Tenant fee schedules

Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs) – (Signed on or after 1st June 2019)

Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs) – (Signed before 1st June 2019)

Company/Contractual Tenancies – (None Housing Act Tenancies)

Finding a property

If you haven’t informed us already, the first step is for you to provide brief details about yourself and about the accommodation you require. We will ask questions about yourself, your position and what you’re looking for and will then search our database for suitable and available properties for you to view.

If the property is not needed at that time or what we currently have available is not appropriate, we will record your details so that we can contact you as suitable properties become available. It is wise to start looking about two months before you wish to move, to ensure that you find the property that’s right for you.

Viewings

We will always try and arrange viewings where possible for times to suit you, including evenings and Saturdays, and you will invariably be accompanied by a member of staff, who can give advice and answer any questions you may have. Please be advised that we may not always be able to wait for you if you are running late for a scheduled viewing. If you are running late for your viewing you will need to contact our offices to advise one of our team and your appointment may have to be rescheduled. Particularly where people are living in the property being marketed, we must be conscious of not causing an inconvenience to them.

Property mailing list

When you have enquired looking for a property to best help you, you can be added to our property mailing list and emailed property details that we feel may match your criteria or be of interest. Please note we reserve the right to remove you off our mailing list at anytime.

Reserving a property

Once you have decided on a property and your offer has been accepted by the Landlord (subject to referencing and contract), you will need to pay a holding deposit of 1 week’s rent. Payment should be made preferably by bank transfer or card payment to Goodlord.

If in the unlikely event your application is successful but the landlord declines to grant the tenancy, the holding deposit will be refunded to you in full. However, the holding deposit will be forfeit and will NOT be refunded if;

  • You change your mind and decide not to proceed for any reason,
  • change the terms of your original accepted offer and the landlord does not agree to the changes,
  • fail to provide complete and/or inaccurate information in your application.

Please refer to the referencing checks section below for more information on the referencing criteria that you will be required to meet in order for your application to be successful.

As detailed above if you would like to rent a property through Lakin & Co you will be required to pay a holding deposit of 1 Week’s rent; this is used to secure the property while we undertake your application and referencing checks. The holding deposit will need to be paid promptly should you wish to proceed with the tenancy application. We will not proceed with any application until such monies have been received and the property will remain available on the market and for viewings until payment has been received in full.

Referencing Checks

As a minimum we will require satisfactory references in order for your tenancy application to be successful, we will look to obtain references for the Landlord. The references will be obtained from your employer and a previous or current landlord / letting agent if applicable. Credit worthiness checks will be undertaken.

Other checks maybe carried out such as a request for an accountant’s reference, if self-employed and sometimes a guarantor where required will need to also be reference checked in certain circumstances. We may also sometimes require a personal reference in addition to certain documents such as HMRC documents, contracts of employment, letter of employment, pay slips and identification such as; passport, photo driving license and/ or visas to prove your right to rent in the country.

We carry out the referencing checks independently and fairly and have a set of criteria that need to be met in order to approve the referencing application as acceptable for tenancy.

We use Goodlord, an independent referencing company to carry out the referencing process promptly. Each applicant over the age of 18 will need to be reference checked, a short form usually by email will be sent to you via Goodlord which must be completed within 48 hours,

If your referencing checks have been carried out and deemed acceptable and if the landlord decides not to proceed with the tenancy for any reason, your holding deposit will be refunded to you. You will need to provide us with your bank details so the refund can be made to your account swiftly.

Via Goodlord our team will check your  IDs, Credit, Residency and Income.

ID
– Prospective tenants renting in England must supply ID that satisfies a Right to Rent check,
– All other prospective tenants must supply a birth certificate, driving licence or passport in the name of their application.
– Proof of name change must be supplied where necessary.

Credit
– Goodlord must be able to locate the prospective tenant at their address.
– They must have no adverse credit, or if they do, it must be less than £1000 and it must be satisfied.

Income
– The prospective tenant must have income that meets the affordability ratio of 2.5 or more.

Residency
– If the prospective tenant is currently renting, we must be able to verify when their tenancy is due to end, whether they have caused any damage to the property and whether their rental payments were made on time.
– If they are not currently renting they will pass.

What do we need to see from a prospective guarantor to pass?

ID
– The prospective guarantor must supply a birth certificate, driving licence or passport in the name of their application.
– Proof of name change must be supplied where necessary.

Credit
– Goodlord must be able to locate the prospective tenant at their address.
– They must have no adverse credit.

Income
– The prospective guarantor must have income that meets the affordability ration of 3.0 or more
– We can only assess income from PIP and E(E)SA. We will not include any other benefits

Residency
– They must be residents in the UK

For more information on the types of checks that would be carried out please visit Goodlord (www.goodlord.co) before making your tenancy application request and paying your holding deposit so that you are certain your application will be accepted.

If you would like more information on the checks, we carry out then please get in touch with us. Please be advised that it is important you ensure you will be able to pass the referencing checks before proceeding with your application and paying your holding deposit fee.

More information can also be found at www.goodlord.co.uk

Guarantors

A guarantor maybe required if you do not meet the referencing criteria. An acceptable guarantor will also need to be reference checked via Goodlord. Please also note the landlord of the property will first have to agree to any prospective tenant requiring a guarantor to complete the referencing process.

Your Rent Payments

Rents are normally quoted in calendar months and payable monthly in advance. Once occupation has been taken the rent is normally required to be paid by banker’s standing order in accordance with the tenancy agreement you would have signed. The tenant is normally responsible for Council Tax, Water Rates, Gas, Electricity and Telephone costs unless arranged differently before the start of the tenancy. All rents are payable by bank standing order to our company bank account where indicated (our bank details can be found below), all utility companies and council tax departments for the property will be notified by us at the start of the tenancy of your contact details. Please refer to the draft tenancy agreement created for further details.

Prior to the tenancy commencement a minimum of a first months rent is required to be paid in advance to us as the agent of the landlord remaining balances are required to be paid by bank transfer or cheque, we cannot accept cash for amounts larger than £300. All funds must have fully cleared before occupation can be granted; Rent where agreed maybe paid in advance for the entire term of the tenancy.

Security Deposit

A security deposit of a maximum of 5 weeks rent must be paid and will usually be held with the government authorised custodial scheme the Deposit Protection Services (DPS). This is held to cover damage, breakages, and any other liabilities under the terms of your tenancy agreement. Please note that under no circumstances can the deposit be used by the tenant to cover rent. Some Landlords may choose to protect the deposit under a different scheme for the duration of the tenancy but you will be made aware if this will be the case. Information on where your deposit will be held will be provided to you and also stipulated in your tenancy agreement.

Deposit Protection Services (DPS) – www.depositprotection.com
The Tenancy Dispute Service (TDS) – www.tenancydepositscheme.com
My Deposits – www.mydeposits.co.uk

Inventory & Check in

At the start of the tenancy there will usually be an independent inventory check in with the inventory clerk who will during working daytime hours release keys to you, take meter readings and go through their inventory / schedule of condition report findings. Please ensure you attend at the time provided, late and abortive charges will apply – please refer to tenant fees on page 5.

Tenant Insurance

Lakin & Co are able to offer a range of insurance policies for Tenants; contents up to your selected sum insured for damage to your household furniture, equipment, furnishings, clothing and personal possessions whilst in your home. Some landlords may stipulate that a tenant contents insurance policy will need to be in place prior to occupying the property. We strongly recommend your take out adequate contents insurance. We are able to quote you on your contents insurance and should you wish for us to do this please ask one of the team or obtain a quote online at;

The policy should ideally cover accidental damage to landlord’s contents and fixtures and fittings for which you are responsible. Personal Possessions up to your selected sum insured for loss or accidental damage to your clothing, watches, jewellery, spectacles, other valuables whilst away from your home anywhere in the UK or whilst temporarily elsewhere in the world. Further details are available on request. Please note we can not provide insurance advice and that you Landlord is not required to insure tenants’ contents and possessions. Please also note you are not required to take an insurance policy through Lakin & Co.

Non Payment

Where non payment of rent or fees occurs please note that you may be pursued through the courts to recover the debt. Please note we may also where necessary instruct a debt management company to collect the debt on our behalf and you will be required to cover the cost of their fees to recover the debit.

Refunds

The non refundable tenancy application fees will not be refunded save in the case where the landlord no longer wishes to proceed with the tenancy. Please be advised refunds will take up to 10 working days and in rare cases longer.

Where tenants and any guarantors are applying for a property together and one applicant has failed the referencing checks the holding deposit paid will be NOT be refunded so it is important you check first that you will all meet the criteria required before making an application to rent a property.

Housing Benefit

You MUST declare to us prior to submitting your application if you are in receipt of any housing benefit, any form of benefits or get help from the council. Failure to disclose this may result in your application being terminated without a refund of your holding deposit.

Pets

At Lakin & Co we are pet lovers, however not all Landlord’s are too which must be respected when renting their property. Where a pet is permitted by the landlord in the property and usually by way of license, there may be additional cleaning or fumigation clauses requiring this to be carried out at the end of the tenancy may also be required as additional clauses in the tenancy agreement. Please note if your pet is permitted and causes damage you are responsible for any damages and/or costs.

Data Protection

Our privacy policy can be found at https://lakinandco.com/privacy-policy/

Your holding deposit explained

Before your application can be fully considered, you will need to pay to us a holding deposit equivalent to one weeks’ rent for the property you are interested in. This following briefly explains what happens to that holding deposit and the circumstances in which the deposit will / will not be refunded. It is important that you know your legal rights and accordingly you should feel free to seek independent legal advice before signing this or indeed any other document which we might put before you.

Once we have your holding deposit, current legislation stipulates that the necessary paperwork should be completed within 15 days or such longer period as might be agreed.

In the present case, it has been agreed that the relevant period will be extended to the number of days shown below, from when we receive your holding deposit.

If at any time during that extended period you decide not to proceed with the tenancy, then your holding deposit will be retained by our firm. By the same token, if during that period you unreasonably delay in responding to any reasonable request made by our firm, and if it turns out that you have provided us with false or misleading information as part of your tenancy application or if you fail any of the checks which the Landlord is required to undertake under the Immigration Act 2014, then again your holding deposit will not be returned. It will be retained by this firm and your Landlord.

However, if the Landlord decides not to offer you a tenancy for reasons unconnected with the above then your deposit will be refunded within 7 days. Should you be offered and you accept a tenancy with our Landlord, then your holding deposit will be credited to the first months’ rent due under that tenancy.

Where, for whatever reason, your holding deposit is neither refunded nor credited against any rental liability, you will be provided with written reasons for your holding deposit not being repaid within 7 days.

You will not be asked to pay any fees or charges in connection with your application for a tenancy. However, if your application is successful under our standard assured shorthold tenancy agreement, you will be required to pay certain fees for any breach of that tenancy agreement in line with the Tenant Fees Act 2019. In consideration of us processing your tenant application, you agree to pay those fees to us on request.

Lakin & Co account details

Where you are required to make a payment to us please find our payment details below.

Cheques can be made to Lakin & Co. We regret that we are no longer are able to accept debit or credit card payments for your remaining balance payment.

Account Name: Lakin & Co

Account Number: 15067300

Sort Code: 60-18-05

IBA: GB19NWBK60180515067300

BIC: NWBKGB2L

Bank: Natwest
63 High Street
Ruislip
HA4 8JB

Please ensure the property address or correct invoice number is used as the payment reference. If you fail to do so it could result in your payment not being allocated and a delay.

Should you have any queries or would like to discuss anything further please do not hesitate to contact us

All tenancies are subject to referencing checks and subject to contract.

Please view our Client Money Protection (CMP) Certificate by clicking the link below;

CMP Certificate

For more information on Client Money Protection (CMP) please visit our CMP page;

https://lakinandco.com/client-money-protection-cmp/

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