I want to rent my flat without going through estate agents. What do I need to do?
Monday, September 5th, 2011 at
11:33 pm
Can I go through a credit checking company as an individual (not a company)? What references do I need to get from prospective tenants? Can I approach prospective tenants’ employers and/or bank directly for a reference? Do standard tenancy agreements ensure that I can give notice to tenants?
Quick House Sale
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Tagged with: Credit Checking • Reference • Rent
Filed under: flat rent
move to another country. the estate agents here suck. especially foxtons. it’s more like a starbucs than an estate agent….they do make good coffee there though! my husband and i went into the foxtons in richmond and they brought us to a few properties…one had just been let, and they told us if we put in a better offer that the new tennant would move out…and the other properties they showed us were either out of our budget or were in a terrible location. generally estate agents are useless…especially when it comes to them cheating you out of your inventory.
rent it privatley for yourself puts some ads in loot or even on, do your research and ask an agency to evaluate your flat and then tell them your not interested and then you get 100% of the rent make sure you leave some aside for repairs.
You would definitely need a reference from their current landlord which would help ensure that the prospective tenant is not a tenant-from-hell and that they can pay the rent on time.
You would also need their proof of ID such as passports, which you would make a copy of. Their NI card may be helpful as well.
Credit references can be expensive - if open to landlords
I would say be careful - it’s a mine field! I don’t know how much work - credit checking etc that agents do for their money, but do find out all about it if you decide to do it without agents, and good luck.
Are you talking U.K? There are rules for tenants & landlords so that you don`t fall foul of the law & get taken to court by a tenant! as a landlord there are codes of conduct so to speak so you best think before committing to something you may later regret doing if you have friends (real) perhaps they would be interested & probally wouldn`t wreck your flat as some tenants these days have a habit of doing,Squatters that`s something else to watch out for,so take good advice before letting & good luck.
a tenancy agreement form can be purchased from W H Smiths
or have one drafted up from solicitors.
always do tenancy agreement for 6 months contract at a time never a year.
make sure you get at least 1 month deposit and 1 months rent in advance.
Never have someone you know as a tenant
work references are ok.
but at the end of the day and what ever you do there are good tenants and there are bad ones it a gamble really….
good luck.
Not sure if you can credit check yourself but there are companies that can do it for you - basic check is around £15 and a more comprehensive on is £30 odd. If you want to do any checking you have to have the prospective tenants permission. You can approach employers directly if you have permission, am not sure about banks, but I think so.
The two sites I have listed will tell you everything you need to know and quite a lot you would rather not know about but should.