Letting at BL&CO

BL&CO has been letting property for over 40 years and are delighted to offer an experienced, knowledgeable and professional service based on a strict code of practice. The feedback we receive from our clients and tenants is impressive because we operate a step by step process to ensure accuracy, low risk, reliability and precision:

Agreeing an Offer

Having registered your requirements with a member of our team and viewed a property which you wish to rent, the next step is to make an offer. It is important to consider all your terms, including the rental price, moving date, length of term and form of rental payment. If you have any requests it is important that you make them at this early stage. Once we have agreed an offer for you with the landlord we take a holding deposit equivalent of up to two weeks rent plus a referencing charge to secure the property while the paperwork is being processed.

Referencing Process

Finding a suitable tenant is absolutely key to a landlord’s investment. Our prospective tenants are rigorously referenced by a professional company which incorporates credit checks, employment and salary verification, as well as background residency checks which combine to formulate an application score. Providing this score and associated information is acceptable to the referencing company, we are confident that our landlords will be satisfied and comfortable with the prospective tenant’s financial credentials and character. However, should a landlord have any specific reference requirements or wish to conduct the referencing according to their usual practice please speak with one of the team and we will accommodate it where feasible and legitimate. On the occasions where prospective tenants are not resident or without income in the UK and wish to rent a property, we advise our landlords to accept rental payment upfront and obtain character references and relevant VISA’s/Permits where necessary to ascertain the suitability of the prospect.

Tenancy Agreements

A tenancy agreement is a legal agreement in writing that sets out the rights and responsibilities of both landlord and tenant. It will contain detail such as the length of the agreement, the rent payable and what is and isn't allowed in the property.

Our tenancy agreements are in principle written by the National Association of Estate Agents in conjunction with their Solicitors and the Office of Fair Trading. There are two main types of agreements which we use by law: An Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) is a tenancy agreement which commands a total annual rent of less than £100,000. An AST is governed by the Housing Act 1988 and the amended Housing Act 1996, which dictates certain rights and responsibilities for both landlords and tenants, as well as making the registration of deposits with a Government scheme compulsory. Alternatively, for an annual rent totalling £100,000 or more, the tenancy agreement is negotiated under a contractual tenancy and is governed by contract law which remains outside the Act. For further information on how this affects you as a landlord or tenant please consult one of the team.
Some of our landlords chose to use their own tenancy agreements and provided this is agreed with the prospective tenant we are more than happy to accommodate this subject to the necessary legal requirements.

Deposit Administration

BL&CO is a member of the tenancy deposit scheme ‘The Dispute Service’ where we register all relevant deposits as required by the Housing Act 2004. Should a client wish to use an alternative deposit scheme this can be arranged subject to the necessary legal requirements and agreement with the incoming tenant.
In order to ensure the administration of the deposit is dealt with as efficiently and fairly as possible, we recommend the use of a reputable, professional inventory company. They construct an extremely detailed report and provide photographs where necessary. We recommend to both the tenant and landlord to use the same company for both check in and check out to minimise miscommunications. It is traditional that the landlord bares the cost of the check-in and the tenant the check-out.

Tenancy Renewals

We agree the renewal of a tenancy when it is in the interest of both parties and in fact find countless numbers of our landlords and tenants forge great relationships which lead to longterm contracts, ideal for both parties in many instances. We do recommend our management service to cement the smooth running of this relationship by having any issues responded to efficiently and effectively. There have been several instances where tenants have been willing to pay a higher rent in order to secure a professionally managed property.

Our commitment to customer service and tenant selection procedures illustrate our professional and honest approach to our industry. Our lettings, combined with our 24/7 management service offers our clients the best possible product on the market. Please click here to view further details on our Property Management Service.