UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi All,

I am a newbie landlord trying to get some basic understanding and thought I would post for some help.  I have a few manuals some incredibly long to read at some point but I have a tenant moving in soon so just wanted to quickly pick up any tips and advice from those that are experienced in these matters.

My questions are as follows:

1.   Assured Short hold Tenancy Agreement – I am planning on going for a 6 month AST.  I am not sure what happens at the end, do I need to write another one out if the same tenant stays on?  I want to stay strictly within the law at all times and don't want anything or mistakes to invalidate my insurance so would like to know what landlords generally do?
2.   Notice to quit should it be necessary, I believe its 2 months with a 6 month AST?  Is this correct?  What notice does the tenant need to give?
3.   The actual AST.  I am going to use the one I found on .gov.uk website because I like the explanation notes throughout it for both the landlord and tenant.  I have had a skim read of this but could not see anywhere to add your own 'house rules'.  Can these be added, or do we need to mention an appendix and add them in there? What tips and advice can everyone give regarding this?  I know legally the tenant has the right to 'quiet enjoyment' but what exactly does this mean from a legal perspective.  I just want to clearly state within the tenancy agreement things like making sure the flat is properly ventilated (I think that is referred to in the one I have downloaded), no smoking policy, no pets, no wild parties (lol) and anything else I think might be a problem.  Can we just list our do's and don'ts or does any of these put us in danger of making the AST not legally binding, I don't want to do something and then find my AST would not stand up in a court of law because I did this or that, so I am really looking for the idiots guide to getting it right and staying on the right side of the law.  Obviously I don't want to be paying legal fees either before or after, hence I am asking for those experienced landlords for the benefit of their knowledge.
4.   I am aware of the Rent to Rent legal obligation so will be drafting something up for the tenant to sign and taking a photo of their passport.
5.   I am also aware of the Rent Deposit Scheme and will be doing this within the 30 days as I have already had this, does anyone have any advice on this not sure whether to pay the small fee and retain it or not?  Just thinking its best to have it if you had any disputes at the end of the tenancy what do people think?
6.   I have already used a third party and had the tenant referenced and credit checked and all looks good, am I missing anything?

Many thanks all.

Tony

If you haven't already done so, have a read of this: http://www.propertyinvestmentproject.co.uk/blog/guide-new-landlords/

To answer your questions in brief:

1) if you do nothing at the end of the 6 month period, your AST automatically becomes a Statutory Periodic Tenancy. The basic terms remain the same, but your tenants may give you one month's notice to end the tenancy. You, on the other hand, must give at least two months' notice, via a Section 21.

2) Your tenants are entitled to remain in the property for at least the six months of the AST. If you want them to leave at the end of that period, you must give them two months' notice, but you cannot oblige them to leave any sooner (assuming there are no grounds for a Section 8 eviction). Your tenants are contractually obliged to remain for the six months of the AST. In theory, they could leave on the last day of the fixed term without giving you notice but that would be rather poor form on their part. Thereafter, the tenants' notice period become one month ,as above.

3) Try not to go overboard with extra terms and conditions: it's not your place to dictate your tenants' lifestyle. "Quiet enjoyment" basically means leaving your tenants alone as far as possible! Your main concern is avoiding undue maintenance costs and getting your property back in a reasonable condition at the end of the tenancy, so it's reasonable to have a policy on smoking, pets, ventilation and general care of the property.In practical terms, if one of your tenants starts smoking in the house, there's not a lot you can do about it, but at least you can deduct the costs of getting rid of the fag stench from the deposit when they leave.

5) I prefer the custodial option with deposits. Whichever scheme you use won't release the deposit without your authority anyway.

6) Well, there's plenty you haven't mentioned, but I assume that's mainly for lack of space.

3. Keep it simple. My AST is 9 pages (inc. a front cover) and I'm always looking for ways to trim it down. You can't really go around banning "wild parties" because the term in itself is entirely subjective - what is a wild party to person A is gentle soiree to person B. AST terms should not include subjective things in them, they should be objective, especially if they are going to be [overly] prescriptive. Otherwise, you'll be in a position where it's opinion vs. opinion - a no-win situation that each party with have very strong feelings about. The gov.uk model tenancy agreement I found to be quite verbose and repetitive... though not the worst I have seen, by far.

5. I used to do solely Custodial. I envisaged it as being safest with the DPS as it quite simply wasn't my money. However, when I started taking larger deposit (£1,300, £1,400 etc.) I started to pay the £22.20 and move the money into my mortgage linked offset account - it benefits me greatly there, by reducing my interest burden. It still feels entirely safe and separate from my own money and you only need a year to make back your £22.20, and more - beyond that and you're winning over and over. Then I decided to move all new deposits to the Insured scheme, so I now even put a £500 deposit in there - paying the £22.20 fee again - and I'm happy with that as my expectation is that it'll be a long-term tenancy. Small gamble.