APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION: TERMS AND CONDITIONS

References

All tenancies are offered subject to status and satisfactory references. Before the commencement of a tenancy, we must have received satisfactory references. The referencing process will be undertaken by Rent4sure Ltd, an appointed representative of ITC Compliance Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (registration number 313486).

Payments:

In order for a prospective Tenant to proceed, we will require a holding deposit equivalent to one weeks’ rent. This will be deducted from the balancing rent payment.

The Tenant is to pay one month’s rent in advance and the equivalent of 5 weeks’ rent as a deposit. This deposit may be held in Andrew Walker Residential Letting Client’s Account. This firm is a Member of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme which is administered by The Dispute Service. Additional information will be given to the Tenant within 30 days of the date of the commencement of the Tenancy Agreement.

This amount is due in the form of cash a banker’s draft or online bank transfer only and is payable before signing the Tenancy Agreement.

It is recommended that the Tenant insures their contents at the premises, this may also cover accidental damage.

It is recommended that the Tenant takes advice from a Chartered Accountant on his obligations to the Inland Revenue if the Landlord(s) live overseas, and the Tenant pays rent direct into the Landlord’s bank account.

Completion

Completion will only be effective on receipt of the deposit and one month’s rent in advance, as well as the signature(s) of the Tenant(s) on the Tenancy Agreement.

The Tenant must ensure that he purchases contents insurance cover for the duration of his tenancy. We will also require proof of Council Tax exemption if the Tenant is a student or is claiming Housing Benefit.

Agents duties

If the property is under the management responsibility of the Agent there will be management visits to the Tenanted property once every 10 to 13 weeks. The Agent will ensure that the property and the furnishings are maintained to the condition stated in the inventory and appended to the Tenancy Agreement. The Tenant will notify the Agent immediately should repair be necessary.

Prior to the commencement of the tenancy the Tenant should enquire about the management of the property during his/her tenancy.

Andrew Walker Residential Letting are members of ARLA Propertymark and we hold Professional Indemnity Insurance and Client Money Protection Insurance. We are also members of The Property Ombudsman Redress scheme.

Early Termination of the Tenancy Agreement

If you wish to terminate the Tenancy Agreement early you are required to immediately give notice in writing to the Landlord and the Landlord’s Agent. In these cases you will be responsible for payment of rent and all conditions under the terms of the Tenancy Agreement until such time as the property is re-let by this firm. In addition there will be a charge of £85.00 + VAT (£102.00 inclusive of VAT at 20%) payable to this firm to cover all extra work incurred as a consequence of your early termination.

Renewal

Should you wish to re-new your Tenancy Agreement due to a change in circumstances (for example a change in name or another tenant is to be added to the tenancy agreement) you must give this firm four week’s notice in writing prior to the expiry date of your Tenancy Agreement. A payment of £50.00 Inclusive of VAT is due upon receipt of notice. You will have to sign a new Tenancy Agreement on the same day as the existing one expires and if a new tenant is to be added they must sign an Application for Registration form and provide satisfactory references together with a completed bank status enquiry form.

Permitted Charges

Should you lose keys or other security devices needed to gain access to the premises or fail to make rental payments in full before the end of the period of 14 days after the rent is due pursuant to the Tenancy Agreement that requires the intervention of this firm, we reserve the right to charge for time expended in dealing with these matters at an hourly rate of £50.00 + VAT (£60.00 inclusive of VAT @ 20%).

All invoices in this respect are payable on receipt of the invoice. Should any amounts remain outstanding for a period in excess of 14 days, interest will be charged at 3% above the base rate of the Bank of England, and our retained Solicitors shall be instructed.

All Tenants shall immediately advise the Landlord’s Agent in writing of any change in personal circumstances and other information as originally provided by the Tenant on the Tenant Registration form given to Andrew Walker Residential Letting.

Vacating the Premises

On vacating the premises at the end of the tenancy the Tenant undertakes to have the premises professionally cleaned. We would strongly recommend that you use one of our approved contractors:

  • SmartClean: 07708 924848
    they will be pleased to provide a quotation, please mention that you are a Tenant of a rented property managed by Andrew Walker Residential Letting. The property must be left in a clean and satisfactory condition. Receipts to show that this has been undertaken will be required before the return of the Tenants deposit.

We advise you to read your Tenancy Agreement carefully so that you understand your obligations fully.

Please ensure that the electricity, gas, water, telephone and if necessary the oil meters are read and paid up and the accounts changed back into the Landlord’s name. The Tenant shall forward to us receipted copies of all accounts before the deposit is returned. The Tenant shall advise Andrew Walker Residential Letting in writing of their new address and daytime telephone number.

Please ensure that you cancel your standing order rent payment. If this is not done we shall not be responsible for dealing with any overpayments nor refunding them to the Tenant unless the rent has been payable to the agent.

Please replace any damaged or broken items before you vacate the premises and return all items to their proper places. We reserve the right to charge for any repairs/replacements/cleaning/ pursuant to the Tenancy Agreement and such sums to be deducted from the Tenants deposit.

The Tenant shall arrange an appointment with this office (or with the Landlord if we are not managing the property) in order to check the inventory and the cleanliness of the premises as well as to hand over the keys. This firm reserves the right to charge the Tenant at the current hourly rate if the Tenant does not keep to the appointment.

The measure of damages will be assessed with reference to the inventory agreed by the Tenant and the Landlord and annexed to the tenancy agreement.

Please telephone our office should you require any advice concerning the responsibilities of the Tenant.

THE ABOVE TERMS AND CONDITIONS CAN ONLY BE VARIED IN WRITING AND SIGNED BY THIS FIRM AND (ALL) THE TENANT (S) CONCERNED.

TAR27/05/19

TENANT FEES AND PAYMENTS

HOLDING DEPOSIT (PER TENANCY)

ONE WEEKS’ RENT:

This is to reserve a property. Please Note: This will be withheld if any relevant person (including any guarantor(s) withdraw from the tenancy, fail the referencing process, fail a Right- to-Rent check, provide materially significant false or misleading information, or fail to sign their tenancy agreement (and/or Deed of Guarantee) within 15 calendar days (or other Deadline for Agreement as mutually agreed in writing).

 

SECURITY DEPOSIT (PER TENANCY):

RENT UNDER £50,000 PER YEAR:

Five weeks’ rent. This covers damages or defaults on the part of the tenant during the Tenancy.

RENT OVER £50,000 PER YEAR:

Six weeks’ rent. This covers damages or defaults on the part of the tenant during the Tenancy.

 

UNPAID RENT:

Interest at 3% above the Bank of England Base Rate from Rent Due Date until paid in order to pursue non- payment of rent. Please Note: This will not be levied until the rent is more than 14 days in arrears.

LOST KEY(S) OR OTHER SECURITY DEVICE(S):

Tenants are liable to the actual cost of replacing any lost key(s) or other security device(s). If the loss results in locks needing to be changed, the actual costs of
a locksmith, new lock and replacement keys for the tenant, landlord any other persons requiring keys will be charged to the tenant. If extra costs are incurred there will be a charge of £15.00 per hour or part thereof (inclusive of VAT) for the time taken replacing lost key(s) or other security device(s).

 

VARIATION OF CONTRACT (Tenants’ request):

A charge of £50.00 (inclusive of VAT) per agreed variation. To cover the costs associated with taking landlord’s instructions as well as the preparation and execution of new legal documents.

CHANGE OF SHARER (Tenants’ Request):

A charge of £50.00 (inclusive of VAT) per replacement tenant or any reasonable costs incurred if higher. To cover the costs associated with taking landlord’s instructions, new tenant referencing and Right-to-Rent checks, deposit registration as well as the preparation and execution of new legal documents.

EARLY TERMINATION (Tenants’ Request):

Should the tenant wish to leave their contract early, they shall be liable to the landlord’s costs in re-letting the property as well as all rent due under the tenancy until the start date of the replacement tenancy. These costs will be no more than the maximum amount of rent outstanding on the tenancy.

Tenancy Deposit Scheme

https://www.tenancydepositscheme.com/privacy-policy.html

Privacy

Your privacy is important to us. To better protect your privacy we provide this notice explaining our online information practices along with what data we collect, why we collect it and what we do with it.

Information we collect from you

TDS Letting Agents and landlord members.

When registering a tenancy deposit for protection, TDS will collect the name, telephone number, address and email address of both the agent and landlord.

At the end of the tenancy, TDS will collect the necessary information to allow us to either repay the deposit or resolve any dispute. Parties are invited to respond to any request for information. Parties are also given the opportunity to submit evidence in the event of a dispute which can be accessed and viewed by the parties to the dispute and also by employees of TDS.

TDS will require you to submit bank details in order for payment of any tenancy deposit amounts due to you.

Tenants

When a deposit is registered by a TDS member, we will ask the member to provide the name of the tenant or tenants along with an email address and/or mobile number.

In the event of a tenancy deposit dispute at the end of the tenancy, TDS will collect information provided to us through our online disputes portal. Parties are invited to respond to a dispute and will provide their personal details along with details relating to the tenancy. Parties are also given the opportunity to submit evidence which can be accessed by the parties to the dispute and also employees of TDS.

TDS will require you to submit bank details in order for payment of any tenancy deposit amounts due to you.

Job Applicants

TDS will collect information provided by a prospective employee who may make an application to TDS including any CV or similar documents. TDS will not share any of the information provided to third parties for marketing purposes or for any other reasons. Your information will be stored securely and we will contact you using details you have provided to us. TDS may request further information including proof of identity or proof of qualifications as your application progresses.

How we collect personal information

TDS collects data in the following ways:

  • From any online form you fill out such as an application for membership to TDS or a tenancy deposit repayment request, registering or responding to a dispute or collection of evidence forms
  • Through phone calls to our Customer Service Centre which are recorded and retained for a period of up to 6 months from the call date.
  • Through our live chat service
  • Through messages received on our social media accounts
  • Through evidence provided by parties to a tenancy deposit dispute such as contact details within a tenancy agreement.
  • Through the use of our various communications tools.
  • Through any surveys or questionnaires which our customers choose to actively participate in.
  • Any other situations where data is legally and voluntarily sent to TDS.

Electronic Communication

TDS uses electronic communication media when sending correspondence to customers and parties to a dispute. TDS tracks the delivery of the communications (e.g. emails) sent to the parties to ascertain whether delivery is completed successfully.

In the event that electronic communications are opened by the recipient, TDS is able to see how many times the email has been opened and on what date(s). TDS can also determine the location where these events occurred.

Why we collect personal information

TDS collects personal information to fulfil its legislative role in providing for the protection of tenancy deposits, and also in performing its role in providing a dispute resolution service.

As tenancy deposit protection is mandatory, TDS must collect information such as names and contact details in order to be able to contact parties regarding the deposit protection and to comply with the legislation.

TDS collects and stores data in order to contact our customers.

TDS will request personal information from tenants in the event that an insurance claim is required due to their deposit being misappropriated by the deposit holder.

TDS may use information to conduct surveys in relation to improving our services.

 

How we use your personal information

TDS primarily holds data to provide relevant information to Government and professional bodies to comply with statute or the rules of that organisation. TDS will also use data for the following purposes:

  • To submit any details requested by any authorised body investigating a crime
  • To submit any details requested by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs or other government agency or local authority under the relevant legislation
  • To contact any tenant where the details of the tenanted property and the persons names as the tenant(s) have been registered with the Tenancy Deposit Scheme
  • For use in contact with any interested third party who has provided the whole or part of the deposit as guarantor or in another capacity
  • To provide relevant details to the insurer of TDS to comply with their conditions
  • To confirm, upon request, that a deposit has been protected with TDS
  • To contact named personnel at agent members
  • For use in contact with any relevant legal adviser
  • To contact you regarding information about your account or tenancy deposit protection
  • To provide relevant information on deposit protection and upcoming events
  • To provide you with the opportunity to offer your feedback through surveys.
  • TDS will always ask for consent before using any information for a purpose other than those set out in this privacy policy.

TDS processes personal information on our servers throughout the United Kingdom and the EU in accordance with current and incoming legislation. TDS may therefore process personal information on a server located outside of the country where you live.

Sharing Information

We do not share personal information with individuals or companies outside of TDS except in the following circumstances:

Consent

Where you choose to engage in our independent adjudication service which consists of submitting personal information and evidence to an online portal, this evidence will be viewable by employees dealing with the case at TDS along with the agent, landlord(s) and tenant(s) who are party to the tenancy agreement, including any persons acting on their behalf.

Legal reasons

We retain the right to share your information with organisations or individuals if we reasonably believe in good faith that disclosure of information is necessary to:

  • Fulfil an applicable law, regulation or legal process
  • Fulfil an enforceable Government request
  • Protect vital interests of a data subject (e.g. life or death situations, vulnerable situations) and performance of a task in the public interest
  • Address fraudulent activity including in the prevention or detection of it
  • Address a security issue
  • Address a technical issue
  • TDS reserves the right to share non-personal information publicly and with our partners for educational purposes, publication of annual reviews or publication of statistics.

Accessing and changing your information

If you wish to update your personal information as held by TDS, you are able to do this by accessing your account. In the event that you are unable to update personal information, please contact TDS and we will assist you.

In the event of a data breach which is likely to result in a risk to the rights and freedoms of individuals, TDS will notify an individual within 72 hours of such an event being discovered.

 

Your Rights

Under the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), you have a number of rights regarding the data we hold for you. TDS wants to ensure our customers are aware of their rights and how we ensure they are met:

Right to rectification – Your right without undue delay to rectification of inaccurate personal data. Our customers are able to update their personal details online under their account or alternatively, can contact TDS for help updating details.

Right to erasure – Your right to the deletion of your personal data. TDS will consider a request for data erasure on a case by case basis depending on whether TDS must retain the data for legislative purposes.

Right to restrict data processing – Your right to obtain from us restriction of data processing. TDS will consider the GDPR circumstances that may be relevant around any request. Where processing restrictions are granted, such personal data will only be processed with consent or in relation to legal claims.

Right to data portability – Your right to receive personal data in a structured, commonly used format. You are able to find your personal data under your account. Alternatively, TDS will provide all data held for you in a readable format.

Right to object – Your right to object at any time to processing of personal data. TDS will only proceed with processing if we have compelling legitimate grounds for processing after an objection to processing.

Right to not be subject to automated-decision making – TDS will not subject any individual to automated-decision making.

Subject Access Requests and Complaints

All individuals are entitled under the Data Protection Act to request a copy of the information an organisation holds on them. An individual who makes a written request and pays any fee applicable is entitled to:

  • Information on what data TDS hold for you
  • Clarification on whether any personal data is being processed
  • Reasons why any personal data is being processed
  • A copy of the data held
  • TDS will deal with any subject access requests within 30 days in accordance with GDPR.

To make a subject access request please send your full name to the following email: GDPR@tenancydepositscheme.com

To make a complaint or for further information regarding personal information held by TDS on yourself, please email: GDPR@tenancydepositscheme.com.

Retention of Information

All information will be stored securely and is disposed in a secure manner when no longer required. Your information will be held for a specific time in order to comply with law and regulations or for any contractual obligation we may have under a Government contract which can be for a period up to seven years from the date the data was last used to process a transaction.

TDS will hold data for as long as reasonably required in order to;

Comply with applicable law or respond to a valid process;
Protect the rights of our customers.
When deleting your personal data, it will be removed from our live, test and development databases immediately. We will not actively remove this data from our log-files or back-up databases as these are not freely available to be used in the normal course of business. The data will be expunged from these databases through the normal cycle of over-writing back-ups.