Tenant Fees
For this section, Snapes Estate Agents (Woodford) Limited trading as Snapes Estate Agents will be referred to as SEAWL, WE, US or OUR when relevant in the section be.
Tenant Fees
WE do not charge Tenants an "Application Fee" however you will be liable to pay the following.
Permitted Fees, Charges and Payments
1. Before the tenancy starts payable to US as agent for the landlord.
1.a) Deposit: equal to 5 weeks pro rata rent.
Calculation method: Monthly rent multiplied by 12 and divided by 52 and the multiplied by 5 equals the Deposit.
Example on a £1,000 per month rental property: 1,000 x 12 (= £12,000) -:- 52 (= £230.77) x 5 (= £1,153) so the deposit would be £1,153. We would be happy to calculate a deposit on your behalf on request.
1.b) You may also be asked to pay a Holding Deposit of £200 whilst Credit Checks are carried out or when you request a move in date over 2 weeks your application and are unable to sign the lease and pay the deposit in advance.
This confirms your interest in the property in the above situation and forms part of the total deposit you will pay. So, if the deposit is £1,153 and you have paid a £200 holding deposit, you would only need to pay the balance of £953.
Before a holding deposit is paid, you will be asked to sign a holding deposit agreement, which will outline the terms for any specific holding deposit agreement.
IMPORTANT: YOU WILL LOSE THE £200 HOLDING DEPOSIT IF YOU HAVE REQUESTED A DELAYED MOVE-IN DATE AND FAIL TO SIGN THE LEASE AS AGREED AT YOU OFFER STAGE.
2. Late Rent
The right to charge interest on rent which is late by 14 days, or more is reserved.
The interest will be calculated daily and charged at 3.00% above the Bank of England Base rate, which is currently 4.00%, so a total interest charge of 7.00%. The interest will be added to the any unpaid rent amount from the 15th day and will continue to be added until it and any unpaid rent has been paid.
Example calculation on a £1,000 PCM rental property where the rent is 14 days late.
i) Yearly Rent Equivalent = £12,000 (1,000 x by 12)
ii) Daily Rent Equivalent = £32.87 (12,000 -:- by 365)
iii) 14 days late rent = £460.27 (32.87 x by 14)
iv) Daily interest = £2.30 (32.87 x by 7%)
v) 14 days interest due = £32.20 (2.30 x by 14)
vi) Full Amount Due = £492.47 (£460.27 + £32.20)
3. The following section covers potential costs you might incur during the tenancy which will be payable to US as agent for the landlord. All charges in this section include VAT charged at 20%.
3.a) Missed appointments £15. For example: Inspection appointments missed, or maintenance / work order appointments missed.
3.b) Replacement Keys or Gaining Entry: All replacement key assistance, lock replacement or regaining access services, will be charged at cost PLUS a minimum of £8.40 to a maximum of £15 to cover administrative costs such as staff members going to get keys cut, meeting you at the property, plus invoice and banking duties because of the situation.
3.c) Emergency / Out of Hours Callouts will be charged at £60 including VAT if WE need to attend. 3rd-party companies may have different emergency call out fees.
3.d) Malicious or avoidable damage to the property chargeable at the invoice amount due, with no additional admin charge on the initial invoice. Failure to pay within 14 days will result in £10 per chase letter admin fees and might result in other costs being added to the original invoice by third-party companies including small claims made against you.
3.e) Lease Changes (if agreed & permitted) £60 including VAT.
4. This section covers costs you will be responsible for during the tenancy, unless otherwise agreed in writing and forming part of the tenancy or annexed agreement. These costs will typically be payable to the provider if the service. Such services if permitted or available might include but are not limited to the list of examples below.
4.a) Utilities - gas, electricity, water or other service.
4.b) Communications - telephone and broadband
4.c) Installation of cable / satellite / broadband / EV Charge Points
4.d) Subscription to cable / satellite supplier or any other subscription-based service available at the property but for the benefit of you.
4.e) Television licence
4.f) Council Tax
4.g) Other permitted payments
4.h) Any other permitted payments, not included above, under the relevant legislation including contractual damages.
Tenant protection
WE are a member of ARLA and as a result we use their Client Money Protect Scheme, which is called Propertymark Client Money Protect. Please see our Membership page https://www.snapes.co.uk/associations/ For more information on who we choose to subscribe to, to ensure the very best service and protection for our clients and tenants
Example Tenancy Agreement
You can have a copy of our standard Tenancy Agreement on request, to consider before committing. Please be mindful the standard draft agreement may differ to the one you would be required to sign, for reasons such as, but not limited to “special inclusions” and or “additions or deletions from our standard contract which is required to form a fair lease”.
Affordability
The current formula used by Credit Reference Agencies is the monthly rent multiplied by 30 being equal to or more than your annual income, which can include any number of regular payments made to your main bank account.
Example on a £1,000 a month rental property:
£1,000 x 30 = £30,000 so you would need to be earning around £30,000 under the current guidelines. Each application is taken on its own merits, and the Landlord ultimately decides on whether they wish to stick to affordability guidelines or not. WE do not decide this, so please contact the office and we can discuss a particular property further.
Guarantors
If a tenant is not fully approved by the referencing process, they can ask a guarantor to support you. A guarantor (usually a parent or guardian) will agree to take joint responsibility for the rent for the property if the tenant fails to fulfil their responsibilities. Guarantors are required to pay any rent arrears (if the tenant does not pay) and for any damages costing more than the deposit. They will be required to go through referencing and show an income of 2.5 times the annual rent.
Payment Method
We accept Bank transfers for Deposits and both Bank Transfers and Standing Orders for Rent Collection, all of which can usually be done in your bank or via online banking. Please note: Debit Cards, Credit Cards and Cash cannot be accepted.
If you have any questions, please email [email protected] or call 0161 439 1144