Letting Services at a Glance

Services for Landlords

Why Let with H&H Land & Estates?

Not only is H&H Land & Estates a long-established and well-respected company but we have a multitude of experience with both lettings and property management.

We treat every single one of our properties like they are our own homes and we ensure that we maintain excellent relationships with our landlords for this very reason.

The lettings team is a small and close knit one which upholds the theory that honesty is the best policy when it comes to discussing rental prices, maintenance issues and potential tenants.

When you choose the agent to market your property with, it’s important to see them from the tenant’s perspective too.

Here at H&H Land & Estates we feel that tenants shouldn’t be buried in administrative fees. In fact, even before the tenant fee ban came into force, we did not ask tenants to pay in-house admin fees and did not surprise tenants with add-ons. We have always believed in good business practice. No hidden extras or add-ons – our fee structure is transparent so you can make an informed choice when choosing your letting agent.

Our quality of service is absolutely no different whether you manage your property yourself or entrust us to manage it on your behalf. We want you to be happy with the service and confident in our abilities.

If you choose out Fully Managed or Fully Managed Plus services, you can be rest in the knowledge that our excellent contacts among contractors and tradesmen are tried and tested and trusted to maintain all of our properties to a high standard.

And finally, we can assure you, should it ever be required, that we also have the full backing of local solicitors who always make sure that we are fully compliant and keep up to date with the ever changing legislative demands of the rental industry.

Advice for Landlords

We understand that the lettings process can come across as complex and overwhelming – particularly if you are starting out as a new landlord or haven’t rented out a property in a few years. Our job is to make this process as smooth and free of hassle as possible.

All we need from you are the following requirements:

Health & Safety

• Make sure you have working smoke detectors on each level of the property.
• Make sure you have a working carbon monoxide detector in rooms where there is any kind of solid fuel burning appliance such as a log burner or open fire. It is also good practice to have carbon monoxide detectors near any gas outlets.
• Properties with gas appliances and gas central heating require an annual gas safety certificate. We will also need a valid certificate prior to the start of any tenancy, and we can arrange this for you, with your permission.
• Properties with oil central heating need annual servicing and we can also sort this out for you, with your authorization.
• All properties require a valid Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) with a rating between A-E, before the start of the tenancy. These certificates last for 10 years and are required for both sales and rental properties.
• Electrical Installation Condition Reports in rental properties are now a legal requirement for all new tenancies as of July 2020, and from April 2021 they will be mandatory for all existing tenancies. These certificates usually last 5 years and must be carried out by a qualified electrician.
• Furnished properties must meet the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations

Council Tax, Energy Supply & Insurance

• Council tax and energy supplier usage are both the landlord’s responsibility until a new tenant moves in. Prior to the start of a tenancy, we will read the meters and notify the energy providers and the council of the new tenant’s details, date of tenancy commencement and the meter readings. Once the tenant vacates, the landlord is then responsible again for energy usage and council tax.
• Landlords Insurance is the landlord’s responsibility while the tenant is responsible for their own Contents Insurance. We encourage our landlords to browse the different landlord insurance packages available to them and discuss the policies ins and outs with your provider to make sure that you are covered should the worst ever happen. It is advisable to question your insurance provider on where the responsibility lies with regards to carpets in the property as most tenants will not insure carpets and some providers fail to include them on the landlord’s policy. Our sister company, H&H Insurance Brokers within the H&H Group can provide you with a no obligation quote.
• Landlords Mortgage / Lender Consent is required to rent a property with a mortgage. If you have previously been residing in the property yourself, then you would be required to let your lender know of your change in circumstances.

This list is not exhaustive and if you would like more information please feel free to contact our Lettings & Property Management Team at lettings@hhlandestates.co.uk, or alternatively you can call our head office on 01228 810799 (Option 2).

By choosing to market your rental property with us, you are making the decision to make you job as a landlord simple and stress free, allowing you to concentrate on the important things in life with the confidence of knowing your investment is in safe hands.

Service Packages

When it comes to the rental process, to keep things simple, H&H Land & Estates offer 3 rental packages:

• Fully Managed Plus
• Fully Managed
• Let Only

Here is a breakdown of what each package includes:

How the Process Works

Each package starts with a property visit from a member of the lettings team who will carry out a free market appraisal. You will have the chance to ask any questions you may have about the process and then we will follow up the appointment in writing.

If at this point you decide that you choose us to handle your property rental (in whatever capacity), then we will revisit your property to take fresh photos which reflect the property in its best light.

We will market your property on Rightmove, Zoopla and On The Market, along with our own website and on our social media pages.

When we start receiving interest from prospective tenants, we will organise viewings or arrange for you to carry out viewings yourself, depending on what you prefer.

Rest assured that there is absolutely no additional charge if you choose for us to handle all viewings on your behalf, the decision is purely yours.

When an interested party is looking to proceed with the rental of your property, we would send them formal application forms for the property which will capture the applicants’ full name, date of birth, national insurance number, current address, previous addresses, next of kin, employment details, salary and savings information, along with any credit history issues they wish to disclose.

Form here, if you the landlord are happy to proceed, we will then arrange formal referencing for the applicant. In the meantime, we will mark the property as ‘let agreed’ on our marketing sites as well as our website and cancel any upcoming booked viewings. At this point, the property is essentially secured for the tenant in question.

Once the formal checks are completed and successful, we will arrange a date and time for the new tenant to come in and sign the paperwork. We anticipate this will take place within one month of the initial viewing, but timescales will differ with each individual case. We will discuss this with all parties throughout the process.

Prior to sign up, we will visit the rental property to take a series of photos to record the property’s condition. We will also read the meters and collate the necessary information to draw out the tenancy agreement. The agreement is a lengthy document and agreed by our legal team at a local solicitor to ensure it is up to date and accurate.

Unless you and the tenant agree otherwise, our tenancy agreements are for a 6-month term, and then they roll over on a periodic month by month basis.

At the agreed sign up day and time, the new tenants will visit our office to sign the paperwork and take possession of the keys. We will take a copy of their ID for the Right to Rent checks that we need to carry out and we will also take the first month’s rent and deposit.

Should you be entrusting us with the full management of your rental property, we will ask for the tenant/s to fill out a standing order mandate with our bank details.

If you the landlord will be taking on the property management, then we will ask the tenant to fill in a standing order mandate with your own bank details.

After that, our fee will be taken from the first month’s rent, and the rest will be paid to you. We then register the deposit using the Tenancy Deposit Custodial Scheme unless you the landlord have specified differently. However, the deposit will still need to be registered to another approved scheme within 30 days of the start of the tenancy.

Let Only

If you choose the Let Only package, we would recommend that you carry out inspections of your property. You are required to provide reasonable notice to your tenants of when you wish to do this.

Fully Managed & Fully Managed Plus

Each month we will collect rent on your behalf, and it will be paid to you promptly. The added benefit of our Fully Managed Plus package is that it works like an insurance scheme, so if the tenant defaults on the rent, you will still get paid whilst the property is tenanted.

Also part of the Fully Managed package, we will arrange and carry out 12-weekly inspections at the property throughout the duration of the tenancy, however we can increase or decrease this inspection frequency at your discretion. Reports will be sent to you on the upkeep of the property, so you get a feel of how the property is being looked after by the new tenants.

Further to this, our team will deal with all maintenance matters are managed so you don’t have to worry about maintenance related issues – we are happy to oversee everything from minor repairs through to full renovations.

Lastly, when the time comes for the tenant to move out, our part in the process is to make it as stress-free as we can. We handle the process of the property being vacated, along which involves communications with the vacating tenant, conducting a final inspection and deposit redistribution (with your authorisation). We then take care of launching the process all over again to find new tenants for the property.

For the Let Only properties, you will conduct the inspection yourself and we will ask you to let us know of any deductions required to the deposit, after the handover with your tenants. If you wish to re-list the property, we can take care of this for you again.

Our Fee Structure

We are proud to say that with H&H Land & Estates, there are no add-ons, hidden charges or costs. Landlord fees are simple, as they should be.

The standard fees for each service are as below –

Fully Managed Plus:    £325 + VAT, and then 15% + VAT of the monthly asking rent

Fully Managed:           £300 + VAT, and then a monthly commission based upon the asking rent + VAT

Let Only:                      The equivalent of one month’s rent + VAT