A Guide to Letting - Reserving Properties
When you have chosen the property that you would like to move to, you will need to reserve the property. To do this, you will be required to leave an administration fee. This is usually ¼ months rent + VAT but may vary from property to property. Your letting negotiator will give you a definate figure, when you have decided on a property. This covers our costs in securing the property on your behalf, processing references and paperwork and drawing up contracts. On taking this fee, we will remove the property from the market and cancel any other viewings booked to see it.
You will be asked to fill in a Tenant Application Form, so it is important that you have all of the relevant details to hand – previous landlord contact details, employer details, National Insurance number etc.
We will contact the landlord to inform them that the property is let and clarify with them the date of commencement of the tenancy and it’s duration (i.e. 6 or 12 months), the rent and bond payable, and any additional items of furniture/decoration or building works that may need to be addressed. All arrangements and representation made at this point are subject to availability and a formal written contract being signed both the Landlord and Tenant.
Finally, we will book an appointment for you to sign your contract. You will be issued with a checklist that details everything you will need to bring with you in order to sign your contract. This will include:
- Bond (this will usually be slightly more than one months rent) If you are signing your contract less than 5 working days before you move in, the monies will have to be cleared funds i.e. cash/bankers draft/credit or debit card payment (subject to 2% bank charge)
- Rent You will need to pay one months rent in advance, however if you plan to move in the middle of the month we will calculate the rent on a daily basis for the number of days left in the month. The monies will need to be cleared funds if you are signing less than 5 days before moving (as above).
- Standing order form If the property is managed by CPS Homes, you will be required to pay your rent by standing order. We will give you a form to fill in which we will then send on to your bank to set the standing order up.
Click here to download a copy of our standing order form
- References Every new tenant is required to provide at least 2 references. Acceptable references are your current employer, your previous landlord or your bank(bank references may be subject to an admin fee – check with your bank for more details). Which references are required is at the discretion of CPS Homes and/or the landlord of the property. We will contact your referrees using our standard reference templates but it is your responsibility to make sure that your references are returned by your date of signing.
- Financial guarantor form If you cannot get two references (for example if you are a student) you will be asked to provide a financial guarantor (normally a parent/guardian). The guarantor then assumes responsibility for any monies unpaid by the tenant. We will provide you with a form for you to get signed. This must be brought in when you sign the contract and accompanied by a current utility bill showing clearly the guarantors name and address.
- Photo ID
If you are unable to provide the relevant references or decline the tenancy for any other reason, unfortunately we are unable to refund your administration fee.