Information for tenants in Watford

Acceptance of any offer will be subject to contract, referencing and immigration checks. You will need to pay the Rent and Deposit that is due under a Tenancy Agreement, or where the landlord is offering the property with a deposit replacement guarantee product, and you wish to take up this option, you will need to provide proof that you have purchased such a product by providing us with a copy of the insurance certificate before a tenancy can start.

Referencing and Right to Rent Checks – You will be asked to complete an application form before referencing can be undertaken, you should also provide an original photographic Identification (e.g. Passport, National id card, visa, resident permit, driving licence) and Proof of Residence (e.g. Original utility bill, council tax bill or bank statement all of which much be less than 3 months old). The need for a guarantor may not become apparent until your referencing (including references for any joint tenants) has been completed. Where a guarantor is required an application form and photographic identification with proof of residence will be required.

Referencing will cover a check against the credit file and public records of the individual, an Anti-Money Laundering check, confirmation of employment and salary details, confirmation of previous tenancy details, right to rent checks, reporting the results of all those checks to your prospective landlord to see if your application is acceptable.

Tenant deposit – In England under the Tenant Fees Act 2019 Deposits are limited to the equivalent of 5 weeks rent for new and renewed tenancies (or 6 weeks if the annual rent is £50,000 or more). This is calculated by dividing the annual rent by 52 and multiplying by 5 (or 6 if rent is £50,000 or more) and will be required to be paid at the start of the tenancy. This is subject to referencing.

Holding deposit – In England under the Tenant Fees Act 2019 Holding Deposits are limited to the equivalent of one weeks rent. This is paid in order to reserve a property. This is calculated by multiplying the monthly rent by 12 to establish the annual rent, then dividing the annual rent by 52. The Holding Deposit will be required to be paid once your offer is accepted. You will be provided with the rules of when this is to be returned to you or retained by the agent before this payment is made.

Tenant Fees Act 2019 permits certain fees / charges to be made under the following circumstances:

Default fee for late payment of rent
Chargeable from 14 days arrears calculated on the interest at 3% above Bank of England base rate on the late payment of rent for each day that the payment is outstanding.

Loss of a key or other security device
Landlords and letting agents can charge a tenant a fee to cover the cost of replacing the lost key or security device (e.g. Fob, electronic device for garage doors / security gates).

Payment on variation, assignment or novation of a tenancy – £50.00
When a tenant has requested it, landlords and letting agents can charge to vary, assign or replace a tenancy. Fee charge £50 (including VAT).

Payment on termination of a tenancy
Landlords and letting agents can require a tenant to make a payment for an early termination (surrender) of the tenancy agreement at the tenant’s request.

Company application fee – £100.00
£100 including VAT

Should you require further clarification, please ask us to explain these to you.

Tenant Protection

Belvoir Watford is a member of Propertymark which is a client money protection scheme, and also a member of The Property Ombudsman which is a redress scheme. You can find out more details on our website or by contacting us directly.

Deposits

All deposits paid to Belvoir will be secured with the Deposit Protection Scheme to ensure peace of mind throughout your tenancy

Client Money Protection

Belvoir Watford belong to the The Property Ombudsman Redress Scheme and is a SAFE AGENT and belong to the Propertymark Scheme which is our client money protection scheme.

We hold Client Money Protection through Propertymark.

CMP Certificate
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Contact the Watford team

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