Renting A Property Explained

What is a tenant?

A tenant is somebody that lives in a property that they don't own. The property is usually owned by a landlord and that landlord is paid rent by the tenant. The tenant might be renting a whole house or just a room in a property.

What is a landlord?

A landlord is somebody that owns a house that they don't live in and they let other people, like a tenant, live in that property in return for some money.

What is a letting agency?

A letting agency is a company that matches landlords who have properties that are empty to tenants who want to live in a property.

What does a letting agent do for a landlord?

A letting agency does two services for a landlord. The first one is the letting agency finds the tenant for them, and then if the landlord agrees, the letting agency will also manage that tenant and the whole of the paperwork, getting keys, doing the inventory, everything to do with the management of that property.

What does a letting agent do for a tenant?

A letting agency will do one of two things. They will either just organise for the tenant to find a property to rent from a landlord and then leave the landlord to do the rest. Alternatively, they will manage the tenant throughout the whole renting process from getting the keys, doing an inventory, managing the contract and the rest of the paperwork until the time that the tenant leaves the property.

What is a Tenancy Agreement?

A tenancy agreement is a legal document that sets out the rules by which the landlord agrees that the tenant can live in the property and by which the tenant agrees to live in that property by the landlord's rules for a certain amount of money. For example, the landlord won't turn up every five minutes and disturb the tenant, and in return, the tenant won't trust the place.

What is a Fixed-Term Lease?

A fixed-term lease is a legal agreement that sets out an amount of time by which a tenant can live in a rented property. For example, it the least might be six months, and during that six months, a tenant will pay £1,000 for renting that property.

What are references?

References come in all different forms. You might get a reference from a bank to say that you can afford to pay the amount of rent that you are signing up to on a property. It might be a letter for your employer to say that your of good character. A reference might even be from a parent or guardian to state that the potential tenant is a good person and that they are going to look after the rented property.

What is rent?

Rent is an amount of money that you pay, as a tenant, to the landlord for the use of their property. It might be £500 a month, it might be £200 a week, but it's effectively the money you pay for the use of the property.

What is a lease?

A lease is a legal document which is effectively a tenancy agreement. And what that sets out is the rules by which you as a tenant live in that property, and by which the landlord has to give you, for example, they can't leave you in a property that is flooded. Likewise, you can't have parties every night and disturb the neighbors. It sets out rules like that by which the landlord will abide by, and you will abide by.

What is a Safety Certificate?

In the home, there are two types of safety certificates, one is a gas safety certificate and the second is for the electrics. The gas safety certificate is a piece of paper provided by a corgi registered engineer, that's somebody who understands how to connect the gas supply, and also how to test gas appliances, such as a gas cooker. You need to have a gas safety certificate if you are renting out a property and you will get a copy of that certificate. With electrics, you can also get a electrical safety certificate, but not all landlords supply that.

Does my landlord need a Safety Certificate?

Currently, your landlord needs to supply only a gas safety certificate for a rented property. However a good landlord would also supply an electrical safety certificate to say that the wiring in the property is safe, and that the kettle, all the other electrical appliances in the property, have been checked by a fully qualified electrical engineer.