IMR Tenants Fact Sheet

Transcription

1 IMR Tenants Fact Sheet What to do next? What are key-worker/intermediate market rentals? Intermediate rent offers you the opportunity to rent a brand new or refurbished home, or a home that is being re-let, at less than the market rate. The rent charged is normally approximately 20% lower than what you would expect to pay for a similar home in a similar area if you were renting from a private landlord. As well as being more affordable, you have the assurance that your home is built, managed and let by a Registered Housing Provider. Intermediate rent has traditionally only been available to key workers, although this choice is now available to other home seekers who are not high priority for social rent or affordable rent homes (homes usually allocated to those in the most urgent housing need) and who cannot afford to buy a home of their own outright, but who would like to save to buy a home in the next five years. Intermediate rented homes are let on an Assured Shorthold Tenancy basis with a 6 month fixed term contract period. You may have the opportunity to rent a home for longer than this initial contract period but this will depend on Peabody s future plans for the home. All those who are interested in these schemes must firstly register with First Steps for London, who will be able to provide the current criteria for eligibility at their website at You can either register online or there are two homebuy agents who you can register with directly by phone: Metropolitan Housing on or Tower Homes on Effective from 1st January 2010 all new applicants for Intermediate Market Rent are to be assessed by First Steps for London, using the following eligibility criteria: A Household s total income must be less than 60,000 and they must be unable to afford to buy a suitable property on the open market without assistance. Applicants must be able to afford 80% of the local market rent without further assistance e.g. Housing Benefit Applicants should be directed to the First Steps for a headline application assessment and IMR should only be available to applicants registered with First Steps. Applicants should make a commitment to enter home ownership through low cost home ownership products in the short to medium term (within five years) and be able to demonstrate how the discounted rent will enable them to save a deposit.

2 Making an appointment to view Once your registration has been confirmed you can look at properties on our website or If you see something suitable that you would like to view then please register your interest on the First Steps for London website. This will then enable us to download your data and we can then contact you to arrange and confirm an appointment to view. Due to the high amount of interest in IMR flats we generally conduct block viewings during working hours and will be shown to a maximum of 10 applicants. If the property is tenanted, an appointment will be made for you to view the property subject to the existing tenants confirmation. In some circumstances an appointment can be made via the existing tenant, to view with them at their convenience. At an accompanied viewing, we request that you bring your First Steps for London acceptance letter/ to confirm your eligibility for the IMR Scheme. Should you wish to express an interest to rent the property, we allow 24 hours to confirm this interest and these must be forwarded to Peabody by telephone or following your viewing. If more than one party has expressed interest to rent a property applicants are chosen according to our pointing system and availability to move into the property. Taking a property holding deposit and administration fee Once the property has been viewed; you have satisfied yourself with the rental terms and your expression of interest has been accepted, you can reserve the property. A holding deposit is required to remove the property from the market. The property will be held for a pre agreed time, on behalf of yourself, subject to satisfactory references, eligibility and contract. To reserve a property (subject to contract), an initial holding deposit is required for all properties up to the value of pcm, for properties over the value of pcm, the initial holding deposit will be In addition to the holding deposit, a reduced administration fee of per person will be required. The Holding deposit and administration fees are non-refundable should you withdraw for any reason; if the references provided by yourself are unsatisfactory; eligibility for IMR is not confirmed or you do not move into the property by an agreed date. The administration fees are a one off cost and assuming the references are satisfactory, the holding fee will be deducted from the overall associated costs due upon signing of the tenancy agreement. The reduced administration fee of per person is charged to the tenant(s) to cover the costs of referencing and administration. The Holding fee is not a cost unless the tenancy is not entered into. In the event that the tenant does not pass the referencing, in certain circumstances a suitable guarantor may be considered. If this is agreed, a further administration fee of will be required to cover the cost of increased guarantor administration and referencing.

3 Please Note: Peabody has a policy regarding the renting of its properties to staff or relatives or friends of staff. In order to proceed with your application we require confirmation that you are NOT a current employee of Peabody or a relative/friend of a member of staff or the board. References Having placed the holding fee, an electronic referencing form will be ed to the prospective tenants and they will be required to provide suitable professional and personal referees. This will usually be a combination from tenants current employers; accountants (if self-employed); current landlord; bank; previous employer; previous landlord/agent and in some cases, someone who can supply a character reference. A full credit check will also be carried out. A minimum of three references for each person will be required from the above. Prospective tenants will be expected to meet an affordability criteria, if the rent payable is more than 40% of your income, then you would likely fail the referencing process based on affordability. Affordability, however is not the only measure of referencing, tenants can still fail if the rent is less than 40% of income based individual or joint personal circumstances. All applicants will be required to provide their National Insurance number, a copy of either their driving licence or passport and one form of identification, i.e. utility bill. All references are obtained through an independent referencing company, and contain legally privileged information and are not available for perusal, copying or transfer to other properties or agents. Peabody aims to be a transparent landlord and we make every effort to provide tenants with relevant information regarding renting through us, so that an informed decision can be made. If you are unsure of any items regarding the reservation, letting or tenancy process please ask us or seek independent advice. Peabody reserves the right to refuse a tenancy and its decision of refusal is considered final. Signing of Contracts and Sign up Payments. All monies due must be by way of cleared funds and can be made by debit card or a bankers draft / building society cheque made payable to Peabody prior to signing contracts. We are unable to accept cash, personal or company cheques. Credit Cards attract a bank handling fee of 2.5%. (a) A security deposit equivalent to six weeks rent, will be due upon the signing of contracts. This deposit will be held until the end of the tenancy and any interest is payable to the Landlord. This deposit is returned subject to all furnishing, fixtures and fittings being in good order, and all tenant obligations towards the rent and utilities having been met. The deposit is registered in line with statutory deposit protection schemes (see below). All named tenants are jointly and severally liable. (b) First month s rent in advance. (c) A 75 check out fee. (d) Less the balance of the holding fee paid.

4 Peabody operate a first of the month rent due policy, subsequently, in the event that the tenancy is due to start on or after the 15 th of the month, the daily rent will be prorata, for the remaining days of the month. As a result of subsidy offered on this tenure type, all Intermediate Market Rent applicants must supply the following when signing their tenancy: A copy of their employment contract or letter from their employer confirming salary and job title. Last 3 months payslips P60 First Steps acceptance /letter Copy of utility bill from previous address Passport or Driver s Licence NI number Birth Certificate and Passport will also be required for children Savings and principle home declaration Tenants Deposit From the 6 th April 2007, all Landlords or Agents who collect a deposit will be required to join a statutory deposit scheme. There are currently three schemes available, one custodial and two insurance backed schemes - Peabody subscribes to an insurance backed scheme What this means to the tenant is that all properties let on an Assured Shorthold Tenancy, which is the main bulk of tenancies within the UK, will have the deposit protected. Tenants will have the right to an alternative dispute resolution service (ADR), who will aim to resolve disputes should they arise in a faster, fairer and cheaper manner. This means that tenant s who have kept the property in a good condition will receive all or part of their deposit. In the event of a dispute Peabody will hand the disputed amount over to the scheme, and they will retain it until the dispute is resolved. If the tenancy is a joint tenancy the tenants must agree at the outset who will act on their behalf regarding any communication with the ADR. If the deposit is to be paid by a third party on behalf of the tenant, then full details of the third party, including contact numbers, (s) and alternative addresses must be supplied. Moving In and collecting keys Once the references have been received and approved, we will make an appointment for you to come into the office (normally, moving in date) to sign the Assured Shorthold Contract and pay any outstanding monies. See payment above. The keys are made available for collection from our head office the date the contract begins and once the tenancy agreement is signed. Peabody hours of business are Monday to Friday 9.00am to 5.00pm.

5 Inventory Prior to the tenancy starting an independent inventory company will visit the property and make a full listing of the condition of the property. Upon signing of the tenancy agreement, you will be asked to sign the inventory confirming the condition. A period of 7 days will be allowed for tenants to check the inventory and report any amendments found. These should be reported in writing. The inventory will be considered accepted if no correspondence is received within 7 days of the move in date. Bills & Services Tenants are responsible for payments of all utilities and bills including council tax throughout the tenancy. Tenants are required to contact the utility companies to ensure that they are on prior to occupation of the property. It is the tenant s responsibility to take meter readings and inform the utility services of these readings and to ensure that utilities are billed correctly. Tenants are responsible for acquiring services in their names and are free to choose providers where applicable. Useful telephone numbers are: British Gas EDF Energy Thames Water Electricity Utility Supplier Gas Transco Supplier Rental Payments Unless otherwise stipulated, all rents are to be paid by direct debit, payable to Peabody, on or before the 1 st of the month. Peabody operates a zero tolerance policy on rental payments and delayed payments may put your tenancy at risk. Should tenants be on housing benefit, it is the tenant s responsibility to ensure that the rent account is up-date in accordance with the tenancy terms. Any deviation from this may put the tenancy at risk. All named tenants are jointly and severally liable. Routine Visits Tenants are required to provide access to Peabody (or approved representative) to carry out regular routine visits. Tenants will be notified when we wish to visit the property and a minimum of twenty four hours notice will be given (usually 10 days notice). At the time of the routine visit, if you are experiencing any problems, you should relay these to the member of staff carrying out the visit. Should you not be present for a pre-arranged routine visit, a charge of will be levied for every missed appointment. Your first routine visit will normally be booked for approximately 3 months after the start of your tenancy, thereafter we will aim to carry out bi-annual visits. Tenancy The tenancy will be an Assured Shorthold Tenancy, giving both parties the guaranteed right to a minimum six month period. This is a contractual periodic tenancy, where neither party terminate the agreement within the first six months and is subject to the Housing Act 1988 (as amended by

6 the Housing Act 1996). Once the minimum term of six months has expired, then the tenancy will run on a month by month basis, until written notice is given by either party. The tenancy can only be terminated by giving at least one months notice in writing, by the tenant and two months notice by the landlord, covering your tenancy start dates i.e. if the tenancy started on the 8 th of the month the notice required would run from the 8 th of the month thru to the 7 th of the following month. Vacant possession must be provided at the end of the tenancy. The tenancy agreement states both the market rent and the discounted intermediate rent. Should tenants no longer become eligible for the discounted intermediate rent, Peabody reserves the right to revert to the market rent within the agreement. Please note that subletting is not allowed with Intermediate Market Rent tenancies. As stated above, effective from 1st January 2010 all new applicants for Intermediate Market Rent are to be assessed solely by First Steps for London, using the following eligibility criteria: A Household s total income must be less than 60,000 and they must be unable to afford to buy a suitable property on the open market without assistance. Applicants must be able to afford 80% of the local market rent without further assistance e.g. Housing Benefit Applicants should be directed to the First Steps for headline application assessment and IMR should only be available to applicants registered with First Steps. Applicants should make a commitment to enter home ownership through low cost home ownership products in the short to medium term (within five years) and be able to demonstrate how the discounted rent will enable them to save a deposit. Insurance Peabody does not accept liability for tenants contents or tenant damage. We strongly advise tenants to take out suitable contents and damage insurance policies. Policies can be purchased from Peabody direct if needed.