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Selecting a property
It is essential that you view a good selection of properties before making a
decision. Put a couple of days aside for the viewings and take notes so that you
can compare and contrast later. Because it's a fast moving market agent's
details tend to be fairly sparse on rental properties. Compensate for this by
taking some pictures to accompany your notes. Take one copy of the checklist
below for each property that you're booked in to see.
 Questions to ask the Landlord/ Letting Agent
How long has the property been on the market? This will give you some idea of
the demand and how tough you can be in any negotiations.
 Before you make an offer try looking at the agent's website on the Internet Archive to see if the
property was advertised the previous year and for how much. This will alert you
if the Landlord is going for a sharp increase.
- What will be the deposit? A calendar months rent is the most common
amount.
- What is the length of contract? If it is a predominantly student area the
Landlord is probably going to insist upon 12 months. In non-student areas or
smaller properties try asking for the exact time that you want.
- Will there be a break clause in the contract? These are increasingly being
inserted in to Tenancy Agreements, particularly in the London area, as a way
of giving the parties more flexibility. A break clause allows either party to
give two months' notice to end the tenancy after six months.
If you can get a break clause inserted in the tenancy you can use it as
a more surreptitious way of getting exactly the length of tenancy that you
want.
Viewing Checklist
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What to look for |
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How clean is the property? Check the areas that are often overlooked by
the outgoing tenants such as ovens and cooker hoods. Has the Landlord left
time for cleaning between tenancies? |
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How secure is the property? Most insurance companies insist upon 5
lever dead locks on the external doors and window locks on the ground
floor. |
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Try and establish which pieces of furniture belong to the existing
tenants and which belong to the Landlord. If you require one or two
additional items you may want to ask for these as part of the initial
negotiations. |
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Are there enough facilities for the intended sharers e.g. number of
toilets/ showers? Turn the shower on to see if it has sufficient water
pressure. |
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What is the external condition like? Focus on aspects that may affect
the interior such as broken or loose guttering, cracked windows or missing
roof tiles/ slates. |
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How old is the boiler? Note down the make and model of the boiler and
Google it. This will normally take you onto a plumbing forum that
will reveal its age. Are there any stickers on it to indicate that there
is a service contract in place? Is it a combi or a system boiler? If it
fires up when you turn on the hot tap it is a combi. Combis can struggle
to provide enough hot water for larger properties. You may find that your
shower goes cold when someone flushes the loo. |
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Check on the white goods. Is there sufficient fridge space for the
number of sharers? Is there a washing machine or a dishwasher (that may be
asking too much!). |
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Are there any external sources of noise such as a busy road, train line
or pub? If so you should think about coming back at the busiest time of
day to get the full impact. |
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Who will be responsible for maintaining the garden? If it is the tenant
check if the Landlord supplies the tools required. Students don't tend to
have their own garden tools! |
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