Read our Tenants Guide below to learn the steps to renting a property.
At AP Morgan Estate and Letting Agents covering Birmingham, Bromsgrove, Halesowen, Redditch and Stourbridge and we strive to find an ideal property for our tenants. We love to see our tenants happy in their home. We pride ourselves in working extremely hard to ensure that your experience of privately renting a property through our agency is as smooth and stress-free as possible.
Book Viewings
You can benefit by registering your requirements criteria with us i.e. when do you need to move in by, your maximum budget, which areas you would like to live in, how many bedrooms you need and which type of property you want etc. Once you register with us, our ingenious system and friendly property consultants will keep you updated regularly via email and phone, with all of our latest properties that may be suitable for you. We will help you with every steps to secure your ideal home.
Reserve Property
Once you have found your ideal property, we will get you all set up on our referencing portal in order to carry out the background checks.
Reference
Prior to the tenancy being offered, credit, employer, previous landlord and bank references may be obtained in respect of all tenants by professional referencing agencies acting on our behalf. Any offer of a Tenancy is strictly subject to satisfactory references being passed.
Tenancy
You have been provided with a copy of the proposed Tenancy Agreement. You should read this carefully to ensure that you agree with the content before signing it. If you are unsure about the meaning of any clause, you should take independent legal advice.
Proof of Identity
You must satisfy a Right to Rent check, as this is required by law. We also require proof of address, such as a utility or council tax bill in your name at your current address. From companies, we require proof of identity of the director or authorised signatory, as well as proof of directorship or proof of authority to sign. Initial Payment If you are interested in renting one of our properties, you will be expected to pay a holding deposit. Once this amount has been paid, we will stop advertising the Property. In the event of the parties proceeding with the tenancy, we will refund the holding deposit to you. This will usually be by way of making an equivalent deduction from the move in monies required from you before check in. Unless informed otherwise, it will be taken against the Rent payable. If the Landlord decides not to rent the Property or an agreement is not reached before the Deadline for Agreement (provided you are not at fault), we will refund the holding deposit to you in full. Unless agreed in writing below, the Deadline for Agreement will be 15 days after the holding deposit has been received by us. If you provide false or misleading information which reasonably affects the Landlord’s decision to let the Property to you, or if you fail a right to rent check, or if you withdraw from the proposed agreement, or if you fail to take all reasonable steps to enter an agreement when the Landlord has done so, we will retain your holding deposit. In the event that we intend to retain your holding deposit, we will set out in writing the reason for this within 7 days of either deciding not to enter the tenancy agreement or the Deadline for Agreement.
Tenancy Agreement Information
You will be provided with a draft copy of the Tenancy Agreement. It is our policy to execute the Tenancy Agreement and any Renewal Memorandum Agreement by dating the document as soon as it is signed by all parties. This may be prior to the actual tenancy start date. Once executed by us, both parties are legally bound to the Tenancy. When you sign this Tenancy Guide you are confirming your authority for us to execute and bind the Tenancy Agreement and any Renewal Agreement in this manner without further reference to you. Make sure everything that you believe has been proposed/agreed either verbally or in writing up to now is included in the Tenancy Agreement as this will represent the final and binding agreement with the parties and will override any previous negotiations entered into.
Check In
Prior to ‘Check-in’ the tenants must pay their first month’s rent in advance as well as the deposit which is generally equal to 5 weeks rent. We will help you with informing the utility companies and the Council Tax department about the changes in the details of property occupier(s). Upon check-in we will hand over a set of property keys to tenants, note down the current meter readings and provide a copy of the schedule of conditions ‘Inventory report’ which will contain full details of the condition of the property along with photographic evidence. Tenants will need to return a signed copy of ‘Inventory’ within 7 days, along with full evidence of any further issues with the property which are not already mentioned in the Inventory.
Deposit Protection Service
The Agent protecting this tenancy deposit will give Prescribed Information to all tenants at the property in accordance with The Housing (Tenancy Deposits) (Prescribed Information) Order 2007. They must do this within 30 days of receiving the deposit from the tenant. It informs the tenant about the deposit protection measures the Agent has taken, the scheme contact details, and procedures that apply regarding the protection and return of the deposit.
Maintenance & Repairs
With AP Morgan, our tenants are able to quickly and easily report maintenance issues and repairs 24/7, using our Online Tenant Repair Reporting System.
This is a simple picture and video based reporting system available in 40 different languages. This facility is also available via smartphone and tablet Apps.
Property Inspections
We always endeavour to ensure that the property is kept in a good condition and that the tenants are properly managing the property. Therefore, in order to address any issues, we inspect the property periodically throughout the tenancy period. We visit the tenants to ensure that any issues which require attention are dealt with and rectified.
Tenants can contact our offices at any time to discuss and/or report any issues that may arise. Any maintenance or repairs that are the Landlord’s responsibility are arranged and carried out efficiently with the least possible disruption to the tenants.
End Of Tenancy
We will always contact the tenants prior to the end of their ’fixed term’ Tenancy Agreement to establish whether the tenants would like to extend their tenancy or vacate the property. At this stage, we can offer a further fixed term tenancy or a monthly rolling tenancy if the Landlord is happy with this arrangement and agrees to do so.
Check Out
We will arrange with the tenants a suitable ‘Check Out’ time on the day that tenant decides to move out, which could be any working day prior to the end of the tenancy agreement or even the very last day of the tenancy. Upon ‘check out’ we will meet the tenants, check the property condition over, against the ‘Inventory’ and receive the keys back.
Deposit Refund
We will discuss the deposit release with all parties and then arrange payments accordingly. We are proud to operate a fair and impartial policy when addressing any dilapidations (damages). Our Lettings Department will act as an arbitrator between the landlord and the tenant to come to an agreeable decision, otherwise we will start the settlement process through the Deposit Protection Scheme.
So, if you are looking to rent a property in Birmingham, Bromsgrove, Halesowen, Redditch, Stourbridge or any of the surrounding areas, then rent with confidence through AP Morgan, your award-winning local Estate Agent that really cares.
Tenant charges
To view our tenant charges please click the link below.
Click here to view our tenant charges PDF.