Rental - Finalising The Deal

This section deals with how to put together a deal on your chosen property. There's a number of jobs that you need to get done BEFORE you make an offer on a property, and these are listed as follows:

Speed Up Your Move - Our Checklist of Jobs To Do!!

Who's The Tenant?	Will it be a private or a company let?
Bank Account	If you are going to be the Tenant, then make sure that you open a UK bank account as soon as possible. Check out our section on Banking & Finance for account opening information.
References	Obtain all the contact information necessary before you make an offer for a property (see below).
Contracts	If it will be a company let, check your company policy on legal review of the draft contract. If they need you to use a particular firm of solicitors or counsellors, then get their contact details.
Money	If your money is not in the UK, make sure that you initiate a transfer as soon as possible so that you can pay the Agent's account. It can take seven to ten days to transfer funds from many countries!

Who Will Be The Tenant?

Your first step is to sort out who will be the Tenant of the property. You may enter into the contract yourself (a private let, and often an Assured Shorthold Tenancy), or alternatively your employer may wish to enter into the contract as the Tenant (a company let), in which case you will be listed on the contract as the "Approved Occupier". Expatriates should take advice on their tax position before committing to a particular tenancy.

References

The Landlord will require appropriate references on the Tenant. Normal practice where the Tenant is a company is to require the names of the Tenant's bankers, accountants and solicitors, plus an employer's reference on the proposed "Approved Occupier".

For a private Tenant, they will usually require your bank and employer's contact details, plus a personal reference from someone not related to you. If you have a previous Landlord who will provide a reference then this will also be most useful. Many Landlords will not accept foreign bank references, so you'll need to set up your UK bank account as soon as you start house hunting.

In each case, the Landlord or his Agent will write for a reference, and they must receive a satisfactory reply, indicating that the Tenant can afford to pay the agreed rent, and is of suitable stature or character.

Sort out the name, address and contact details for all your references BEFORE you make an offer for a property, as that way you'll appear organised and professional.

Making An Offer

When you have chosen your favourite property then you should make an offer to the Landlord or their letting agent. Most property prices are slightly negotiable. How negotiable can depend on how long the property has been on the market, whether you will be taking a company or private let (a company let is often preferred by Landlords), payment frequency and whether there are any jobs that you would like carried out at the property. Longer term rental contract offers can result in lower rents. If you have a "wish list" of improvements at the property, you should make these a part of the offer. In summary, you should:

Decide how much you're willing to pay and the payment frequency.
Know the length of contract you want and the planned start date.
Know who the tenant will be, and have appropriate reference contact information available.
Decide what options you might want to extend the contract, or to break it earlier than planned.
List any improvements or changes to the property that you require.

The deal that you agree has been negotiated "Subject To Contract", and is not binding on either party until contracts have been signed. Whilst this means that you are free to change your mind, it also means that the Landlord is free to accept alternative offers. A reputable agent will withdraw the property from the market whilst the deal is finalised, and as long as the potential tenant shows signs of proceeding, the property will not be re-offered on the market. Where the property is being offered by more than one agent, only the agent who makes the deal earns any commission, and so rival agents may try to persuade the Landlord to accept alternative offers. You should always try to finalise a contract as soon as possible, even though the tenancy may not start for several weeks.

When your offer is accepted, you may be asked for a "holding deposit" and / or monies to cover the cost of taking up references. A reputable agent will only ask for a small holding deposit of up to £250, and will set out in writing for you the terms on which the deposit is being taken, including what happens if you back out of the transaction. Never hand over large sums of cash as a "holding deposit".

The Rental Contract

The draft contract is normally issued by the Landlord, or by the Landlord's Agents. Different types of contract are used depending on whether it will be a company, or a private tenancy. You should review it to make sure that the commercial terms in the draft reflect what you have agreed. There is no standard contract in use, and the wording of each agreement varies slightly. Each contract should be checked by a solicitor or counsellor. The main sections of a rental contract are as follows:

Introduction	This gives the names of the Landlord and Tenant, the address of the Property, the Starting Date and Term, and the Rent payable. It may also record other information such as the amount of the Security Deposit, and the name of Landlord's Agents.
Tenant's Obligations	The longest part of the contract, and normally a list of what the Tenant will pay for in addition to the rent, plus a set of restrictive obligations setting out what the Tenant is not allowed to do!
Landlord's Obligations	A much smaller section that sets out what the Landlord will do in return for the Rent.
Termination	A mainly standard section that sets out a number of reasons for automatic termination of the tenancy, for example, the non-payment of the Rent.
Variations and Additions	Any non-standard clauses are lumped together at the end of the contract. For example, any additional rights of termination by either the Landlord, or the Tenant, are listed here, as are any options to renew the contract for a further Term. The Security Deposit is often listed here.

Most contracts are several pages in length, and contain a number of unusual, and perhaps slightly unnecessary obligations! The many different rental contracts in use have evolved over a long period of time, and have often been amended as a result of legal action and court decisions. Because of this, it can be quite difficult to get agreement to delete even unnecessary clauses from a contract, but it is often surprisingly easy to agree Variations and Additions! If you are unable to negotiate a contract that is fair and reasonable to both parties then we would recommend that you do not proceed.

Monies

There will be an initial account for the security deposit, first month's (or quarter's) Rent, and any agreement preparation and check-in fees, which will need to be paid before the keys can be released. If you are planning to pay by personal cheque then you will need to give the Agents or the Landlord the cheque at least five working days before the start of the tenancy. We recommend that you pay by banker's draft (a cheque issued by a bank in their own name - its as good as cash), and that the draft is handed over only on the day the tenancy actually starts.

You should note that you should normally send the letting agreement for "stamping" at an Inland Revenue Stamp Office. For more information on Stamp Duty, please click here.

Move in formalities, and the other tasks that you need to accomplish, are detailed in our section "Moving In".

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