Landlords
Rochester Place Ltd works with landlords across North West, and Central London, providing a first class, second to none service. With a wealth of experience & knowledge, we know how to produce a maximum return on your investments, whilst ensuring smooth running and legally complying tenancies. We provide all our landlords with free impartial advice as part of our service. Rochester Place Ltd is independently owned and managed by working partners so you can be sure of directly dealing with the proprietors, and are guaranteed to receive the best possible service. To attract premium tenants & maximum rent for your property, we market extensively through local and national publications and on the web. Our goal is to always allocate a reliable tenant at the best market rent and within a reasonable period of time to minimise any void period.
Viewing & References
A member of our team will accompany all prospective tenants to view all properties. If the property is occupied, we will work with current tenants & notify them of all viewings.
Once a tenant for your property is found, we will ensure that all prospective tenants are interviewed and only than subject to your approval, will we take a reservation deposit and process references. Once references are obtained we will forward copies to you for your approval.
Gas safety
As a landlord you have duties under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 to arrange maintenance by a Gas Safe Registered engineer for all pipe work, appliances and flues, which you own and have provided for your tenants use. You must also arrange for an annual gas safety check to be carried out every 12 months by a Gas Safe Registered engineer. You must keep a record of the safety check for 2 years and issue a copy to each existing tenant within 28 days of the check being completed and issue a copy to any new tenants before they move in.
Deposit Registration
As part of the Housing Act 2004 the Government has introduced tenancy deposit protection for all Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs) in England and Wales where a deposit is taken. From April 6th 2007, all deposits paid under an AST have to be protected within 14 days of receipt by the landlord.
The legislation covers virtually all new AST contracts through which private landlords let properties in England and Wales. However, the following will do not need to register with a tenancy deposit protection scheme:
- Resident landlords (those living in the property)
- Landlords of properties with rent over £100,000 a year
- Company lets (Common Law Tenancy Agreements)
- Student accommodation let directly by universities or colleges.
- Deposits taken before 6 April 2007 do not need to be protected by a scheme such as The DPS. However, as an existing tenancy is renewed and a landlord agrees a new fixed-term tenancy, the initial deposit taken must then be lodged with a tenancy deposit protection scheme.
To ensure that all landlords adhere to this new legislation we request that you confirm which scheme you will be registering the deposit with before the Tenancy Agreement is created. To help you with your decision the following companies have been awarded contracts to provide this service:
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) has been introduced to help improve the energy efficiency of buildings. From October 2008 EPCs became a requirement whenever a building is built, sold or rented out. The certificate provides 'A' to 'G' ratings for the building, with 'A' being the most energy efficient and 'G' being the least. Accredited energy assessors produce EPCs alongside an associated report which suggests improvements to make a building more energy efficient.
Inventory
An Inventory is an essential. It provides a point of reference, which should be amended, updated and recreated before the beginning of a new tenancy. A properly constructed Inventory details the fixtures and fittings and describes their condition and that of the property.
We advise all landlords to carry out an independent inventory via a professional inventory company.
Non Resident Landlords (NRL) Scheme
The non- resident landlords (NRL) Scheme is a scheme for taxing the UK rental income of non- resident landlords.
The scheme requires UK letting agents to deduct basic rate tax from any rent they collect for non- resident landlords.
Letting agents don't have to deduct tax if HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) tells them not to HMRC will tell an agent not to deduct tax if non- resident landlords have successfully applied for approval to receive rents with no tax deducted. For further information on how to apply for a valid NRL Tax code please seek professional advice.
If you are currently thinking of letting your property please call us for further information on 020 7284 4747
