Oakham

Stamford

Uppingham

Tenant Information

Since opening its doors almost 200 years ago, Murray has built a reputation as one of the leading property managers in the Rutland and Stamford area. Today, we manage in excess of 400 residential properties ranging from one bedroom apartments to substantial period properties, to suit all types of Tenant's requirements.

In dealing with Murray, you can have the knowledge and peace of mind to know you are dealing with a professional firm of Chartered Surveyors and members of The Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA). Both these associations take the lead in Residential Lettings and provide strict regulations and guidelines in business conduct. These include separate client accounts dealing with rents and deposits, professional indemnity insurance and client's money protection schemes.

Tenancy Agreements

Most residential lettings are Assured Shorthold Tenancies covered under the Housing Act 1988 as amended by The Housing Act 1996.

The initial period of the Tenancy is usually six or twelve months. At the end of this period the Tenancy may either continue on a periodic basis, or another fixed period may be entered into between the parties. This being dependent on the requirements at that time.

The Tenancy continuing on a periodic basis, enables the Tenant to vacate the property after providing the Landlord with a minimum one months Notice to Quit or the Landlord to obtain vacant possession after serving a minimum two months Notice to Quit on the Tenant. In each case the Notices must expire on the calendar date of the Tenancy.

The Tenancy Agreements are legally binding and the obligations of a Tenant are clearly laid down in the Tenancy Agreement. It is important that these obligations are fully understood before signing the Tenancy Agreement. Our fully trained staff will be pleased to answer any queries you may have in this regard.

References

All applicants wishing to rent through Murray must be fully referenced and complete a detailed Application Form. These forms are then processed in association with Homelet, the UK's leading provider of specialist insurances and referencing to the lettings sector. The reference checks include a credit search and an Employers reference.

To assist us in processing your Application, we will require the addresses of your referees, your Bank or Building Society details, Employers details and where appropriate, previous Landlords details. The referencing process usually takes three working days. A charge of £30.00 is made to process the Application Form. (see Fees section later).

Rent

The rent is payable monthly in advance by Standing Order into Murray's bank account. It is important that the Standing Order Mandate is completed at the time of signing the Tenancy Agreement, in order that we may send this form to your bank instructing the bank to set up this payment facility. We are unable to accept any other form of rental payment e.g. cash or personal cheque. On receipt of cleared funds. the rent is then paid directly into the landlords chosen bank account and a rent statement is sent as confirmation.

The rent is payable by the Tenant detailed on the Tenancy Agreement. We are unable to accept payment from a third party, unless it has been agreed that they are a Guarantor to the Tenant.

Deposit

A deposit is paid by the Tenant at the commencement of the Tenancy, equating to six weeks rental and is held by Messrs. Murray as Agent on behalf of the Landlord. These amount of monies are held in a separate client account and are returned to the Tenant at the end of the Tenancy, subject to the Tenant fulfilling their obligations as laid down in the Tenancy Agreement.

At the end of Tenancy, an internal inspection of the property is undertaken with the agreed Inventory and subject to a satisfactory inspection, the deposit will be returned in full. The deposit cannot be used in any way as part payment of rent.

Service Charges

On taking possession of the property, the Tenant is responsible for the various service charges to include, where appropriate gas, electricity, water charges, sewerage charges, telephone, T.V. license and council tax. A note of the meter readings and level of heating oil is recorded and agreed with the Tenant at the commencement of the Tenancy. The service providers are notified of any change of occupancy and a new occupier account is set up.

Safety Regulations

Murray ensure that all the current legislation governing safety in the home and the safety of gas and electrical appliances and soft furnishings is complied with by the Landlord.

The Application Process

Application Form

Once you have found a suitable property, we will require a detailed Application Form to be completed and returned to us via post, fax or by hand. We then forward this information to a professional referencing company to process the Application. There is a referencing charge of £30.00 payable on submission of the form. The referencing process usually takes two or three working days.

Commencement Date

On receipt of satisfactory references, you will be contacted by a member of our staff to agree a commencement date for the Tenancy. The Tenancy Agreement will then be prepared, together with an Inventory / Record of Condition of the property and we will agree a convenient time for you to visit our office to sign the Tenancy Agreement and associated paperwork. We will also advice you of the cleared funds that will be required in advance of your Tenancy commencement.

At the time of signing the Tenancy Agreement and before the keys to the property are released to you, we will require a Bankers Draft or cash for the monies due at the commencement of the Agreement (unless we are already in receipt of cleared funds).

This being broken down as follows:

Rent : the first months rental
Deposit : equating to six weeks rent
Fee : Murray's arrangement fee of £129.25

Property Management & Maintenance

Throughout the Tenancy, we aim to provide an efficient management service and aim to ensure a problem free period of letting.

All maintenance items reported to us are detailed and contractors are instructed to carry out any necessary maintenance items. The work is overseen through to satisfactory completion. All maintenance contractors used by Murray are trustworthy and professional.

During the Tenancy, we also carry out an initial internal inspection after the first four months and six monthly thereafter. This enables us to advise the Landlord of any potential maintenance issues and also inform the Landlord of your future intentions relating to the Tenancy of this property.

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