RICHMOND
Lettings
Terms &
Conditions
Lettings - Terms & Conditions
This is a legal document. Please take time to read it carefully and ask any questions relating to the terms and conditions below before signing our corresponding Instructions to Act.
1 Definition
In this document the following words mean:
1.2
“Cantell & Co”/ “The Agent”/ “We”/ “Us”- The agent you have instructed
1.2
“You”/ “The Landlord”- The person(s) named overleaf and any successor(s) in title being the owner(s) of the property
1.3
“The Property”- The premises referred to over-leaf or any part of it including garage, outbuildings, and any appliances an items of furniture listed in the inventory but excluding any communal or ex-cluded areas.
1.4
“Tenant”- Any tenant or tenants occupying the property. Where the tenant is a company it in-cludes any subsidiary or parent company.
1.5
“Tenancy”- The tenancy proposed by us and agreed by you which is granted to the tenant. In-cluding any initial agreement or any extension, subsequent agreement, renewal, holding over, or any statutory periodic tenancy to which the tenant is, or may become, entitled.
1.6
“Rent”- Payment made by the tenant or any-one on behalf of the tenant pursuant to the tenan-cy and for use of the property.
1.7
“Commission”- The commission or fees as ex-plained in Clause 5.
2 Payment of Commission
2.1
Where a tenant introduced by Cantell & Co enters into occupation of the property, the com-mission shall become payable to Cantell & Co for the entire duration of the tenant’s occupation un-der the tenancy.
2.2
Commission is calculated as a percentage of the rent for the entire period during which the tenant introduced by Cantell & Co remains in oc-cupation of the property.
3 Let Only Service
In providing this service Cantell & Co will:
3.1
Inspect the property and advise you on the decorative condition, furnishings, expected level of rent to achieve and any necessary steps which you may need to undertake to comply with all relevant safety and other legal regulations.
3.2
Arrange for (at your own expense and request) an independent inventory and check in/out relat-ing the letting of the property of the furniture, furnishings, fixtures and fittings. You will be pro-vided with a copy of the subsequent documents.
3.3
Advertise the property in order to arrange and conduct viewings.
3.4
We will seek references on all prospective tenants.
3.5
Advise on, demand and account to you for the rent for the duration of the tenancy, and to pay the appropriate net amount into your nominated bank account. You should allow up to three work-ing days from the receipt of rent for Cantell & Co to transfer the rent to you.
3.6
Make formal demand for and take all other reasonable steps necessary (without issuing court proceedings) to recover any outstanding rent and advise you of timescales for you to instruct solici-tors and commence proceedings to recover such arrears and/ or enforce or defend your rights in relation to the letting of the property.
3.7
If at any time you decide to collect the rent directly so that Cantell & Co are unable to deduct our commission monthly then the remaining commission will be due and paid in 12 monthly instalments in advance for the duration of the ten-ants’ agreed occupation.
3.8
If you request, we will organise an initial gas safety certificate at your own expense. Though because Cantell & Co are not managing the prop-erty you must arrange for all subsequent gas Safe-ty checks to be carried out and indemnify Cantell & Co against the consequences of not doing so.
3.9
Acting on your instructions with regard to ne-gotiate the terms and sign an appropriate tenancy agreement on your behalf.
4 Full Management Service
Should you wish us to manage the property Cantell & Co will also:
4.1
Conduct property inspections periodically and submit to you a written report on its condition. Any reports submitted by us detail only the deco-rative state of the property and are not intended to be a structural survey nor should they be treat-ed as such.
4.2
We will arrange on your behalf and at your expense any necessary work to maintain the prop-erty in a satisfactory condition. We will not incur any costs greater than £250.00 for any one item without notifying you first, except in the case of emergency repairs. All contractors are only in-structed by us on your behalf.
4.3
Arrange a statutory gas safety test to be car-ried out at your expense prior to the tenant’s oc-cupation and annually thereafter.
4.4
Where you wish to cease the Full Management Service then Cantell & Co require one month’s notice in writing, this will then have the effect of reducing the service to our Let Only Service at the standard commission rate of 10.00% of the rent.
5 Commission and Charges
5.1
Sole agent Let Only Service: The commission for our let only service is 10.00% of the rent. The commission for our full management service is 15.00% of the rent. You hereby agree not to in-struct any other agent during the term of this agreement.
5.2
Our Administration fees for a new tenancy are £360.00 inclusive of Vat & £180 inclusive of VAT for the renewal of an existing tenancy.
5.2
Sole lettings terms: The commission will be due to Cantell & Co if at any time a tenant takes occupation of the property: who has been directly or indirectly introduced by Cantell & Co during the period of our agency agreement; or (b) with whom Cantell & Co has had negotiations about the prop-erty during the said period; or (c) who has been introduced by other agents during the period of our Sole Agency agreement or its termination period.
5.3
Sole Agency marketing period: our appoint-ment as Sole Agent is for a minimum period of six weeks from the date overleaf; termination must be in writing giving three working days’ notice.
5.4
Multiple Agency Terms: When marketing your property alongside another agent, the commission will be due to Cantell & Co if at any time a tenant takes occupation of the property: (a) who has been introduced by Cantell & Co; or (b) with whom Cantell & Co have had negotiations about the property.
5.5
You remain responsible for all commission and charges irrespective of whether the tenant pays the rent.
5.6
All commissions and charges are exclusive of V.A.T. which will be charged at the standard rate.
5.7
This letter confirms our terms of business, if you are unhappy with any of these terms please contact us immediately.
6 Tax: Non-resident landlords
6.1
The income received by you from the letting of your property may be subject to income tax even if you are a resident abroad. Your tax affairs relating to the property are solely your own responsibility.
6.2
If you are deemed for tax purposes to be resi-dent overseas Cantell & Co may, due to current tax legislation, become liable if you default in the payment of any relevant tax. Where it seems to us that this is likely, Cantell & Co are entitled to retain an amount deemed sufficient to meet our esti-mate of any such tax liability from the rent, and you will indemnify us and keep us indemnified against all costs, claims, proceedings and legal costs and any other expenses arising out of or in-cidental to any such tax (including any penalties or interest payable on it) to which Cantell & Co become liable.
7 Sale of the Property
In the event that the freehold or long leasehold is sold to the tenant (or their associates) during the tenancy then a final commission payment will be due upon completion of the sale. This will be a sum equivalent to the commission that would have been payable until the end of the tenancy.
8 General
Cantell & Co will always strive to deliver a highly professional service but will not accept responsibil-ity for any loss or damage suffered by you as a result of:
8.1
Any delay or, failure or overpayment by us in relation to the settlement of your accounts relat-ing to the property; nor any failure in carrying out any inspection of the property to notice any latent defects or matters concealed from our representatives; or
8.2
Any failure on the part of the tenant to ob-serve the terms of the tenancy agreement, or comply with any obligation imposed by statute; or
8.3
Any defective workmanship or problems asso-ciated with contractors instructed to do work on your behalf.
8.4
Any failure by you to comply with all relevant legislation, safety or other regulations; or
8.5
Any failure by you to comply with the terms of any relevant lease, mortgage, or insurance policy relating to the property; or
8.6
Any failure by you to maintain adequate insurance cover.
9 Deposits
9.1
For all non-Assured Shorthold Tenancies, Can-tell & Co will retain the deposit in line with the tenancy agreement as stakeholder.
9.2
For all Assured Shorthold Tenancies the depos-it will be held in accordance with the Housing Act 2004 and under the terms of MyDeposits. The de-posit is held as stakeholder and is safeguarded by MyDeposits, which is administered by: MyDepos-its, Ground Floor, Kingmaker House, Station Road, New Barnet, Herts, EN5 1NZ.
9.3
Should you wish to hold the deposit yourself, Cantell & Co will transfer it to you within five working days of the start date of the tenancy, you must then register it with a suitable deposit pro-tection scheme and provide proof to us of this within five working days. Cantell & Co takes no responsibility for the failure of a deposit being registered where held by the landlord or an alter-native appointed agent.
9.4
No interest will be payable on the deposit.
10 Complaints Procedure
In the unlikely event that you should have any is-sues with the service provided by Cantell & Co, in the first instance please speak with the representative concerned. If you remain dissatisfied, please write to the Managing Director who will acknowledge your complaint within three working days and respond fully within 14 working days. Should you still not be satisfied you can then refer the matter to The Property Ombudsman.
The Property Ombudsman,
Milford House, 43-55 Milford Street,
Salisbury Wiltshire SP1 2BP
Tel: 01722 333306
Fax: 01722 332296
Website: www.tpos.co.uk
Email: admin@tpos.co.uk
N.B. Any complaint must be referred to The Prop-erty Ombudsman within 6 months of Cantell & Co.’s final response. For a full copy of our Complaints Procedure please contact us.
