Your Lease in Plain English
Understanding legal documents is never straightforward and this can be even more so if you’re new to the UK. Standard terms in leases can vary tremendously from country to country. Before you enter into a lease in this country, what do you need to know?
Length of the tenancy Minimum for a long term let is six months. Shorter than this is considered a short let and you can usually see an increase of 40%- 50% (if not more) on the long let price. With a short let however, all utilities, council tax, WI-FI, TV, linens etc are included.
Typically long let leases are for 12 or 24 months, but any amount of time longer than six months is negotiable. It is worth noting that a longer lease (say 24 months) with no rent increase may not be as attractive to a landlord if you’re offering a low price.
Renewal You can request options to renew your lease for a further term (a second or third year). Landlords in the UK will expect a rental increase for
these terms and will build it into the contract. This is usually based on Retail Price Index (RPI) and a minimum and maximum percentage that the rent can be increased will be stated in the lease.
If you do not have a renewal in the lease, then should you wish to stay, you would negotiate new terms. Not all landlords are enticed by a tenant having the right to stay in a property for multiple years; longer is not necessarily better when negotiating because it will depend on their circumstances. If the landlord would like to sell at some point, for instance, they may only want to make the property available for a year at a time.
Payment terms Agencies will put tenants through a referencing process. If you anticipate that passing this process may be an issue (for example, if you are a student with no income), the landlord may request payment in advance. This is usually in six-month increments.
Furnished/Unfurnished Properties can be available furnished or
unfurnished and price does not always reflect the addition of furniture, but depends on the landlord’s circumstances. If a landlord has nowhere to store the furniture currently in a property, it can actually be more expensive to rent a flat unfurnished. Typically, in London, one and two bedroom flats are furnished and family houses are unfurnished.
Furnished does not necessarily include items such as blinds, linens, a kitchen pack (small appliances, dishes, cutlery), iron and iron board, vacuum and television. It is always good to add these into an offer if it is not confirmed that they will be in the property.
Bills Even if utilities are included in the rent, you will need to consider expenses like council tax, Wi-Fi, TV packages, and a TV licence because these are usually tenant charges. If you get a landlord to agree to some of these charges, note that Wi-Fi is worth investigating on your own because landlords may choose the lowest bandwidth.
“You do not have to have a work visa, you just have to be in the UK legally on the day that the tenancy begins.”
www.focus-info.org FOCUS The Magazine 17
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