Solo Property Services

How to View a Property

Please be advised that all appointments to view must be made via Solo Property Services. We can be contacted by telephone, email, fax or mail to arrange this (contact us). Please note that we are required to give at least 24 hours notice of viewing appointments to the present occupiers of properties, if applicable, and therefore we recommend that you try and arrange viewing appointments at least 48 hours in advance to avoid disappointment. During peak times, longer notice may be required to ensure an appointment time is available. You will normally be required to make your own way to and between the property/ies you have arranged to view.

N.B. We will require names and contact numbers of those wishing to view and will endeavour to contact you at the earliest opportunity should the property you have booked to view have already been let prior to your appointment or be unavailable for any other reason. We will not be responsible for any losses incurred, e.g. travel expenses, time etc., in this event.

How to Apply to Rent a Property

Should you be interested in applying to rent a specific property, we will ask a number of questions to ascertain your potential suitability as a tenant, and whether you are compatible in principle with whatever basic parameters the landlord has set for the property, e.g. no pets, etc. Should we decide that you would be a suitable potential tenant - we reserve the right to decline any applications on the landlords behalf or refer any decision to the landlord, if we feel you would not be a suitable tenant for the property or if there is compromise required over the parameters set - we will ask you to complete and sign an Application Form (one per adult applicant - all persons of 18 years and over, who will be resident in the property, will have to complete an Application Form and will be named on the tenancy agreement if the application is successful), supply a passport sized photograph and photo ID and pay the necessary Application Fee/s (see below). At this stage, you can also request a draft copy of our basic standard tenancy agreement, although this will not yet include any special clauses that may be particular to this tenancy application or property.

Subject to the landlord’s approval of your application, the completion of the application form and payment of the application fee will mean that further marketing of the property will cease with immediate effect and that we will commence the referencing procedure accordingly. Please note that the application fee is non-refundable (it will be retained by Solo Property Services to cover administration costs) in the event that your references prove unsatisfactory or you withdraw your application prior to the signing of the tenancy agreement. Should the landlord withdraw the property prior to the signing of the tenancy agreement, despite satisfactory references having been received for you, your full application fee would be refunded. However, please note that no further compensation would be given, as all applications are made subject to contract and give you no contractual rights to rent the property.

Application Fees

Residential Properties - £110 per adult applicant

Student Properties - £85 per applicant (all applicants must be 18 years or over)

A loyalty discount of £20 per applicant will apply if you are currently living in a property where the tenancy was set up or is managed by Solo Property Services, and are applying to rent another property through Solo Property Services or to re-rent the property you are currently in (e.g. Student properties for a further academic year).

References

The information you provide on the application form will be used to request references from your nominated referees. These would normally include employer/accountant, current/previous landlord, character referee and bank/credit check, although these may vary as applicable. For instance for Student applications, most of the above would not be relevant, except for landlord’s reference and therefore a Guarantor for your rent and, possibly, a tutor’s reference would be required instead. We will then contact the landlord to confirm that they are happy for us to proceed with the referencing. If so, we will write, email or fax reference requests to the relevant parties, requesting information about you that will provide us with an insight into your suitability as a tenant and that we can cross reference against information provided by you on the application form. We will normally require the replies to be in writing, using headed notepaper where applicable, although email and fax replies may be acceptable in some circumstances, if time necessitates. Please note that all references are applied for in confidence and that you will not be permitted to see the replies unless express written consent is received from the referee. Subject to the landlord’s requirements, references and/or credit checks may be sought using a specialist referencing company, either in addition to or instead of our in house referencing procedures, which may necessitate higher application fees - all fees will be stated in advance however.

Once the references are received, we will assess their suitability, querying any potential issues with you to try and resolve any unsatisfactory or doubtful references, before contacting the landlord to discuss the references and seek authorisation to proceed with the letting or otherwise. We will then advise you of the outcome of this and either proceed to arrange a tenancy commencement date and tenancy signing, or reject your application as applicable. Assuming that you are acceptable as a tenant, we will arrange a date/s to sign the tenancy agreement, collect the rent and deposit and commence the tenancy (not necessarily simultaneously). Please see the sections below for more information on these subjects.

Rent and Deposits

Prior to signing the tenancy agreement for the property, you will be required to pay your first rent instalment (normally the first calendar month’s rent but this may vary, so please check if in doubt) and damage deposit (this will be normally be an amount at least equivalent to one calendar month’s rent but usually slightly more and may vary depending on the type of property, whether it is unfurnished or furnished, whether the landlord has agreed to pets residing in the property, etc. You will be advised prior to signing the tenancy agreement).

N.B. The initial rent and deposit payments must either be paid in cleared funds on the day of signing, i.e. cash or bank draft, or if paid by cheque or bank transfer, the payment must be made far enough in advance of the signing date to ensure that the funds have cleared prior to the agreement being signed. For student tenancies, because the tenancy agreement is usually signed a long way in advance of the commencement of the tenancy, the deposit will be payable upon signing the tenancy but the first rent payment will normally be set up in advance by standing order - student rents will normally be payable in monthly or 4 instalments in advance over the period of the tenancy (see ‘Tenancy Agreements’).

Future rent is payable by standing order, either to the landlord or landlord’s agent, in advance - usually calendar monthly but this may vary. You will be required to complete and sign a standing order mandate accordingly on the day of signing, which we will forward to your bank or building society for processing.

Your damage deposit will either be held by the landlord, landlord’s agent or third party custodial scheme as stakeholder, depending on the service that the agent has been appointed to undertake on behalf of the landlord and depending which of the three government approved tenancy deposit schemes applies to that tenancy - all deposits received must now be registered with one of the three schemes - for the duration of the tenancy. At the end of the tenancy and subject to your vacation of the property, the property and the landlord’s contents will be checked carefully by the landlord, landlord’s agent, or both - utilising the written and photographic inventories prepared at the start of the tenancy and any other evidence relating to the condition of the property at the start of or throughout the tenancy - to ascertain whether, allowing for ‘normal wear and tear’ relative to the time you have occupied the property, the property has been returned in a satisfactory condition or not. If so, your deposit will normally be returned, less any deductions for outstanding bills (if any), e.g. unsettled utility bills, within 10 working days of the end of your tenancy. If not, and deposit deductions are required, e.g. for additional cleaning, damage, missing inventory items etc., the balance of your deposit will not be returned until the cost of the deductions has been assessed - however, you will normally be advised within 10 working days if deductions are deemed necessary. .

N.B. You cannot nominate your deposit to be used in lieu of rent due, although if rent is outstanding at the termination of the tenancy, the equivalent value of the deposit to what is owed in rent will be retained by the landlord or landlord’s agent until such time as the outstanding rent is paid.

Tenancy Agreements

In the vast majority of cases, you will be required to sign an ‘Assured Shorthold Tenancy’ prior to moving into the property, although other types of agreement, e.g. Company letting Agreement, Licenses, etc. may be appropriate depending on the circumstances. The agreement would normally be signed for at least a 6 month period, although again this may vary subject to circumstances. Student tenancies will normally be for a minimum 11 month period.

The tenancy agreement will contain details of the landlord and tenant/s, the property address, the commencement date and period of the tenancy, and the rent and deposit payable and how and when it is to be paid and the scheme that the deposit is protected under. Additionally, it will contain clauses pertaining to the property, and the tenant’s and landlord’s obligations accordingly, e.g. which utility bills the tenant is responsible for, restrictions regarding the use of the property, the landlord’s repairing obligations etc. Most of these clauses are standard to ‘Solo Property Services’ basic Assured Shorthold Tenancy, but additional or varied clauses may apply to different properties and different tenancies.

N.B. You can obtain a draft copy of our basic agreement prior to signing the tenancy, to allow you time to understand what you will signing. Please note that the tenancy agreement is a legal document and if you are in doubt as to your obligations under it, you are advised to seek professional advice prior to signing it.

Inventories

You will normally be provided with a written ‘Inventory and Statement of Condition’ of the property at the commencement of the tenancy, either prepared by the landlord or landlord’s agent. A photographic or video inventory may also accompany this. You are strongly advised to check this thoroughly as soon as the tenancy commences and advise the landlord or landlord’s agent with details of any amendments or comments you feel are pertinent within 7 days of the commencement date of the tenancy. If these are not advised within 7 days, it will be deemed that you are in full agreement with what has been provided.

N.B. It is important that you are in full agreement with what has been provided, or advise promptly to the contrary, as the inventory forms the basis on which the property will be checked when you eventually vacate and hence how the deposit deductions (if any) will be assessed. Please note that any alterations to the property by way of maintenance or inventory item replacements or additions during the tenancy period, will also be taken into consideration when it is checked.

During the Tenancy

Depending on the service that the landlord has employed ‘Solo Property Services’ to undertake, the tenancy will normally either be managed by us or the landlord. If the former, all contact relating to the tenancy will normally be directly between the tenant and us. If the latter, our involvement with the tenancy will normally cease upon the tenancy commencing and all contact thereafter will be directly between the tenant and landlord. Tenants will be advised accordingly prior to or upon signing the tenancy agreement and relevant contact details supplied.

The reasons to make contact on both sides are potentially many and varied, e.g. the tenant may ring to advise a maintenance issue, the landlord may ring to arrange for a gas engineer to carry out the landlords gas safety inspections on the gas appliances provided, we may write to arrange a management visit etc., but good communication on all sides is important and will help to ensure a smooth tenancy for all concerned.

N.B. Unless an emergency, the landlord or landlord’s agent is required to give at least 24 hours notice of visits to the property, either by them or appointed contractors / agents etc. If the advised visit is not convenient to the tenant, they must advise accordingly, although access should not be unreasonably denied. Mutual co-operation will obviously benefit all parties involved.

To End the Tenancy

The tenancy agreement, whilst for a minimum fixed term period, will normally be worded in such a way that unless either party gives notice to terminate the agreement, the tenancy will continue beyond the end of the fixed period under the same basic terms and conditions as the original tenancy. This is what is known as a ‘Statutory Periodic Tenancy’.

Unless either party is in serious breach of their tenancy obligations, the tenancy cannot normally be terminated until the end of the initial fixed term period at the earliest. If either party wished to terminate the tenancy at this point or at any time during a Statutory Periodic Tenancy, however, the relevant notice period and method of notice must be observed.

The landlord is required, under statutory law, to serve at least 2 calendar month’s written notice - this may be longer if served during a Statutory Periodic Tenancy (depending on the date of service,) or if the rent payment frequency is less than calendar monthly - on the tenant to terminate the tenancy agreement, such notice to contain certain prescribed information.

The notice period required from the tenant, to similarly terminate the tenancy, will normally be stated in the tenancy agreement but otherwise is deemed to be a minimum of one rental period, e.g. calendar month, 4 weeks, quarter etc., although not necessarily having to expire at the end of a rental period, such notice to be served in writing to the landlord or landlord’s agent as applicable.

N.B. All notices must be received by the recipient on or prior to the latest date they can be effectively served. The tenancy agreement contains details of the accepted timescales and methods or service.

At the end of the tenancy, all keys to the property must be returned by the tenant, utility meters read and final bills paid for all utilities and Council Tax etc. that are the tenant’s responsibility, and the Inventory and Statement of Condition checked and deposit return processed (see ‘Rents and Deposits’).

Our Tenant Policy

‘Solo Property Services’ undertake to deal with all prospective and current tenants in a fair and proper manner, observing common courtesies where appropriate and endeavouring to maintain a good standard of communication at all times.

‘Solo Property Services’ will not be party to active or intentional breaches of any anti-discriminatory legislation.

‘Solo Property Services’, whilst legally acting for the landlord (our client) and not the tenant, have a duty of care to those tenants we deal with and will endeavour to ensure that the standard of accommodation let through us, and the standard of service provided by us and our clients is good.

Further information

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