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All bills should amount to approximately £45 per person per
calendar month - including council tax, gas, electricity, water,
share of TV licence, share of telephone line rental. Please check
with the housemates when you come to view.
Of this amount I currently have tenants pay the council tax to me
on top their monthly rent by including it in their monthly standing
order as this can be a problematic bill to settle jointly. It's
approximately £17 - £20 per person per calendar month
depending on the property. I have also started doing the same for
the TV Licence for some houses, though not all, which currently
works out at about £2.50 per person pcm.
The Security Deposit is equivalent to one month's rent plus £100.
It does not form part of the first month's rent. Under normal circumstances
it is fully refundable as soon as possible upon completion of tenancy
(and will include some interest - see below).
The deposit will be protected by a government approved Tenancy
Deposit Protection Scheme - further detailed information can be
found at the Directgov
website, produced by the Central Office of Information or the Communities
and Local Government website both of which provide detailed
information for tenants .
Recent changes in the law mean that from 6th April 2007 all deposits
(up to the level of £25,000) taken by landlords and letting
agents for Assured Shorthold Tenancies in England and Wales, must
be protected by a Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme.
There are 3 government approved schemes. I have decided to use
The Deposit
Protection Service (The DPS) - the custodial scheme, the only
scheme which requires landlords to hand the deposit over to a government
approved agency.
The custodial scheme isself-financed so interest earned from the
deposits goes to the contractor for the running of the scheme. However,
not all, the remainder (at a rate set by the government equivalent
to the base rate of the Bank of England less 2.32 percent) is used
to pay interest to the tenant/landlord less Tax deducted at 20%
depending on who receives the Deposit - in the vast majority of
my cases this will be the the Tenant, and in full :) Where the Deposit,
or part of it, is divided between the landlord and the tenant the
interest will be allocated pro-rata.
The minimum tenancy term is usually six months, after which the
tenancy will roll on a calendar monthly basis. Whilst there may
be occasions when I will consider a shorter tenancy term on the
whole short-term tenancies do not help a stable social atmosphere
within a houseshare.
Please refer to each individual property. You can usually easily
park on the street near to most of the houses and most of them do
not currently lie within resident permit areas.
Please refer to each individual property. Most of the houses are
within a 20 to 25 minute walk to the city centre.
Most other housemates are graduates in their 20s working in professional
jobs. The average age of my tenants is 25 - though I do have some
tenants in their 30s.
On the whole existing housemates perform the viewings and get to
meet any prospective tenants and to select replacement housemates
in order to best ensure a compatible social environment.
It's fine for partners to stay on an occasional basis, weekends
etc. However, partners are not able to stay on a long-term basis
as this can create conflict and tension amongst other housemates
and put pressure on kitchen and washing facilities.
Bikes can usually be stored in the hallway under the stairs, where
possible, or in rear outhouses/sheds.
If you would like to hang a picture on the wall and there is not
already a suitable nail/screw to hang it on, just ask and I will
visit your room to fix one.
All of the individual bedrooms are painted white or in some cases
magnolia. This gives the room a feeling of light and space, works
well with most furniture and acts as a good colour base for wall
hangings. It's also simple and cost-effective to redecorate and
touch up if necessary. For these reasons I do not allow rooms to
be redecorated.
As the landlord I provide buildings insurance. However, it is the
tenant's responsibility to insure their own contents. From previous
research I found the company which offers the most suitable policy
for young professional or student houseshare insurance is Endsleigh
should you wish to insure your own belongings - I currently use
them for the buildings insurance.
Unfortunately I do not take tenants in receipt of benefits.
NOTE: The above applies to my properties. My parents manage their
properties largely in a similar manner, however, there are differences
so if you are interested in a room in one of their houses, please
check with them if you have any queries.
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