UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi, I'm just about to have my first lot of tenants come to the end of the tenancy agreement through a letting agent.  Basically, I have to agree with The Landlord, that some agents do very little for their cash!!  The tenants are nice people who have looked after the house and paid the rent on time.  I am now going to be brave and go it alone.  I have given notice to the letting agents and they have said I need to apply for a deposit scheme.  I have looked through the guide for new landlords, and there isn't much about this scheme on there.  How do I find a reputable company?  Obviously all the safety/legal aspects are covered, gas safety cert, landlords insurance etc.  The tenants have mentioned that they didn't have guarantors - not sure what to do on this.  I am going to download the tenancy agreement and pet forms from this site.  Please could someone let me know if there is anything more I need to do?  Thank you   

All the schemes are reputable as they are government backed, there are only 3 to chose from I use the DPS.

Why do you need guarantors now?  You need them at the start of the tenancy as you don't know the tenants or if they will pay.

Don't get the tenants to sign another fixed term.  Allow it to go periodic.  This gives you more flexibility.

Thanks Riptide.  So do I need to have my tenants sign a new (rolling) tenancy agreement with me? My letting agents have said theirs will become invalid at the end of their involvement. See their reply below - I take it they aren't too happy

"Just to confirm you wish to give us notice and take over the management of the above property with the tenants in situe??
If this is the case I will write to your tenants, you will need to arrange a new tenancy agreement with them as ours will become void and you will need to apply for a deposit scheme so that we can forward the deposit to you."

I can't see personally how a tenancy is voided.  They can be mutually cancelled.  A statutory periodic tenancy is just that, it's ruled by statute to conform to certain conditions.  As such there is no periodic 'contract'.  An AST can be rolling from day one, but there is protection in place to say the T has a 6 month period as a legal minimum.

Thanks for your help   

Hi, sorry to be a pain. My nephew lives near to the house I am taking over the management of. Would he be able to witness the signatures when we sign the tenancy agreement, or not with him being a relative?

You dont actually need a witness, as its under three years.

So yes he can.

Thank you - that saves me disturbing him.