When searching for your perfect rented property, consider the following factors to give yourself the best chance of finding a property that meets your needs and requirements.
Property Search
Maintaining property and tenancy compliance is one of the many reasons landlords choose DGG Property Consultants as their agent as we help them successfully navigate the various lettings processes.
Budget
It’s essential to think about your budget, not only the initial move-in costs but the financial commitment of paying the agreed rent for the duration of your tenancy. We will conduct an affordability check before moving in, but you must also consider whether the rent is affordable with your lifestyle.
Location
Is there a particular part of town you would like to live in? Think practically in terms of proximity to family/friends, work, transport, schools, and recreation areas.
Property type
Consider which property type best suits your needs. Would a house, bungalow or flat be best for you? Young families may want outdoor space for children, whereas a young couple may prefer an apartment without the responsibility of having outdoor areas to maintain.
Think about how many bedrooms you need to ensure everyone in your household has enough space and privacy.
EPC
The EPC (energy performance certificate) is an excellent tool a prospective tenant can use when deciding whether to rent a property. The EPC provides valuable information about the fabric of the property, expected energy costs, and details of a property’s heating and hot water system.
Once you have found a property you like and have considered the factors listed above, you may wish to arrange a viewing.
Viewings
We strongly recommend viewing in person any property you are interested in before signing a tenancy agreement. You can book a property viewing by calling DGG’s office on 01775 888494 or emailing [email protected]. On the call, one of our friendly agents will ask a few questions to learn about your current situation and requirements and inform you of any other properties we may have available that you may also want to view.
During a viewing, consider property features that will affect your day to day living, such as parking, outdoor spaces, storage space, heating type etc., to ensure it suits your needs.
Applying for rented accommodation with DGG
Following a viewing, an agent will call you asking for feedback to see whether you want to apply to rent the property. Should you wish to make an application, we will ask several questions as part of our pre-application questionnaire.
Should the landlord wish to proceed to full application, we will send you (and any other adults in your household) an email link from our referencing partners, Rent4Sure, to complete and submit a credit report.
Should you pass the credit check, your application will move onto affordability. Affordability involves the submission of your last three payslips (and any other adults in your household). It allows us to calculate your household’s average income and make an affordability assessment against the monthly rental amount.
Should you pass our affordability, we then attain a current and previous landlord or agent reference and confirmation of employment from your employer.
Finally, we ask all adults to provide a copy of their passport or national ID card and confirmation of settled status (if required) to determine their Right to Rent.
Should the landlord offer you the property to rent, we will then ask for a holding deposit from you to secure the property. Once the holding deposit is paid, all property marketing stops and tenancy start dates are proposed. This holding deposit is not a fee; this money is deducted from the tenancy deposit upon signing the tenancy agreement.
Moving in
Once the holding deposit has been paid and a tenancy commencement date selected, we will email you a draft tenancy agreement, the property’s Energy Performance Certificate, and the Government ‘How to Rent’ guide.
An appointment will then be arranged for you to come into the office on or before the tenancy start date to sign the tenancy agreement, receive other property documents, clear monies owed on account, and receive the keys to the property. Please note, keys are not handed over before the tenancy commencement date.
Once the deposit is paid, we protect it in our Deposit Protection Scheme (DPS) within 30 days. You will receive confirmation your deposit is protected via email. The scheme we use is DPS Insured, and you can find out more information about the scheme by visiting https://www.depositprotection.com/insured-guides/.
Upon move-in, you will receive a copy of the inventory report via email that would have been completed at the property before you moved in. We ask you to review this document and either reply to confirm the accuracy or reply with any comments within seven days should there be any areas of discrepancy.
DGG will update utility companies and the local authority of your move in. You can expect to receive welcome packs from utility providers and a council tax bill within 14 days of the tenancy start date.
Inspections
As part of our obligations to the landlord, we will conduct routine inspections on the property to ensure everything remains in good order throughout the tenancy. Should any maintenance issues be identified on these appointments, we will report these to both you and the landlord and advise if either party requires any action.
Maintenance
If anything becomes faulty during your tenancy, you must report this to us. Once the maintenance job has been raised, a member of our property management team will visit the property to investigate within 48 hours.
Should responsibility for the fault fall on the landlord, we will advise them accordingly and be in touch with you regarding scheduled work and access.
Conversely, if the defect is due to tenant negligence or damage, we will pass the cost of repairs onto you.
Tenancy Management
We will contact you before the initial 6-month fixed term contract ends to offer you a contract renewal, subject to satisfactory conduct throughout this period. You will need to decide whether you wish to continue living in the property for another 12 months or whether you intend to leave.
Checking Out
If you wish to move out of the property and are no more than one month from your tenancy’s fixed term expiry, you will need to serve us with a 4-week written notice to vacate.
Before check out, we advise you to refer to the inventory report provided at the start of your tenancy and ensure the property is handed back over to us in the condition it was let to you in (minus fair wear and tear) to prevent deductions from the tenancy deposit.