Belvoir Sheffield, one of the leading providers of property to rent in Sheffield, are issuing a stark warning to prospective landlords to urge them to avoid cheap ‘off the shelf’ tenancy agreements that can fail to address pertinent issues.
The move comes as the credit crunch encourages more and more landlords to opt for cheaper alternatives, that in some cases are outdated and rendered invalid. With a growing trend for landlords bolstering up certain clauses to make them more favourable to themselves, Belvoir Sheffield, are regularly faced with landlords who have used this approach only to find that they have in fact made the agreement totally useless.
Rick Flay, Director at Belvoir Sheffield, who offer a wide range of properties to let in Sheffield said, “It is essential that landlords realise that tenancy law is constantly changing, and an agreement created say ten years ago, may contain outdated clauses that today are invalid. Here at Belvoir we often hear from landlords who have in the past purchased cheap agreements and have suffered the consequences, so we advise them to purchase an up to date agreement in plain English, or advise them to leave it to a professional letting agent.”
Arguably, THE most important document signed in the rentals process, a tenancy agreement dictates how much rent the tenant should pay, and it also lays out under what conditions a landlord can terminate an agreement. Rick, from Belvoir, who offer houses to let in Sheffield, apartments in Sheffield, and studios in Sheffield added, “A tenancy agreement can be written or oral and is an essential document for laying out both the rights of the tenant and landlord. Such an agreement is usually made up of ‘express terms’, which are rights outlines in the agreement itself, agreed orally or laid out in a rent book, and ‘implied terms’ which are the rights you both have by law.”
There will be rights that are not laid down in the agreement, but are given automatically and are laid down by common law, you should both be aware of these and the implications these may have on your arrangement.
Such rights include:
• The fact that by law your landlord must carry out basic repairs
• The tenant has the right to live in peace without being pestered by a landlord
• The landlord must make sure that the supply of gas, electricity, water, sanitation, space heating and heating water is in full working order.
• No landlord should be found guilty of discrimination down to age, race, sex, gender or sexuality.
• The tenant is required to take good care of the property
Rick added, “Purchasing a property to rent at a later date is a big investment, so it is essential that you get adequate cover, after all if you wish to evict a nuisance tenant or if your tenant refuses to pay their rent, you could find that your rights are very limited. Anyone looking to rent out their property should aim to spend a little bit more in order to be adequately protected, or be faced with a costly court bill should a problem arise.”
Belvoir offer landlords the benefit of a free legal helpline to ensure maximum protection at all times.
