Tenants

 

Following the changes in legislation on 1^st June 2019 our agency permitted payments when renting with Porter Property Services are as follows;

 

Rent

• A tenant’s regular payment to a landlord for the use of the property

 

Security Deposit 

 

• 5 weeks rent of the agreed rental figure

• A Tenancy Deposit is money held by the landlord (or agent acting on the landlord’s behalf) as security during the period of the tenancy and reserved for any damages or defaults by the tenant.

 

Refundable Holding Deposit 

 

•  1 weeks rent of the agreed rental figure

• This is a refundable fee EXCEPT in circumstances where the tenant withdraws, fails a Right to Rent check or provides false or misleading information, which the landlord is reasonably entitled to consider in deciding whether to grant the tenancy because this materially affects their suitability to rent the property.
• If the landlord decides not to rent the property to the tenant or fails to take reasonable steps to enter into the tenancy agreement by the deadline for agreement, then the Holding Deposit must be refunded within seven days of the date of that decision or the deadline for agreement.
• The deadline for agreement is 15 days following the receipt of the Holding Deposit for the landlord to enter into an agreement with the tenant to grant the tenancy (unless an alternative date is agreed in writing with the tenant). Landlords may ‘repay’ the Holding Deposit by allowing the tenant to deduct the equivalent sum from the first payment of rent or the Tenancy Deposit.
• If the Holding Deposit is applied to the Tenancy Deposit, under the deposit protection requirements, that money is classed as received on the date the tenancy agreement was signed.

 

Payments in the event of a default

Landlords and letting agents may require a tenant to make a payment in the event of a default (e.g. requesting a replacement for a lost key). The amount charged cannot exceed the loss suffered by the landlord.

 

Charging to vary a tenancy - £50 charge inclusive of VAT

• When a tenant has requested it, landlords and agents can charge to vary, assign or replace a tenancy agreement.

 

Payment on termination of a tenancy

• Agents and landlords can require a tenant to make a payment for an early termination of the tenancy agreement at the tenant’s request. The payment cannot exceed the loss suffered by the landlord or reasonable costs incurred by the letting agent.

 

Council Tax payments

• Letting agents and landlords will require tenants to pay the Council Tax on the property they rent unless bills are  included in the rent. If bills are included this will be stated on the listing. 

 

Payments for the provision of utilities

• Agents and landlords are permitted to charge tenants fees associated with utilities, such as electricity, gas or other fuel, water or sewerage, if this is clear in the tenancy agreement. If a tenancy agreement is inclusive of these items, the landlord or letting agent cannot separately apply liability to the tenant for these sums and such a payment by the tenant would be regarded as a prohibited payment. The tenant is liable for payment of such services only if the tenancy agreement expressly identifies liability lies with the tenant. Landlords who resell energy to their tenants for domestic use are governed by Maximum Resale Price (MPR) provisions set by Ofgem. This means that landlords can only resell energy at the price they have paid to a licensed energy supplier. Tenants are entitled to receive a breakdown of the costs paid by a landlord upon request.

 

Payments for a television licence

• Letting agents and landlords will require tenants to pay for their own television licence in the property they rent unless bills are included in the rental figure. If bills are included this will be stated on the listing. 

 

Communication services

• Agents and landlords are permitted to charge tenants fees associated with communication services, such as telephone (other than a mobile), internet, cable/satellite television, if this is clear in the tenancy agreement. 

Client Money Protect

Porter Property Services are a member of Client Money Protect. This means that we are regulated in the way client money is held and used and our clients’ money is safeguarded whilst in the custody of us as an agency. For more details on the scheme please visit the website below where you can also verify our membership;

https://www.clientmoneyprotect.co.uk/

Client Money Protect (CMP) is a government approved Client Money Protection Membership Scheme that protects any money held by its Members on behalf of their clients should the member misappropriate it.  The business was formed in 2014 – originally as the UK’s first voluntary client money protection scheme outside of the traditional agent trade body organisations – and is also recognised in Scotland (under the Scotland Lettings Code of Conduct) and in Wales (under Rent Smart (Wales)

 

PRS 

 

Porter Property Services are a member of the Property Redress Scheme. The scheme are authorised by the Department for Communities and Local Government to offer redress to Lettings and Property Management Agents and the National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team (formally the OFT) to offer redress to Estate Agents.

 

  

The Property Redress Scheme is a trading name of HF Resolution Ltd which is a wholly owned subsidiary of HFIS PLC. HF Resolution Ltd is an Introducer Appointed Representative of HFIS PLC for Financial Conduct Authority purposes.   

 

 

 

Complaints Procedure

  

If you have a problem or grievance relating to the service, you have received from Porter Property Services please discuss this at the earliest opportunity with one of our members of staff. Our aim is to deal with your problem sympathetically, fairly and quickly.

  

If you feel that the matter is not being resolved to your satisfaction, please ask to speak to the Owner of the company. The Owner will try to resolve the matter as soon as quickly as possible after you raise your complaint, although whether this is possible will depend on the complexity of the complaint. 

 

Alternatively, you can email mike@porterproperty.co.uk

 

An acknowledgement email will be sent to you within 3 working days. It will also:

 

Set out our understanding of your complaint and state when we will be able to reply in greater detail.  

 

You may also be asked for additional information if this is required to assist resolving the matter.

  

Your letter should state why you are still dissatisfied and what further action you wish Porter Property Services to take to fully resolve your complaint. The owner will fully investigate your complaint as quickly as possible and provide a formal written outcome of our findings, this will be provided within 15 working days of your written complaint. 

 

If you remain dissatisfied you are welcome to request a detached review of your complaint, this will be undertaken by staff not directly involved in the transaction and a final response will be provided within 15 working days of your request.

  

 

If you are still not satisfied with the steps taken by Porter Property Services, you can write to:  

 

Property Redress Scheme

Premiere House,  

 

1st Floor,

 

Elstree Way,
Borehamwood,
WD6 1JH.

  

0333 321 9418

  

info@theprs.co.uk

  

www.theprs.co.uk