FAQs

How much rent will my property achieve monthly?

This is the most often asked question. We base our valuation of your property on the following factors:-

* The location of property
* The overall size of the accommodation
* The presentation of the accommodation (i.e., interior decor)
* Added extras: i.e., central heating, double-glazing, refitted kitchen/bathroom, off road parking, garage etc

We will value your property in accordance with current market conditions and will compare your property to similar homes that have been let in and around the area.

Will I achieve more income from the rental if my property is furnished?

Generally speaking the rental income will not increase drastically if your property is fully furnished. There are many regulations that govern what type/age of furniture can stay in a property that is being let. A more in depth paragraph has been dedicated to the regulations in a later section of this guide.

There is a larger demand for unfurnished properties as many ingoing tenants have their own furniture and prefer to have their own items, especially beds! There is obviously a certain amount of demand for furnished properties but this is relatively low in comparison to the demand for unfurnished properties.

How will Providence Properties advertise my property?

Your property details will be listed on our property list that is given out to the general public and is emailed/mailed out to awaiting tenants. We advertise on our websites and through our newsletter.

Will my property be empty for a long period of time?

We hope not! Once we start to market your property we anticipate that a tenant, once found should move in within a week. We will always contact the tenant approximately two months before the tenancy is due to end, this way we know of their intentions to stay on in the property or to vacate. This give us time to start the marketing process again and avoid your property being vacant for an unnecessary amount of time. Tenants must allow us access at reasonable times to conduct viewings with potential new tenants.

How does the tenant pay the rent every month and when do I get my money?

We will set up a standing order from the tenants bank account to our bank account. The rent will be due on the same day of the month and is paid in advance monthly. The rent is then usually paid to you within five working days either directly into your bank account or by cheque, which ever you prefer.

We will send you a monthly statement listing what has been collected, what fees have been deducted, any contractor’s fees and the balance paid to you.

What if anything goes wrong with the maintenance of the property?

From time to time a problem will occur concerning maintenance issues. The most common ones are “My hot water is not working!” or “ My fence has blown down”. You as the Landlord will have to pay to have these things fixed. Some Landlords are lucky and never have to pay out for any repairs, this is probably because the property has been well maintained and everything is in good working order.

Should anything happen as mentioned above then the tenants will call us. We will seek authorisation from you to instruct a contractor to attend to any repairs that need carrying out. We will use your preferred contractors if you have any but you may have an insurance policy with a company such as British Gas which will cover all plumbing aspects. You should advise us of any special insurance policies that you may have when prompted by the property management sheet.

If we can not contact you and urgent repairs are required, then we will authorise one of our contractors to go in and carry out the necessary works. For example, we once had a tenant who lost all of their heating and hot water on Christmas Eve and had a house full for the holiday period. We received a call from her on the emergency mobile number and could not contact the Landlord as he had gone over seas for Christmas. Our only option was to call out our Gas engineer to fix the problem. Luckily it was something simple that the engineer could do there and then and only a small part was required. It could have been a lot more expensive for the Landlord, so it is always advisable to take out service/breakdown cover for your central heating/hot water and plumbing system.

Please remember that you will be responsible to pay for all repairs relating to the maintenance of your property. Normally the contractors will send the invoice to us and then we will deduct the amount from the next instalment of rent received from the tenants. Obviously if the tenants own a fridge freezer or washing machine and it breaks down then it is their own responsibility to get them fixed!

What if the tenant doesn’t pay the rent?

You will obviously expect to receive the rent from your tenant on time every month. Unfortunately sometimes tenants for one reason or another do not pay their rent, and there is not a great deal that Letting agents or Landlords can physically do to make them pay. This is why we offer you the peace of mind of rent guarantee. The rent guarantee is included in your management package and you incur no extra cost for this service. In simple terms, it is an insurance policy that pays out if the tenants go into arrears. A copy of the policy will be sent to you once the tenants have moved in.

It is very rare that we have to make any claims at all as the majority of our tenants pay the rent on time, but it is good to have the safety net of the rent guarantee just in case. The policy also includes legal costs. If a tenant persistently does not pay the rent then steps will be taken to have them evicted from the property at no extra cost to you. We can go into further detail with you should you wish. Evictions are a very complex area of Letting Law and thankfully do not happen very often! A specialised solicitor will be assigned and will deal with the case from start to finish.

What if the tenant causes damage to my property?

We will do our utmost to ensure that the tenants look after your property by carrying out regular checks of the property (normally every 10-12 weeks). We are proud to report that the majority of properties we have managed in the past have been handed back in very good condition. Unfortunately there are a small percentage of tenants that will not look after your property in the way that you would expect, but these are very few and far between. If we find that a tenant has caused malicious damage to your property then there are certain routes we can take within the law to remove them from your home, but this can take time through the legal system as it is.

Your property should be insured against any damage that a tenant might cause. For example, if a tenant, by accident sets fire to a carpet in the house, the deposit that we are holding may not be enough to cover the replacement, so your insurance policy should have some damage cover built in to it. There are many insurance Companies that specialise in landlord policies.

We are proud to say that in the past three years we have never experienced any major damage that has been caused by a tenant. We are very careful in the initial selection of the tenants for your property and that we are as sure as we can be that your property will be looked after.

How will letting my property affect my insurance?

Most insurance policies will apply to owner-occupier properties only. So if you rented out your property and did not inform your insurance Company of this then your policy will more and likely be null and void. It is very important that you advise your insurance Company that you are letting your property and you check that your policy is adequate before the tenancy commences. Just as an example, if your property is set alight and is rendered as uninhabitable then you may not be covered for the rebuilding costs if you have not told your insurers that the property has been rented out. Also if the property is rendered uninhabitable then we cannot charge rent to the tenants, built into your insurance policy should be loss of rent following fire/flood/storm etc.

If your property is let furnished then you must get YOUR contents insured. The tenants will only insure items that belong to them.

If your property is a flat, then your buildings insurance will more than likely be included in a the monthly ground/service fee that you pay monthly/quarterly or half yearly, but check this before any tenancy commences. As a condition of your lease you may also have to ask permission from who ever owns the lease to rent out the property (commonly known as the head lease)

If I want possession of my property mid way through the tenancy, where do I stand legally?

Once you have committed yourself to a period of tenancy then you will be bound by the terms and conditions of the tenancy agreement. If you enter into a 12-month tenancy then you will not be able to take back possession of that property within that 12-month period, and the same will apply if you enter into a six-month tenancy, you may not take back possession within that initial six-month period. Most tenancies start with an initial six or twelve month fixed period. If you want to take possession of the property back then NO LESS THAN TWO months notice must be served to the tenants, the two month notice period must be the LAST TWO MONTHS of the tenancy agreement.

For example:
A twelve month fixed tenancy
Tenancy start date: 20th July
Tenancy end date: 19th July
Notice for possession is served on the 17th May (Two months & two days notice as no less than two months notice is acceptable)

The Landlord can only take back possession of the property on the 19th July if the correct amount of notice has been served. The tenant can stay on in the property even if the notice has expired and it could take weeks or even months in the courts to get possession back. There are many laws in place that protects the tenant from unlawful eviction. Your Mackenzie Ward representative will be happy to explain this in more detail, as this is a very complex area of tenant & landlord law.

Will I have to pay tax on my rental income?

Yes is the answer if you are making any profit after your mortgage/insurances have been paid. You should contact your tax office or accountant if you have one to discuss this in more detail. Any profit that you make will be subject to tax, you may be able to off set any profit against the maintenance of the property, and again we advise that you speak to an accountant in regard to this. We do not give the Inland Revenue a list of Landlords names and addresses but if asked we will have to supply information to them.

I am intending to live over seas, what are the tax implications?

If you live over seas then the Inland Revenue will see you as a non-resident landlord. Unless you have been approved by the Inland Revenue to be exempt from paying UK tax, then our accounts department will deduct tax at the basic rate on the net value of the rent that you receive, on a quarterly basis.

You can make an application for exemption from paying tax if you are planning on living overseas, a form is available from our office if required. If the property is owned in joint names or there are multiple owners then an exemption for each named owner will be required.

We do not have a specialised tax advisor based in the office but any queries you may have could be dealt with through our accountants.

Are there any safety regulations that I have to adhere to when letting my property?

There are many laws/safety regulations that landlords have to comply to. We have compiled some examples of what could happen if the regulations are not adhered to. These are not designed to shock or frighten you, but are there so that you are aware of why the regulations have been introduced.

1.) Gas regulations

The government passed a law in November 1994 regulating the gas safety installations in all rented properties. ALL gas appliances, including pipe work, ventilation flues, meters and additional fittings must be certified by a registered CORGI gas engineer as safe. THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS. The certification must be carried out every 12 months and commonly is known as a Landlord gas safety certificate, or more technically a CP12. Please remember that only a Corgi registered installer can check for the safety of appliances and installations. It is our responsibility as Letting Agents to inform you of your obligations. We can arrange for the gas safety check to be carried out at your property.

2.) Electrical regulations

In January 1995 it became a criminal offence to supply any electrical appliance that is deemed to be unsafe for human use. Electrical equipment is deemed unsafe if it jeopardises the safety of people, domestic animals or property. The only way to ensure that your appliances are safe is to have a safety check carried out. We will ask you to remove any appliance that is left in your property for the tenant to use if we are slightly unsure of its level of safety. We can arrange for a safety check to be carried out at your property.

3.) Furniture regulations

If you are renting out your property furnished, part or minimally furnished then you are obliged by law to comply with safety regulations. The law is "The 1988 Safety Regulations", and the law is strict. The items that are covered are as follows:-

Sofas, arm chairs, mattresses, headboard, cushions, pillows, seat pads on dining chairs, or anything with a soft filling must comply with current legislation.

Carpets and curtains are not included.

It is YOUR responsibility to ensure that non-compliance items are removed before the
Tenancy commences.

The labels on the following page are the one that you should be looking out for in your furniture:

Please take the time to read through these following cases as a result of non-compliance to Gas safety regulations. They are actual cases and are not made up! Nothing like what you are about to read has ever happened to one of Our Landlords