The rental market in Brighton & Hove can be highly competitive and fast paced. Gone are the days of filtering through portals to find the perfect property; in actual fact it has become all too rare for properties to even be uploaded online.
This is why it’s imperative to register with Lextons! Ensuring you are first to be contacted about a new property coming to the market. Don’t, and risk losing out.
These days it seems more and more tenants are narrowing their property search to include only fully managed properties to rent.
Tenants are able to rest assured that any commonplace issues will be taken care of by a committed property management team. Any occupant would benefit from a 24-hour helpline with emergency contact details should any problem arise.
Finding a property online is one thing, but to really get a feel for a place visiting in person is essential. So with any property you like the look of we would highly recommend coming along to view.
We will meet you at the property or in our office beforehand and accompany you throughout; therefore, if you have any questions along the way our team of local experts will be able to assist and advise you.
As soon as you have found your perfect property, please give us a call on 01273 56 77 66 or send an email into lettings@lextons.co.uk.
Please, do let us know if there are any specific conditions to the offer that you would like communicating with the landlord.
Your landlord or Lextons will expect you to pay the following:
Any other payments are prohibited. For further information, please do ask for a copy of the Tenant Fees Act 2019: Guidance for Tenants, which we can provide to you.
All letting agents are required to have CMP in place by law. This is a scheme which protects clients’, i.e. yours, the tenants, money against theft or misappropriation of said money by the member’s owners.
As soon as the offer has been accepted by the landlord we will carry out a credit check on every named tenant and will require references within three days of the application being made.
We will organise the following, regardless of whether your property is managed:
We will ask you for a reference either from your previous landlord, current employer or accountant; in addition to a copy of your passport, driving license or birth certificate. We will then conduct a credit check, living reference, income/employment reference and Right to Rent checks. Further information on Right to Rent checks is provided below.
If a guarantor is required, then we will contact you for more information and a further reference will be carried out.
Once we have processed your references and agreed the terms of the tenancy, we will provide you with a lease agreement via Docusign and some informative material explaining how your deposit will be stored and registered with the ‘My Deposit’ TDP scheme.
After you have read both documents we will ask all tenants to initial every page and sign electronically where indicated, your future landlord will be asked to do the same.
Once we have been notified that the contract has been signed we will request the full tenancy deposit and first month’s rent from you; keys cannot be released to you without these payments being cleared.
Under the Immigration Act 2014, Right to Rent legislation was introduced. It is essential for both tenants and landlords to understand the implications of this act.
The purpose of the act is to place restrictions onto and limit illegal immigrants accessing rented accommodation within England. This is achieved by requesting all potential adult occupants to prove they are in the UK legally before they are granted tenancy. This is ensured by carrying out a process called the Right to Rent check.
The Right to Rent check is when a potential adult occupant of a rental property personally shows their identity documents to a landlord or letting agent.
A copy of the documentation must then be copied and recorded by the landlord or letting agent who verified the identification. The process of this check being carried out must then also be recorded. If the circumstance arises where a tenant has a time limited right to rent (i.e. a visa or Biometric Residence Permit with an expiry date), then the check must be completed within 28 days of the tenancies start date. In addition the potential tenants’ visa must be valid for the proposed lease start date.
The occupation of a rental property is dependent on all adult tenants providing a valid Right to Rent before the tenancy start date. Identity documents can be presented at a Lextons branch and the Right to Rent check completed as part of the referencing procedure. If the event arises where any adult occupant fails to physically visit the landlord or letting agent and their original documentation to establish a valid Right to Rent, then all occupants may be denied access to the property until this requirement is fulfilled.
Once the property has been suitably prepared for you by the landlord and our property management team, we will carry out the pre-tenancy check to make sure everything is ready for you to move in.
In addition, we are able to arrange for the landlord or an inventory clerk to meet you at a specific time to personally check you into your new home. Some of our landlords will manage their properties themselves. In this case we will always try to assist but you may be directed to the landlord.
Upon completion, you will be given your set of keys. And, you can now move into your new home!
What to expect next:
In circumstances where Lextons are managing the property we will write to the utility suppliers on your behalf, however you must still ensure that all bills are transferred into your name.
Three months before the end of your tenancy we will contact you to discuss whether you would like to renew your existing contract. If you are happy to stay then we will relay this to your landlord.
If you would do not wish to renew your tenancy we will require a decision from you at least eight weeks before the end of your lease agreement. It is at this point we recommend that you inform your utility providers when you are moving out to close your accounts. Under the circumstances where either you or your landlord decides not to renew the contract, we will assist you to secure a new property to rent. If you wish to purchase a property, we would also be more than happy to assist you with your search!
We will make arrangements to check you out of the property on the last day of your tenancy. We request that all tenants would return all keys to a Lextons branch and provide us with your forwarding address and contact details in order to enable the return of your deposit.
The deposit will be refunded in accordance with the terms of the ‘My Deposit’ Scheme and your lease agreement.
Have you extended or renovated? Are you remortgaging or just curious to know how much someone will pay for your property?
Knowing what your property is worth may help you make those long-term decisions, we are happy to help.
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