Where can I download a free tenancy agreement

Where can I download a free tenancy agreement

10:22 AM, 25th August 2013, About 11 years ago 14

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I have just let a property through an agent I have never dealt with before, however because I always hold the deposits money I asked them to amend there tenancy agreement to accommodate this and they said no we cant amend our agreements you will have to let us keep the deposit or provide your own. I have never been told this before but I thought OK not a problem. Where can I download a free tenancy agreement

My two questions are,

1. Where can I download an AST from that I am 100% certain stands up to current legislation? (Can I get a free one)
2. As agents normally charge tenants £100 or so for the contract can I charge the tenant for the AST?

Any advise would be great.

Thanks

Rob.


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Comments

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

10:26 AM, 25th August 2013, About 11 years ago

Hi Rob

I believe it is now possible to become an associate Member of the NLA free of charge and download tenancy agreements via their website.

Are you paying your letting agent for tenant find only?

What if any other services will they provide?

Presumably they will do the referencing and you will organise deposit protection and inventory?

How much is the agent charging you?
.

11:04 AM, 25th August 2013, About 11 years ago

Can you charge the tenant for the tenancy agreement? A document you want them to sign to protect you and your property? Hmm.

Actually, you can, you can charge whatever you like (within reason) but I suggest that doing so will severely restrict the number of people willing to rent from you and possibly start a potentially beautiful landlord/tenant relationship on a very dodgy footing.

I don't know the rental on your property, but even if you pay a solicitor a couple of hundred quid for a custom agreement that deals with every nuance of your requirements (as opposed to a one-size-fits-all freebie) then the cost is insignificant in comparison to the rent you should receive over the coming X years.

Rob

11:15 AM, 25th August 2013, About 11 years ago

Hi Mark

Yes its tenant find only, My rents are around £1200pm its costs me £500 or £600 plus vat depending on the agent but I never pay anymore than that. The agents in my area wont go lower than that. In Windsor there a nightmare in fact I only know of one agent that will do it for that price all the others demand around 8% of the yearly rent plus vat. They find the tenant do all the advertising and viewings plus referencing then move them in etc... I then takeover and provide inventory and protect the deposit. Normally this would also include the Tenancy agreement but on this occasion they wont amend it so I need my own.

Mary Latham

11:36 AM, 25th August 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Rob walsh" at "25/08/2013 - 11:15":

As Mark A said you can use the National Landlords Association AST free of charge when you become an Associate member - also free of charge here http://www.landlords.org.uk You can also use other forms and some of their services.

Many landlords charge an Admin fee of between £100-£150 but this is usually where they have done their own letting, through an On-line letting agent and the tenant has not already been charged fees. I am not sure that a tenant who had already paid agency fees would want to pay more to the landlord?

Follow me on Twitter@landlordtweets

My book, where I warn about the storm clouds that are gathering for landlords is here >>> http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1484855337

r01

15:54 PM, 25th August 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Rob walsh" at "25/08/2013 - 11:15":

Oyez are the solicitors stationers and SELL legal agreements that are enforceable for a few pounds, but you always have to keep updating them and need to know when. Join someone like Tessa Shepperton's site and she will keep you updated with new agreements as the law changes. http://www.landlordlaw.co.uk/‎ Her agreements are "fair" agreements. Please note I have no affiliation, I just know she is a very reasonable lawyer - rare these days.

Steven Burnell

18:46 PM, 25th August 2013, About 11 years ago

Have you looked here:
http://www.netlawman.co.uk/d/assured-shorthold-tenancy-agreement-unfurnished-flat?aid=298

Cost £9+vat & allow customisation via lots of options & claim to be high quality & easy to understand.

I have not used them yet as only just found them as part of my pre-rental research?

Paul Shears

19:39 PM, 25th August 2013, About 11 years ago

Strange that no one has offered to send you one.
I'm quite happy to do so.
You will need to study every line however & make sure that there is nothing that you need to add.
I operate on exactly the same basis as you & but I sacked my agent when they tried to charge an incoming tenant over £150 plus VAT to be put on the contract & the same again to the outgoing tenant to be taken off.
It took over two months to get the deposit back from the agent.
I charge nothing whatsoever to change the names on the contract (Shared house - jointly & severally liable). It takes me about a couple hours to do this every time a tenant changes including communication with all the tenants, getting all the signatures on the contract & updating the "My Deposits" people.
.

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

9:13 AM, 26th August 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Rob walsh" at "25/08/2013 - 11:15":

Hi Rob

Sorry I didn't get back to you yesterday, I took a day off and went to the coast with my wife.

£500 to let a property is an awful lot of money. You can bet your tenants have paid even more on top of that amount.

I've heard many landlords say the days of the High Street letting agents are numbered. It is pricing at these levels which inclines me to agree.

Maybe £500 would be acceptable if these letting agencies did the same level of due diligence as I do but I have yet to find one who does. Please download my PDF to see how I do it - see >>> http://www.property118.com/free-guide-finding-the-best-tenants/42657/ You will save a LOT of money for both you and your tenants and they will probably be far better tenants too.

When you have read the PDF and my covering email please come back and let me know what you think. Also take a look at the websites I link to in my email. There are two ways to increase profits, i.e. increase turnover or reduce costs. The suggestions I am offering could reduce your costs of letting along by over 90% and that's without factoring in showing you how to find tenants that will respect your property and stay longer.

Finally, check the contract your letting agent is offering and make sure there are no more fees payable if the tenants stay on beyond the initial tenancy.
.

Rob

12:22 PM, 26th August 2013, About 11 years ago

Hi Mark

Thanks for the info, i must admit i have thought about finding tenants by myself to save money but because i also work full time there is no way i have the time to do it the way you do it but i was impressed with the amount of work you put in when you are looking for a tenant.

Ive looked at the lettings supermarket website before and i am seriously considering giving them ago as they are clearly miles cheaper than the high street agent but my only concernes are that they are not local to the property and probably dont have the same contacts as the local high street agents such as relocation agents or having a local client list of people waiting to rent property. But i never say never so i will give it some serious thought!

Mary Latham

13:12 PM, 26th August 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Rob walsh" at "26/08/2013 - 12:22":

Rob the online letting agents get your property onto all the big sites like Rightmove, zoopla etc. It doesn't really matter where they are based because their business is all online. I use http://www.lettingaproperty.com for all of my lettings and I always let quickly and have had great tenants so far. They are not fully automated like some sites they actually speak to landlords and tenants and will do the referencing if you wan them too and if they do they speak to previous landlords for you. If you quote SOL10 they discount their charges by 10%

Follow me on Twitter@landlordtweets

My book, where I warn about the storm clouds that are gathering for landlords is here >>> http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1484855337

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