Landlords

Choosing one of our fully managed services allows you to take a back seat and relax on this journey. You’ll never have to worry about your property, it’s going to be well cared for. It creates a professional distance between you and the tenancy/tenant(s), therefore avoiding dealing with all the bad bits like rent arrears and deposit disputes.

Ask Stevens & Carter Lettings to value your property, we use our in-depth knowledge of the local property market along with our expertise to obtain realistic achievable rental value.

Here at Stevens & Carter, we have three levels of service: Tenant Find Only, Fully (standard) managed and Premium Managed. Each of these services involves a varied level of services. Please see our fees section for costs.

Whether you are on our Fully (standard) Managed or Premium managed service, we request that tenants pay their rent by Standing order. We then transfer this money minus our commission and any other associated expenses on account via bacs payment. A statement will be sent either via the postal system or emailed to you. However, you are more than welcome to use our landlord’s platform to download statements.

All landlords are liable to pay tax on their rental income regardless of where they live, i.e. overseas or UK based. Information can be found on the government website.

Suitable notice needs to be given to the tenant before entering the property.

An Inventory/Schedule of Condition is a very detailed list of the contents and condition of your property that is taken just before a tenant moves into the property. This is very important if a dispute arises over damages at the end of a tenancy. Proof is needed of the original condition to compare it to a check out inspection.

The tenant would have to either pay for the damages themselves or quote(s) are obtained and the cost of the works to be deducted from the tenant’s deposit. It is our job to differentiate damage from fair wear and tear, as this should be allowed for.

Inspections are part of our managed services. These visits ensure that the property is being looked after, and to check for any potential maintenance issues.

Utilities will usually be paid for by the tenant(s) unless otherwise stated in their tenancy agreement. We inform utility providers of meter readings when tenants move in & out of properties. Please note that we do not inform telecom or television services, as this is normally subscription-based contracts.

An EPC Is required when marketing a property but please note that a report will last for 10 years and one can be arranged through ourselves at cost. A Landlord’s GSC (Gas Safety Certificate) is a record that ensures all gas appliances and associated equipment at the property are in good order and safe to use. This must be carried out by a qualified Gas Safe Registered engineer. A new GSC is needed every 12 months. An EICR is needed to comply with new regulations and this report last for 5 years.

The government Right to Rents scheme helps us make sure that people renting a property in the UK have the legal right to reside in the UK. Please note that this is a mandatory check for all agents. This check is carried out as part of our referencing checks, but if a landlord decides to carry out their own checks they will need to obtain acceptable proof of residency as failure to do so will result in potential fines.

Client Money Protection (CMP) is a scheme that provides/protects tenants and landlords from the misappropriation of client monies by an agent. The Property Redress Scheme (PRS) provides impartial dispute resolution between us and members of the public. Both schemes are now mandatory for all Lettings agents.