H&M Properties

1) The Service

a) Providing advice as to the likely rental income.

b) Advertising and marketing of the Property.

c) Selecting tenants, arranging viewings and taking up references.

d) Preparing the Occupation Contract.

e) Preparing an inventory* (*Please note an extra charge applies if you require this service)

f) Advising and assisting in transferring utility service accounts.

g) Collecting a deposit from the tenant to be held in the Deposit Protection Scheme.

h) Collecting rental payments and forwarding monies to the Landlord(s) less any fees or expenses due incurred for that period.

i) Carrying out periodic inspections of the Property.

j) Arranging any repairs or maintenance to the Property of contents up to a limit of £150 and settling accounts from rents received.

k) Assisting with the Serving of notices of possession* (*Solicitor fees may apply)

l) Checking out the tenant at the end of the tenancy. *(Check out fee applies) liaising with the Deposit Protection Scheme in relation to returning the deposit.* (*Please note an extra charge is payable if you require us to act on your behalf with regards to the dispute service).

m) Dealing with dilapidations * (*Refurbishment arrangement fees apply)

2) Fees

a) Management fee – equal to 10% plus VAT of each month's rent.

b) Tenant finding fee – A tenant finding fee of half a month's rent plus VAT at the commencement of the tenancy.

c) Abortive Fee – If you withdraw the property before a tenant is found you will be liable for an abortive fee or £300 plus VAT to cover the costs of advertising and setting up the property online. If we introduce a Tenant who has provided satisfactory references and is ready, willing and able to proceed, but you withdraw the property or decline to accept the Tenant, you will be liable for an abortive fee of half a month's rent plus VAT, subject to a minimum fee of £250 plus VAT.

d) Renewal fee – A renewal fee of £85 plus vat charged to managed properties.

e) Issuing Notices – Notices such as the RHW12 charged at £30 plus VAT.

f) Keys – Where duplicate keys are needed, a charge of £12 plus VAT per key cut will be charged. All keys will be tested.

g) Sale of Property – In the event of a party introduced by us, or any person or body corporate associated with that party, subsequently purchasing the property, whether before or after entering into a Tenancy Agreement, a commission shall be payable by the Landlord(s) / Owner to us on completion of the sale at a rate of 1% plus VAT of the sale price.

f) Termination – Following the letting of the Property this Agreement may be terminated by either party by way of three months written notice. If this occurs, you will pay a fee equivalent to one month's rent plus VAT where you continue letting to Tenants introduced by us following the termination of this Agreement. In addition, we reserve the right to serve seven days' notice of termination of this Agreement if we believe you are in breach of any regulation relating the Property (whether statutory or not). If the breach relates to issues under the Equality Act 2010, we will serve notice of termination with immediate effect. All monies owed to us under the Agreement up to the date of termination must be settled in full upon a final statement of account being issued. From 7 days from the date of our final account the sum outstanding will be settled by the landlord. Failure to pay the account within the relevant time period will result in proceedings being issued without further recourse to the landlord.

3) Additional Information

Indemnity

As Landlord(s) I/We agree to indemnify H&M Properties against any costs, fees or liabilities incurred. To assist H&M Properties in carrying out their duties effectively, complying with statutory regulation and provisions and any disputes between landlord and tenant Landlord(s) I/We agree to respond promptly with instructions where necessary to any correspondence or requests from H&M Properties.

Where an inventory is ordered by the Landlord and the relevant fee paid the landlord agrees that this inventory will not make reference to any items situated in common areas, garages or gardens. H&M Properties recommend that no items of value or sentimental relevance be left at the property in the areas of the property that are excluded from the inventory.

Landlord & Tenant disputes

If a dispute arises between a landlord and tenant that requires any involvement of H&M properties, the landlord consents to H&M properties charge out rate of £90 per hour excluding vat to assist with any matters deriving from a dispute. In addition, the landlord will indemnify H&M for any disbursements it incurs from matters deriving from a dispute between the landlord and tenant.

Housing (Wales) Act 2014

Where the Landlord is letting a Welsh dwelling which is defined as a domestic tenancy as per Section 2 of the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 the Landlord must be registered as per the act. Rent Smart Wales process landlord registrations and grant licences to landlords and agents. The Landlord will ensure they are properly registered and acknowledge that it is their duty to ensure they remain registered and ensure any relevant information is disclosed at the time of registration or where applicable on discovery and to pay the applicable registration fees and or renewal fees.

Landlords of Welsh dwellings as per the Section 2 of the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 who are not involved in setting up tenancies and managing their rental properties do not need a licence; however they must use a local licensed agent and register as a landlord declaring their agent on the registration. H&M properties hold a valid licence as per the act.

The Landlord acknowledges that as per the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 any landlord letting activities or Landlord Property Management Activities as outlined below are for the term of the agreement to dealt with exclusively by H&M Properties under their licence. If the Landlord breaches any provisions under the Housing Wales Act 2014 H&M Properties may immediately terminate the agreement and seek any outstanding fees.

Landlord Letting Activities

arranging or conducting viewings with prospective tenants;
gathering evidence for the purpose of establishing the suitability of prospective tenants (for example, by confirming character references, undertaking credit checks or interviewing a prospective tenant);
preparing, or arranging the preparation, of a tenancy agreement;
preparing, or arranging the preparation, of an inventory for the dwelling or schedule of condition for the dwelling.

Landlord Property Management Activities:

collecting rent;
being the principal point of contact for the tenant in relation to matters arising under the tenancy;
making arrangements with a person to carry out repairs or maintenance;
making arrangements with a tenant or occupier of the dwelling to secure access to the dwelling for any purpose;
checking the contents or condition of the dwelling, or arranging for them to be checked as part of a current tenancy or for one which has ended;
serving notice to terminate a tenancy.

Failure to comply with Housing (Wales) Act 2014

A Landlord who fails to Register contravenes subsection (1) of the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 and commits an offence. Furthermore, a Landlord who fails to comply with the aforementioned act may be liable to the following:

Fixed Penalties

Where on any occasion a person authorised in writing for the purpose of this section by a licensing authority has reason to believe that a person has committed an offence under this Part (other than an offence under section 13(3) or section 38(4)), the authorised person may, by notice, offer the person the opportunity of discharging any liability to conviction for that offence by payment of a fixed penalty to the authority.

Rent Stopping Order

A rent stopping order stops a landlord recovering rent from the tenant and all other rights and obligations under the tenancy continue unaffected. Any periodical payments stopped by the order but made by a tenant of the dwelling (whether before or after the stopping date) must be repaid by the Landlord.

Rent Repayment Order

A Landlord's failure to comply with the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 could result in a rent repayment order.

Contractors

The Landlord agrees that H&M Properties will not be liable for works undertaken by contractors and any disputes arising from the works undertaken will be between the landlord and contractor. The Landlord acknowledges that H&M Properties are not qualified to inspect, supervise or survey any works including but not limited to electrics, plumbing, gas engineering, roofing or any other matters.

Occupation Contract

The Management Service includes the preparation of a six or twelve month Occupation Contract in our standard form. It is agreed that we may sign the Occupation Contract on your behalf. At the expiry of the fixed term the tenancy becomes a periodic occupation contract until possession is required or we are instructed to renew the agreement.

Gardens

Tenants will only be expected to maintain gardens provided the necessary tools and equipment have been supplied.

Services

We will take meter readings whenever possible at each change of occupation in the Property and inform the service companies (electricity and gas) of these reading and change of occupation. In many cases, the service companies (eg BT) require that the new occupiers formally request and authorise the service and it is not possible for us to do this on the tenants or your behalf. Regarding mail, you should take care to inform all parties (eg banks, clubs, societies etc) of your new address or redirect their mail; it is not always possible to rely on tenants to forward mail.

Vacant Properties

The management service does not include supervising, nor do we accept any responsibility during any periods when your property is vacant. Should our services be required or instructed during vacant or void periods then a management fee will be due for that period.

Refurbishment

Should you require us to assist in the management of part or full refurbishments of the property then a fee will applicable. The fee would be dependant of scale and time of works undertaken.

Insurance

You shall be solely responsible for the Property being adequately insured and the insurers being notified of the intention to let. You are also solely responsible for notifying the insurers of the periods when the property is vacant and for dealing with any claims that might arise.

Safety Requirements

Gas – Under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 all gas appliances and flues in rented accommodation must be checked for safety within 12 months of installation, and thereafter every 12 months by a Gas Safe registered engineer.

Electrics – Under the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994, the General Product Safety Regulations 1994 and the Plugs and Sockets (Safety) Regulations 1994 electrical appliances and equipment provided in tenanted premises must be safe. It is necessary therefore to make a visual check to ensure all electrical items, plugs and leads appear completely safe and undamaged, and remove or replace any faulty items.

Furniture and Furnishings (Fire)(Safety) Regulations 1988 – This regulation is to provide that specified items supplied in the course of letting a property must meet minimum fire resistance standards. The regulations apply to all upholstered furniture, beds, headboards and mattresses, sofa beds, futons, nursery furniture, scatter cushions, pillows and non-original covers for furniture. The regulation does not apply to furniture made before 1950.

It is agreed that the you shall ensure the property is made available for letting in a safe condition and in compliance with the above regulations. You shall ensure all electrical equipment is checked at the beginning of the tenancy and every year thereafter. You agree to indemnify us against any expenses or penalties that may be suffered as a result of non-compliance of the Property to fire and appliance safety standards.

Mortgage

If the Property is mortgaged, you should obtain written consent for the letting from the mortgage provider.

Income Tax

When resident in the UK, it is your responsibility to inform the Inland Revenue of rental income received.

Non-payment of Rent

If the tenant fails to pay rent, please note that the management fee is still payable to us by you for the period during which the Agent continues to manage the property.

Complaints

We are committed to providing a professional service to all our clients and customers. When something goes wrong, we need you to tell us about it. This will help to improve our standards. If you are unhappy with any aspect of our service, please first raise the matter with Daniel Hopkins, who will fully investigate the matter. We have 8 weeks to consider your complaint. If you are not satisfied with our handling of your complaint, you can ask The Property Redress Scheme (www.theprs.co.uk) to consider your complaint. We confirm that we subscribe to the Property Redress Scheme code of Practice for Letting Agents.

Data Protection Act & The General Data Protection Regulation 2018

The Agent is registered under the Data Protection Act with the Information Commissioner. The Agent uses the information you provide primarily for the provision of property management services to you and for related purposes. Use of that information is subject to your instructions, the Data Protection Act, and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Further information on how your personal data is processed and the lawful bases, for doing so, can be found in the Agent's Privacy Notice, a copy of which can be found at http://www.handmproperties.co.uk/privacy-policy If you do not have access to the internet, then please contact the Agent who will send you a paper copy of the Privacy Notice.

As Landlord(s) you have the right to access the personal data that we hold about you. You also have other rights such as the right to object to us sending you information. You can exercise these rights by simply writing to Daniel Hopkins who has overall responsibility for Data Protection. If you have difficulty in putting your request in writing, then please contact the Agent in some other way and we will do all that we reasonably can to accommodate you and enable you to exercise your rights. We may ask you for proof of identity when you make a data subject request. Further information on your rights can be found in our Privacy Notice.

The Agent may from time to time send you information which may be of interest to you. If you do not wish to receive that information, please let the Agent know.

Terms & Conditions