This is a legally binding agreement, setting out the rights and obligations of both Landlord and Tenant. Residential property is let on an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) for an initial fixed term of 6 or 12 months. We will prepare all the paperwork and draw up a comprehensive legal document for signing.

All inventories produced for Laing Bennett clients are undertaken by an independent professional company and contain a full written description of the property, its contents and schedule of condition inside and out including the wall, flooring and all fixtures and furnishings accompanied with photographic evidence. This provides a crucial legal reference should any discrepancy or claim arise against a tenant‘s deposit at the end of the tenancy.

Usually, it is the tenant‘s responsibility to pay utility bills and council tax. We organise meter readings and notify the suppliers of water rates, gas, electricity and council tax, of the meter readings and change of address.

A deposit is paid by the tenant at the start of a tenancy to safeguard against damage. Since April 2007, all new Assured Shorthold Tenancies must be registered with a government-backed tenancy deposit protection (TDP) scheme within 30 days of receipt of the deposit. If you are using our Tenant Find Service you need to make sure that you register with one of the three schemes available.

Landlords should be aware that there are significant penalties for failing to comply with deposit protection requirements and must ensure that a Prescribed Information Sheet is issued when registering a deposit.

As part of our Let Only and Fully Managed services we collect a deposit from the tenant which is equal to six weeks rent. Laing Bennett is registered with the Deposit Protection Service (DPS) which means your tenant‘s deposit will be held by them for the duration of the tenancy. We will register the deposit on your behalf and liaise with their dispute service should the need arise at the end of a tenancy. We will also provide your tenant with the name and contact details of the TDP scheme and its dispute resolution service, which is a legal requirement.

You should provide at least one set of keys for each tenant. If you are using our Fully Managed services, we will also require a full set which will be kept at our office for emergency situations and will be coded for security purposes.

Laing Bennett offers a rent collection service as part of our Fully Managed Services. We collect rent monthly unless the Tenancy Agreement specifies otherwise. Occasionally, Tenants may experience financial difficulties and we will chase any late payments.We will notify you at the earliest opportunity of any rent arrears. You can protect against loss of rental income with an insurance policy; which is part our our Fully Managed Plus service.

We process our rental accounts using a system called PayProp. This is a bank-integrated platform that allows us to speed up payments to our Landlords. Providing your Tenant has paid, you will be paid via bank transfer (net our fees and any disbursements, bills and income tax if appropriate) the next morning as we receive the rent together with an income and expenditure statement.

As a Landlord, you are responsible for assessing your own tax for rent received. Below is some basic guidance on taxation matters relevant to Landlords; however, we would always recommend you seek independent financial advice from an accountant on tax matters.

Rental income is liable to tax, although a number of expenditure items can be offset against rental profit. You would also need to pay Class 2 National Insurance if the work you do counts as running a property business.

Under the Non-resident Landlord (NRL) Schemes, your lettings agent will need to deduct tax from rental income and pay the tax directly to HM Revenue & Customs. If you choose not to use a lettings agent to collect rent, then your tenant will be legally responsible for collecting and paying the tax to HMRC. Alternatively, Landlords living overseas can apply for approval to receive rental income with no tax deducted. Full details of the NRL Scheme are available from HMRC.

The practicalities of being a Landlord can be very time-consuming. With our Management Service we take care of all the day-to-day management and upkeep of your rental property so you don‘t need to worry about it.

We will carry out regular routine property visits – at a mutually convenient time agreed with the tenant. This will involve visual inspections, assessing any wear and tear and organising maintenance and compliance checks. If we identify any problems we will advise you and if required can arrange for repairs and any work to be carried out on the property and settle the costs from the rent received. We have a network of approved contractors we can call on to deal with routine repairs or emergencies at competitive rates.

At the end of the tenancy the Landlord should ensure the property is in a good, clean condition before the tenant checks out, take back the keys and formally take possession of the property.

Assuming there are no issues, all paperwork is completed, utility companies notified and you have a forwarding address for the tenant, the Landlord should return the tenant‘s deposit. This is all included as part of our Let Only and Fully Managed services.