We know that setting-up a new Tenancy can sometimes be confusing and may seem complicated. We are here to help you!
Below is a step-by-step guide to the New Tenancy Procedure for you to follow and refer to:-
Viewings: It is important that you have viewed the property before you sign any Agreements with us. Viewings can be arranged between 12 midday and 5:45pm, Monday to Friday and 11am – 2:45pm on Saturday – just email or call us to book an appointment.
- (If you are Overseas and are unable to visit the property yourself, we recommend that you ask someone in the UK that you trust to view on your behalf).
Contract Appointment: Once you have decided on a property you will need to arrange an appointment to visit our office in Withington between 12 midday and 5pm Monday to Friday or 11am – 2pm Saturday to go through the Tenancy Documents and Pay the Deposit and any Fees. For details of our available payment methods, please see here.
- Contract appointments usually take between 30 – 45 minutes.
- You will need to bring photo ID (Passport or Driver’s License) and your Student Card (if you are a student).
- Until the contract is signed and the payments made to us the flat cannot be secured for you so it is important that you start this process quickly!
Admin Fee: The Admin Fee covers our costs in setting up your Tenancy and is a standard amount calculated as one week’s rent + VAT. It is non-negotiable and must be paid before we can process your Tenancy Application.
Deposit: Your Deposit will be secured by the Government-insured TDS Deposit Protection Scheme and a TDS Deposit Protection Certificate will be presented to you for your records.
Payments: Payments can be made at our office by cash, bank transfer, cheque (made out to Sam Properties [Withington] Ltd.) or by credit/debit card. For more details, see here.
- Our bank details for bank transfer payments are:
Sam Properties (Withington) Ltd.
Bank: Abbey (Santander)
Account Number: 42604599
Sort Code: 09-06-66
Payment Reference: State the Property Address
Standing Order: You will need to bring your bank account details to the contract appointment so you can complete a Standing Order form for your regular rental payments. For details about what a Standing Order is, please see here.
- The first payment of rent will be due on the first day of the Tenancy (for renewing Tenancies this may be different).
Financial Guarantee: In order to Guarantee your financial position and ability to pay your rent each month we require confirmation that your monthly income is 3 times the amount of the rent.
- If you are in full-time employment and earn at least 3 times the amount of the rent you should be able to provide a reference from your employer stating your position, length of service and annual salary. We may carry out a credit check and may need to ask you for further details if this is the case.
- If you are not in full-time employment or your monthly income is lower than 3 times the amount of the rent we will require you to provide a Guarantor.
Guarantors: A Guarantor is a permanent UK resident in full-time employment who signs to guarantee your monthly rent (and all other financial obligations under the Terms of the Tenancy Agreement) in the event that you are unable to pay.
- The Guarantor would need to complete and return the Guarantor’s Form that will be provided to you during the Contract Appointment.
- They will need to provide us with photocopies of their photo ID (Passport or Driver’s License) and proof of their UK address (a recent Utility Bill – gas, electricity, water, landline telephone – or a recent Bank Statement).
- They will also need to provide proof that their monthly income is 3 times the amount of the monthly rent (eg. photocopy of payslip or reference from their line manager).
- The proofs can be photocopies but the Guarantor’s Particulars Form must be the original signed copy and can be posted to our Withington Office.
Quarterly Rent: If you are unable to provide a reference or a Guarantor then we can arrange for you to pay your rent Quarterly (ie. every three months in advance).
Pay In One Go: Alternatively, rent can be paid in full for the whole Term before the start of the Tenancy. With this option you would receive a 3% discount and there would be no need for any references or Guarantors!
Finally: All paperwork, payments and documents MUST be completed and provided to us within 14 days of the start of the Process. If there is any delay, the Landlord may decide to cancel the Tenancy and re-advertise the property.
Once all of this has been completed we will be able to confirm that the property has been secure in your name(s).
Keys can be collected from our Withington office during our opening hours on the 1st day of the Tenancy (as long as all of the above has been completed and we have received your first rental payment).