DIY AST etc?

[Julian_S]

Good morning all.

I have an apartment becoming empty in a week or so and I have probably found a new tenant myself, they are friends of a friend and I am showing them the place later today.

Keen to avoid the (rip-off?) agent's find and paperwork fees I thought I might have a crack at it myself. So, I'm not going to bother with references as I think I'm OK there, so if I stick their deposit in the Deposit Protection Scheme and either re-use an old AST agreement or find one off Google then will I be OK as far as the legal aspects of it all?

Kind regards Julian.

[Carryon Regardless]

I always use my own AST as it is what I am familair with. I forget where the original came from but it has evolved over the years to include many things I've learned here about changing legislation and experience of others. The danger of using  google found template is that it may not cover things that you may not think to add.

A couple of examples are how to deal with abandonned belongings, clarifying that proof of postage is seen as document service.

My AST is as much an attempt at educting the T's as to their responsibilities as it is hoped a Judge will treat it as a legal document.

I don't entertain a tenancy without a guarantor, tied in with a deed, these days, but I don't take a deposit either.

[Richlist]

Have you actually considered ALL of your needs & legal obligations if you decide to do it yourself.......here is a quick list to start :

AST.

Extra contract clauses.

References........Bank, employer, previous landlord.

Inventory.

Schedule of condition.

L.   Deposit protection & prescribed information.

Rent guarantee insurance.

Home owning guarantor.

Bank standing order form/ completion.

L.   Gas & electrical checks/certification.

L.   Legionalla risk assessment.

L.   Issue tenants with ......energy performance certificate, 'how to rent' checklist latest version, a template for reporting repairs in writing, confirmation the deposit has been protected, confirmation the prescribed information has been provided, confirmation that carbon monoxide alarms are fitted in every room with solid fuel burning source, confirmation that smoke alarms have been fitted on every floor and have been checked and are working at the start of the tenancy.

Operating instruction books.

Help/ information sheet for tenants.

L.   List of restrictions for leasehold property.

Booklet on how to deal with condensation

Anything else I may have forgotten.

[Grampa]

Good morning all.

I have an apartment becoming empty in a week or so and I have probably found a new tenant myself, they are friends of a friend and I am showing them the place later today.

Keen to avoid the (rip-off?) agent's find and paperwork fees I thought I might have a crack at it myself. So, I'm not going to bother with references as I think I'm OK there, so if I stick their deposit in the Deposit Protection Scheme and either re-use an old AST agreement or find one off Google then will I be OK as far as the legal aspects of it all?

Kind regards Julian.

Go for it, it sounds like a very sensible idea what could go wrong.

[kerbut]

A

Go for it, it sounds like a very sensible idea what could go wrong.

 A great deal , as RL,s list shows.

[Julian_S]

Thanks Richlist. Much of the above list is not applicable or of no concern (no gas/oil in the property, not concerned about rent insurance etc) I shall look into that legionella thing as that's a new one to me however.

What does the law say about electrical safety checks nowadays? The flat is un-furnished so it just has some fixed appliances only (cooker, dish/cloths washers, immersion for hot water and some economy 7 storage heaters. I don't believe the fixed stuff needs PAT testing and the building is managed by an agent whom I assume is responsible for the electrickery in the communal areas.

Thanks Julian.

[Melboy]

One thing Julian is that there are no "friends" when it comes to letting out your property. I think it is fair to say that many people renting out their properties to "friends" have come unstuck and the friendship soon turns sour when the rent is not paid and they refuse to move out as they thought you were their friend and would understand..

I also do my own AST tailored to my requirements that I have learnt over the years.

Don't forget smoke alarms to be fitted and signed for by the tenant as working.

I would have electrical certification if I was in your position. No comeback on you should things go wrong and it is valid for 10 years if no changes take place to the electrical systems.

[Richlist]

I've updated my previous post by adding an 'L' prefix to those item which are legal requirements. The others are are all seriously recommended. If it goes wrong you'll be glad you followed the recommendations.

Electrical safety requirements says that the landlord is responsible for ensuring the property and any appliances provided are safe. You are not legally required to have that certificated in the same way as gas safety checks but many people do as its the only way they can comply with the safety requirements.

Without a detailed inventory and schedule of condition you will have virtually no chance of making a successfully claim on any deposit you take.

Many of the other items on the list are there because experience has shown that the minimal effort required to provide them is much easier than resolving problems without them.

 

[Julian_S]

Thanks, I'll look into the electrical safety cert, because as you say if the ejits manage to connect themselves to 240 volts then it's not my fault!

Funnily enough, having done this for a number of years I've only had one problem with someone who didn't pay and he was found via the agents. The agents said he was a mechanic, but I determined with one phone call that he was a car valeter on min wage with an ex-wife and kid to provide for so the chances of him having a spare £600 for the rent were pretty minimal! Anyway I served notice on him correctly and he took fright and buggered off, I kept the deposit so we ended up square.

Julian.

[Julian_S]

But many thanks for the above as it's given me good pointers.

Funnily enough I was taking a gander at the agents AST and it has all sorts of twaddle in it like mowing the lawns and scrubbing the patio - complete nonsense as there's no patios and the garden areas are maintained by the management company.

[Grampa]

That's because one contract "fits all" and if it doesn't have a garden its doesn't apply.

Agents will not tailor and bespoke every single clause to each property tenancy it would take hours. They may add the odd extra addendum though.

If you are planning to use an off the shelf WH Smith, free internet one or a copied  out of date agency tenancy agreement I can guarantee it will be very average and have a lot of missing clauses which a good up to date agency one will have and could save you a lot of aggro with a number of potential issues. It will do the basics only.

But you will have to pay the  agent "rip off" fees even though they must get them for free.

[Julian_S]

 

But you will have to pay the  agent "rip off" fees even though they must get them for free.

Well, the last lot's work was sticking up some previous pictures on Righmove, and charging me  the thick end of £600. (a months rent) They used the office junior to show two potentials around who didn't know the square root of feck all about not much - totally failing to grasp basic stuff like undercover car parking and the heating arrangements, loosing the keys and the 'Welcome to your new property' from the Utility providers that I carefully placed in a prominent position. Failing to inform me when the tenants were moving in, took 6 months rent up-front from them as they were self employed with no proof of income and then failing to give it to me without several blunt emails from myself etc etc. Lots more stuff, but I expect your getting bored reading my twaddle! Suffice to say that I always make it a priority to meet the new tenants in the first day or two and explain stuff properly to them.

Now, perhaps you see why I think they are a rip-off?

Julian

[Richlist]

Well there are good and bad lettings agents just as there are good and bad butchers, plumbers and car mechanics.

The answer is not always to do it yourself but to find a good one, usually through recommendation.

Even 'good ' lettings agents require some degree of 'management' sometimes. I consider my agents, who I have used for the last 15 years to be at the good end of the spectrum but, I do need to provide some degree of input/hands on approach to ensure I get exactly what I really want.

For example I will...

* Provide them with a list of criteria that any applicant must meet before they view the property (no smokers, no pets, nobody on housing benefit etc etc).

* Ensure they have a detailed description of the property with all its features identified together with a list of what the landlord is providing/ including in the price.

* Ensure they have details of costs for council tax, utilities etc.

* Because the list of requirements that a landlord must meet is lengthy.....See my earlier post.....I would never leave it to chance that it's all been completed by my agents. I will routinely phone them on day 1 and ask them to confirm that each individual item has been completed.

Etc etc.

Paying any agent a few hundred quid and expecting perfection is an unrealistic expectation. Ensuring you have an input to the process will have a far greater chance of success.

Good luck.

 

[Julian_S]

Indeed Richlist, I'm not after perfection but sometimes I feel that spoon-feeding is a better description of what's required!

Years ago I used a company (in Warrington) called iSites, they were really very good and the manager and staff were so good that I used to take them boxes of chocolates etc. They got bought out by a national company and now, as near as I can determine, all the agents in the area are variations on a theme involving mediocrity at best.

Is it possible to state no foreigners these days or will that be racist? Not that I worry as I've had Australians (trainee vets) Indians (Tata) and Chinese and they have all been great. It's Eastern Europeans that seem to cause trouble....

Julian

[Richlist]

No you certainly shouldn't be saying no foreigners. One of my recent posts covered this point. I'm of the opinion that it's very, very easy to find an entirely legitimate reason to exclude any applicant.

You can almost guarantee that if you have a long legitimate list of criteria that must be met even the best will fail on something.

No smokers, no pets, no non English speakers, no resident children, nobody on housing benefit, no company let's, no overcrowding, nobody running a business from the property, no long lead times. Only working tenants, no part time, unemployed, looking for work, students. Nobody under 25, no self employed with less than 3 years accounts, no 6 month rent up front, no lettings less than 6 months, no shift/ night workers,  Nobody without references or poor references, nobody who fails to qualify for RGI, nobody who cannot provide a home owning guarantor....etc, etc, etc...

Well, I'd probably fail my own criteria........but it doesn't matter, what I want is to choose my tenants.

[Julian_S]

Thanks for that RL, very useful indeed.

Out of interest, why would you reject company lets?

Julian

[Richlist]

Company let's can be very problematic. Usually you let the property , to a company, the tenancy agreement is not an AST, the company choose who moves in.

Often this type of letting is not allowed by mortgage lenders or freeholders.

So, you may get a smoker, a couple of dogs, very young toddlers who use felt pens on your newly decorated walls, in fact virtually anyone except the unemployed or unemployable.

If you want to have some control of who and what is moving into your property then avoid company let's........my agents don't entertain them and neither will I.

[Grampa]

You can find also that the companies sometimes want to use their own contracts which can be heavily  bias in favour of the company. You will also very unlikely have any control over who and how often the tenant change.

It can work, but tread very very carefully and get personal guarantor's from the directors of the company in case the company stops trading.