Rent Collection Terms

RENT COLLECTION TERMS OF BUSINESS - PLATINUM SERVICE
as of 1st July 2011

To be read in conjunction with our standard website terms of business

DEFINITIONS:

1. “We”, “Us”, “Our”, “LettingaProperty”, “LettingaProperty.com”, refers to lettingaproperty.com, t/a PropMedia Ltd .
2. “Landlord(s)”, “You”, “Your”, refers to the named person requesting our letting service.
3. “Tenant(s)”, refers to the person seeking to habit the Landlords’ or Letting Agents’ property.

1) TRANSFER OF RENTS

1. We will create a standing order mandate for the tenant to pay the rent on a monthly basis
2. The rent is usually requested on the 1st day of every month
3. Our aim is to automatically transfer any rents received, to your bank within as few working days as possible. 
4. We must, of course, have cleared funds in our account and the landlord must be entitled to the rent in accordance with the rent due date specified in the Tenancy Agreement. 
5. LettingaProperty.com operate a scheduled monthly transfer of rents to Landlords and this usually falls on the 5th day of each month.

1. LettingaProperty.com offer a 6 months comprehensive rent guarantee insurance cover in association with Endsleigh Insurance
2. The policy covers up to £10,000 rent per month and £25,000 legal fees
3. There is an excess of one months rent in the event of a claim
4. The policy is included subject to satisfactory references being obtained
5. Full Key Facts about the policy can be downloaded here

1. We will contact the tenant to carry out a landlords reference, an employment reference and a 6 year credit check
2. The tenant is responsible to pay the £75 + vat referencing fee per applicant
3. There is no additional charge to the landlord

1. Under the Platinum Pack terms, we are instructed by you to secure the Deposit and we shall do so under the terms of the Deposit Protection Scheme. 
2. If you decide to hold the Deposit yourself, we will transfer it to you within 5 working days of receiving it. 
3. You must then register it with another Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme within a further 9 days if the tenancy is an Assured Shorthold Tenancy.
4. If you fail to do so the tenant can take legal action against you in the county court. 
5. The court will make an order stating that you must pay the Deposit back to the tenant or lodge it with the custodial scheme which is know as the Deposit Protection Service.
6. In addition a further order will be made requiring you to pay compensation to the tenant of an amount equal to three times the Deposit. 
7. You will be unable to serve a Section 21 Notice on your tenant until compliance with the above conditions and the court will not grant you a possession order. 
8. We, as Agent, have no liability for any loss suffered if you fail to comply.

1. If the tenant falls behind with the rent we will automatically adopt our arrears procedure which includes writing in the first instance to the tenant and then following up with a phone call to determine the circumstances.
2. If the tenant continues to withhold rent, we will instruct our Insurers' Endsleigh and they will take over the communication between ourselves and the tenant
3. The landlord will be able to communicate directly with the insurer
4. If we become aware of any other breaches of the Tenancy Agreement you will be informed accordingly. 
5. If we are required to attend court on your behalf there will be a charge of £250.00 per day or part thereof plus VAT at the prevailing rate.

1. Professionally prepared and includes a Schedule of Condition. 
2. This service is strongly recommended and if required, we ask that you instruct lettingaproperty.com to make the necessary arrangements for this highly specialised service to compiling the inventory.
3. The cost of the inventory will be confirmed before the arrangements are made.
4. This does not include lofts.

1. The tenant is responsible for paying the following service charges: Council Tax, Electricity, Gas, Oil, Water, Sewerage Rates, Telephone and Television Licence, if applicable.
2. It is the landlord's responsibility to provide the tenancy details including the address of the property; the tenants contact details and the start date of the agreement to our third party energy and utility management suppliers. 
3. Under normal circumstances, in order for the tenant to take over the telephone line, we suggest they contact British Telecom and if the property has a telephone point but is not connected, they will be responsible to pay any connection fees.

1. As part of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme we will require both yours and the tenant’s express consent before we can disburse the deposit monies.

1. We offer a comprehensive insurance scheme specifically designed for landlords, which is underwritten by Just Landlords, one of the world’s leading insurers. 
2. Full details and a competitive quote are available here.
3. When any insurance policies you may have with lettingaproperty.com come up for renewal, we may offer you a policy with a different insurer if this offers the same cover at a lower price. 
4. We will assume you agree to this change when renewing your policy.

• If there is no dispute we will keep any amounts agreed as deductions where expenditure has been incurred on behalf of the landlord or repay the whole or the balance of the Deposit according to the conditions of the Tenancy Agreement with the landlord and the tenant. 
• Payment of the Deposit will be made within 15 working days of written consent from both parties.  
• If, after 15 working days following notification of a dispute to us, and reasonable attempt has been made in that time to resolve any difference of opinion, there remains an unresolved dispute between the landlord and the tenant over the allocation of the deposit it will (subject to the paragraph below) be submitted to the Independent Case Examiner (ICE) for adjudication. 
• All parties agree to co-operation with any adjudication.
• When the amount in dispute is over £5,000 the landlord and the tenant will agree by signing the tenancy agreement to submit the dispute to formal arbitration through the engagement of an arbitrator appointed by the ICE although, with the written consent of both parties, the ICE may at his discretion accept the dispute for adjudication.  The appointment of an arbitrator will incur an administration fee, to be fixed by the Board of The Dispute Service from time to time, shared equally between the landlord and the tenant.  The liability for any subsequent costs will be dependent upon the award made by the arbitrator.
• It is not compulsory for the parties to refer the dispute to the ICE for adjudication.  The parties may, if either party chooses to do so seek the decision of the court.  However, this process may take longer and may incur further costs.  Judges may, because it is a condition of the tenancy agreement signed by both parties, refer the dispute back to the ICE for adjudication.  If the parties do agree the dispute should be resolved by the ICE they must accept the decision of the ICE as final and binding.
• In the event of a dispute the full deposit, less any amounts already agreed by the parties and paid over to them, must be remitted to The Dispute Service Ltd.  This must be done within 15 working days of being told that a dispute has been registered whether or not you want to contest it.  Failure to do so will not delay the adjudication but The Dispute Service Ltd will take appropriate action to recover the deposit.
• We must co-operate with the ICE in the adjudication of the dispute and follow any recommendations concerning the method of the resolution of the dispute.

1. If you have a mortgage you must obtain a letter of consent from your mortgage lender.  If your interest in the property is leasehold your lease may require you to obtain written consent from your landlord prior to sub-letting.

1. It is essential that you notify your insurance company of your intention to let so they may advise you of any additional cover that may be necessary. 
2. Sight of the relevant insurance cover may be required by lettingaproperty.com.

1. If during the first twelve months of the tenancy, the property is sold or passed on with the benefit of the tenant in occupation, lettingaproperty.com will look to the original landlord of the property for the minimum fee for finding a tenant, £200 plus VAT or 10% of the rent at the time of sale, for six months, whichever is the smaller.
2. These fees do not apply if the new landlord signs our Terms of Business.

1. In the event that a tenant, or any person granted the benefit of the tenancy i.e. an occupant introduced to you by lettingaproperty.com, purchases the property which he/she is renting or had been renting within the previous six months, where lettingaproperty.com have been involved in negotiations in the sale of the property, we will charge a commission of 1% of the negotiated purchase price. 
2. The fee is payable upon completion or on exchange of contracts if completion is more than 6 months later. 
3. All fees are subject to VAT at the prevailing rate.

1. LettingaProperty.com require landlords to sign their own Tenancy Agreement. 
2. Therefore, it is important that we are given clear written instructions regarding the length of time the property will be available for letting and that we have a registered contact address, telephone and fax number or email address in order that the document may be forwarded for signature, prior to any tenancy. 
3. Any subsequent change of address or bank details must be confirmed in writing.
4. Extensions to the Agreements and any Addenda will be charged at £50.00 plus VAT to each party. 
5. If lettingaproperty.com is required to serve a Notice of Possession on your tenant, there will be a minimum charge of £50.00 plus VAT.

1. Costs of compiling and checking the inventory will vary according to the size of the property, level of furnishing and time required to undertake this service. 
2. As landlord, it is usual for you to be responsible for the preparation of the Inventory and Schedule of Condition and ‘check-out’.
3. The tenant will be responsible for the ‘check-in’.
4. Fees will be subject to VAT at the prevailing rate and are non-refundable after the service has been completed. 
5. We will not accept any responsibility should landlords prefer to carry out their own inventory formalities.

1. Our fees become payable when a property is advertised for rent on our website.
2. The monthly rent collection fee of £35 is deducted from the rent received by the tenant.
3. If it is agreed between the parties, that the rent will be paid in advance to the landlord i.e. 3, 6, 9 or 12 months upfront, for each month paid, our fee of £35 is owed and will be deducted from the rent before being paid to the landlord.
4. There is a minimum fee of £99 for the Platinum Marketing Pack and should the landlord withdraw from a prospective tenancy where satisfactory references have been sought and legal documents prepared an additional fee of £99 will become payable.
5. Should the Landlord withdraw from the tenancy once satisfactory references have been sought, the landlord will be responsible for refunding the tenants referencing fees in full
6. The Platinum pack includes a free Rightmove Premium Listing (£75 Sold Separately).  Should the landlord withdraw from our service prior to the signing of the tenancy agreement, the landlord will be liable to pay our fees of £75 for the Premium Listing in full.
7. If the landlord has purchased the Platinum pack with the benefit of any discount / promotional code and subsequently withdraws from the service prior to the signing of the tenancy agreement, the landlord will be liable to pay the discounted value back to the Company.
8. If a tenancy continues for more that one year lettingaproperty.com reserves the right to increase the rent collection fee by no more than 1%.