Before moving into a property, reference checks are carried out for all prospective tenants. Each case is treated on an individual basis, and in all cases references are subject to landlord approval.
The general referencing process includes 3 reference checks:
When you find a home you want, discuss your application with our letting team so the tenancy can be agreed with the landlord. Our whole letting process is completed online.
Holding deposit – to reserve the property
References - these may include both a credit check and personal references
Tenancy agreement
Check-in - see below
Check-out - see below
Plus - We do not charge an extra fee for pets (however, we do ask for an increased deposit - see Point 5), a reference once you leave us and rent elsewhere and Saturday move-ins.
Paying the holding deposit reserves the property for you (subject to satisfactory references and tenancy agreement), and takes it off the market.
The fee is per property, not per person, is non-refundable and is £300 Including VAT.
Please note that while we accept most debit and credit cards, we do not accept cash.
Before moving into a property, reference checks are carried out for all prospective tenants. Each case is treated on an individual basis, and in all cases references are subject to landlord approval.
The general referencing process includes 3 reference checks:
Income - you will need to show a total household income of at least 2.5 times the gross annual rent. For example, if the monthly rent is £1500 you need to earn £45000 to pass. You will need to provide contact details at the company you work for of someone who can confirm your salary.
Self-employed: If you are self-employed for less than 1 year, you will need a guarantor or will be required to pay for the tenancy in advance. For more than 1 year you'll need either an accountant to confirm your income or complete an SA302 (self-assessment) form.
There is no additional charge if a guarantor is required.
Student: You will need to provide proof of funding for the rental amount or details of a scholarship.
Savings: We can take savings into account, however you must have an amount that is equal to 36 times the monthly rent that has been in your account for at least 6 months.
If you are unable to prove income, then we may ask for advance payment of rent or a guarantor. Your guarantor will need to prove an income of 3 times the gross annual rent. Please note that we do not accept overseas Guarantor.
If you do not have a UK Guarantor please contact our lettings team.
As per the Immigration Act 2014 Section 22 it is now the landlord or agents’ responsibility to check that all tenants and occupiers have the "Right to Rent".
This means that you must be a British Citizen or European Economic Area (EEA) citizen or a Swiss National or have the Right to Rent in the UK e.g. a valid visa / residency permit etc. and some of these are limited to a period of time.
At Finders Keepers we have a two stage process to ensure that we comply with the law and avoid new tenancies falling through which causes upset for tenant and/or landlord
1. When you apply for a property we ask that you a) show the passport of each adult occupier to our letting staff, b) upload a scan of the photo page in your passport and the visa / residency permit if relevant via our online form.
2. We then have to re-check each adult occupier’s passport when you pick up keys - each person must be present in person at our office
Sadly, if you do not have the ‘Right to Rent’ we will not be able to accept your application.
Once the references are received, you digitally sign the Tenancy Agreement, the legal contract between tenant and landlord. An email will be sent to you and you open the Agreement PDF, read it and adopt a digital signature to sign it.
The average length of a tenancy is 12 months. If you want a longer or shorter tenancy or have special requirements, we will liaise between you and the landlord to reach an agreement.
Most people pay the 1st month’s rent and deposit together. They are due 7 working days in advance of the move-in date, payable by credit card, debit card or banker’s draft. There is also an £8.50+VAT charge to register the deposit with the TDS: as per the Housing Act 2004, all deposits and tenancy details are registered by JBrown with the Government’s Tenancy Deposit Scheme.
Where the property is managed by JBrown, the deposit is a sum of money held by us, the letting agent, on behalf of the landlord as security against the property being left damaged or rent not being paid. The deposit for furnished/unfurnished properties is 1.5 times the monthly rent, for properties where there is a pet an additional 1 months’ rent required.
Thereafter, rent is collected by direct debit from a UK bank account (direct debit automatically transfers funds from one bank account to another).
At JBrown, your Property Manager ‘checks you in’ to your new home, explaining all the appliances and helping you settle into your home.
'Property Management' involves rent collection, regular maintenance visits, the repair of a property, its furnishings and appliances, and looking after those living in the home.
The inventory is an agreed statement of everything which is in your property and what condition everything is in. Each tenant needs to check that the inventory is accurate, sign one copy of it and return it to us.
UK tenancy agreements work on the premise that properties need to be left by tenants in the condition in which they were found, less wear and tear. Hence the inventory is vital, as it is a record of your home’s condition on arrival.
When you move in, we will send you our JBrown 'Welcome Home' pack which has answers to common questions as well as information about your property's appliances and utilities. If you have any further questions or issues arise, your JBrown Property Manager’s details are in the front of the folder.
For emergencies at night, such as flooding, call our 24-hour Emergency Helpline (details of what defines an emergency are found in the At Home folder).
The most important part of the process.
Three months before your tenancy is due to finish, we will contact you to ask your plans and if you want to renew your tenancy. If you want to stay, then we contact the landlord and discuss their objectives. Subject to their agreement, we
draw up a new Tenancy Agreement which is £75 Including VAT.
The ‘Check-Out’ is when you leave your property. Your Property Manager visits your home and goes through the inventory to confirm that everything is in good order. We always recommend that you are present at the Check-Out.
To help make the process as easy as possible, we can organise professional cleaners if needed - 60% of tenants now use this service.
If there are no deductions from the deposit for damages, dilapidations or cleaning, we endeavour to return the deposit within a week of the final day of the tenancy
