and non-managed properties.
All our properties conform to certain minimum standards.
Quality properties attract quality tenants. At the commencement of a tenancy the property must be in a thoroughly clean condition, and at the end of each tenancy it is the tenant’s responsibility to leave the property in similar condition. Where they fail to do so, cleaning should be arranged at their expense.
Finally the landlord must provide one full set of keys for each adult tenant and a sole tenant is entitled to a spare set. Where we are managing we will arrange to have duplicates cut as required.
If you require further advice or assistance with any matter, please do not hesitate to contact us.
