There are many aspects to letting a property and we hope within this information we are able to give you the guidance that will present you with the belief that Kingswood is the agent that you can trust and rely on.
Founded in 1999, Kingswood Lettings and Property Management has developed on its reputation with hard-working, passionate, dedicated staff and positive references from past and present clients. Our knowledge of local property is unrivalled and we believe our personal approach is the cornerstone of our quality service. Our qualified staff will aim to make the process of letting your property easy and worry-free as possible.
As agents, we are particularly conscious of the importance of your property. We understand that every Landlord's requirements are specific and not always the same and all of our letting services are designed to meet the individual needs of our Landlords.
As a Landlord it is important that you have peace of mind in the knowledge that your property is being cared for and managed by a team of experienced and dedicated people, capable of providing you with a quality service.
Our specialist lettings and property management team has over 65 years of collective local experience and can provide you with advice and guidance through all stages of the letting process, including legal and financial matters. Our service does not end when we close the doors at the end of the working day, as we are the only agent locally to have a specific out of hours emergency number for our tenants. We have the out of hours number so that should there be a problem with the property, the tenant can contact us immediately and therefore limit any potential damage.
We are fully aware that many estate agents are now attempting to offer lettings as a service due to a slump in the sales housing market. As a company, we are not naïve in knowing as a Landlord you have a choice of who to instruct to deal with your property. To our advantage it has been proven time and time again that it is experience that is the significant factor to successful letting and management of properties and not ‘cost-cutting low fees’. We offer three levels of service to Landlords with the most popular being our Full Management Service. Most of our clients choose the Full Management Service as it includes a rent guarantee and legal expenses warranty*, which gives you as landlord total financial security and peace of mind when letting your property with the product covering you as Landlord for tenants not paying rent, refusing to leave the property and other disputes that may occur. Full details of all our services can be obtained from our office. We also offer a Part Management Service that is favoured by Landlords that have the time and like to be 'hands on‘, and also the Find Tenant Service.
We have been advised by Landlords that now use and value our services, that as a result of the ‘cut-price’ agents lack of experience, attention to detail and awareness of regulations, it ended up costing them more in time and money than any saving that they made in agency fees.
*Terms and Conditions apply.
RENT
Rent payments are due every calendar month. All rents are due in advance starting from the commencement of the tenancy. We encourage tenants to pay their rent by standing order, however, if a tenant pays by cheque we must allow time for this to clear in our bank before forwarding payment on to yourself. Rental payments are usually forwarded to the Landlord within 10 working days of collection. Once we have the cleared monies a statement will be sent to you and the money paid directly into your bank account via a direct internet bank transfer.
DEPOSITS
A deposit is required on all tenancies. The deposit is equal to one month’s rent, unless otherwise agreed. The purpose of the dilapidations deposit is to protect the Landlord against damage to the property during the tenancy. The deposit will be forwarded to The Deposit Protection Scheme (D.P.S.), which is a Government regulated custodial deposit scheme.
As your agent we deal with this deposit under the requirements of the D.P.S. until the end of the tenancy when the property and contents have been checked for unfair wear and tear and handling any termination issues with the tenant and the D.P.S.
PROPERTY SAFETY
GAS APPLIANCES
The Gas Safety (Installation and Use Regulations 1998):
On 31st October 1994 the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1994 came into force. Under regulations 35(2) it is the duty of any person (i.e. the Landlord) who owns a gas appliance and pipework installed in the premises to ensure that such appliance and pipework is maintained in a safe condition so as to prevent risk or injury to any person. The regulations cover all appliances and all types of gas, i.e. mains, propane or Calor gas heating, lighting, cooking or other purposes for which gas can be used.
The owner (i.e. the Landlord) of any gas appliance must ensure that each appliance is checked for safety at least every twelve months by a qualified ‘Gas Safe’ registered person. You can ask British Gas (who charge per item inspected) or a private gas engineer (some of whom have a flat rate, regardless of the number of appliances) to carry out these checks. A record (certificate) must be kept of all safety inspections and the results open to the tenant’s inspection by law. A copy must be kept with our files at all times. The Landlord must have a Gas Safety Inspection carried out before a tenant occupies the property and a copy must be held on the file. Kingswood cannot be held responsible for the upkeep and safety of your gas supply or appliances.
We can arrange for the safety inspection to be carried out for you by our gas engineer. Once the inspection has been completed we will keep a record of the date.