Lettings Agent in Primrose Hill

Our independent family business was established in 1997 and is built on personal recommendations and referrals.

As one of the leading independent local letting agents we market quality houses and flats to rent in Primrose Hill and the surrounding areas of Hampstead, Belsize Park & St. John's Wood.

Landlords Guide

A guide to landlords for renting your property through us.

Preparing to let the property
Prior to you placing your property on the market we will inspect your property with you to discuss the best to prepare the property for letting, and your expectations as to they type of tenant you are looking for. We will advise on tenants expectations as to the general condition of the property, the décor, furnishing, your obligations and based on our extensive knowledge of the local rental market, the level of rent that will be achievable at that time. First impressions do count, so the property should be presented in the best possible condition. Where necessary, all works of decorations, repairs and full professional cleaning must be completed prior to the commencement of a tenancy.

Who are the tenants?
Paul Lee & Company have over many years established excellent working relationships with many varied international companies, foreign embassies, relocation agents and major letting agents. Many of our tenants come by word of mouth recommendations from satisfied tenants and landlords who feel that we cared and provided the best possible service. Types of tenant professions range from Legal, Financial, Media, Broadcasting, and Academics, both on corporate and a private basis.

Should the property be Furnished or Unfurnished?
Our speciality is letting to long term tenants who generally look for unfurnished properties. As there is no real difference between furnished or unfurnished in the rent you are likely to achieve, or from a legal point of view, we would recommend that landlords who are more flexible to either remove or supply particular items of furniture will find tenants with more ease.

Management
You will need to make a decision whether you require us to act as your Letting Agent (marketing the property and finding you a suitable Tenant), or whether you would wish to appoint us on our full Management Service. This will depend on your personal circumstances. Managing a property can demand a lot of your time i.e. dealing with tenant's demands, collecting rent and arranging repairs, sometimes at short notice.

Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) for rental properties - Regulations
From the 1st October 2008. All buildings, whether residential, commercial or industrial, will be required to have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) that is no more than 10 years old, for every occasion when they are rented, bought or sold. The requirement for such certificates will come into force for all premises when they are let after 1 st October 2008. A copy of the Certificate will be required by Paul Lee & Company at the commencement of the marketing of the property as it must be available free of charge to prospective Tenants. A copy of the EPC must be given to the person who takes up the tenancy. Paul Lee & Company will be able to provide you with the contact details for an Accredited Domestic Energy Assessor who can carry out the inspection of the property and provide the required Certificate.

Viewings at the Property
We will always accompany applicants on every viewing, whether we hold keys or are meeting the landlord, or an existing tenant at the property.   This serves two purposes, the first being the security of the property and the second to understand the applicants view of the property, to answer any questions they may have, and to give the landlord feedback on how the property was received.

Marketing the Property
On instructions from you, we will write to you to confirm that we have commenced marketing the property, which will include the asking rent, documents for you to sign and a copy of our terms and conditions of business for your reference. We will arrange to take photographs, (we will require a copy of the current EPC), so we can then produce details which will be distributed to our registered applicants who are looking to rent.

Websites
The property details, including photographs, the EPC, maps will be uploaded to our website and other property web portals that we list our properties on, such as Primelocation, and Find a property

Our office window display
Our office located in the heart of Primrose Hill village attracts a steady flow of passing potential tenants who always check our attractive window display for the latest listings. Your property will be advertised in our window to maximise its coverage to prospective tenants.

Boards
Only with a landlord's prior consent, and in keeping with the regulations for the erection of boards, we will arrange to have one of our eye-catching distinctive boards placed outside the property.

Relocation Agents
We have over many years established excellent working relationships with the leading Relocation Agents. They typically contact us with requirements for quality houses and flats to rent in Primrose Hill and the surrounding areas of Hampstead, Belsize Park & St. John's Wood. They act for multi national companies and financial institutions that are relocating staff to London.

Important Pre-Instruction Requirements Before Letting
We can only accept your instructions upon the basis that the following conditions have been met:

Sub-Letting
If you are a Tenant or lessee it is essential that 1. The intended letting is permitted by your lease 2. The intended letting is for a period expiring prior to the termination of your lease 3. Your Landlords written permission is obtained for sub-letting.

Mortgages
Where the property to be let is subject to a mortgage, permission is normally required from the mortgagee to let or sub-let the property. We require you to confirm that you have obtained your mortgagee's permission in advance.  

Please note that applying for permission after a Tenant has been found could prejudice the tenancy.

Insurance
You must ensure that the building and contents insurance is adequate and that the policy covers lettings; please note that many household policies do not automatically provide such cover.

The Consumer Protection Act is the legislation which dictates the way the law is applied to the following regulations. The Trading Standards Office is responsible for enforcing the act.

Furniture and Furnishings Fire Regulations
From the 1st January 1997 you must ensure that furniture supplied conforms to the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 and the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) (Amendment) Regulations 1993 and you will hereby indemnify us as a result of any breach. The regulations apply to all upholstery and upholstered furnishings, loose fittings, permanent or loose covers. Furniture manufactured prior to 1950 is exempt from the regulations.

Gas Safety Regulations
On the 31 st October 1998 the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 came into effect (replacing the earlier 1994 Regulations). As a Landlord it is your duty to ensure that a registered Gas Safe Register gas engineer checks each appliance for safety at intervals of not more than 12 months.   The engineer will provide you with a report called a Landlord's gas safety record.   A copy of the report must be given to Paul Lee & Company at the start of every letting, as it is our duty to provide a copy of the report to the Tenants, from the commencement of the Tenancy.

Electrical Equipment Safety Regulations
On the 9 th January 1995 the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994 came into effect. You must ensure that all electrical equipment, provided with the property, should not jeopardise the safety of people, domestic animals or property. Each item should be safe and if possible, recently serviced, at the commencement of a tenancy.

Plugs and Sockets Safety Regulations
The Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations Parts I & III came into force on 3 rd August 1994. Part II of these regulations came into force on 1 st February 1995. You must ensure that all appliances provided with the property have pre-fitted plugs which are undamaged, with insulated sleeves and with the correct fuse.

Please note that Paul Lee & Company cannot be held liable for any difficulties arising as a result of failure to observe the above.

A tenant is found, the next steps

A rental offer, negotiating the terms of the tenancy between the landlord and the tenants and taking up references.

You will be immediately notified when we receive offers on the property. The offer will include, the amount of rent the tenant are prepared to pay, the proposed start date, the tenancy term and specific conditions, and the tenants requests known as the wish list.

Once an offer has been accepted by you, we will ask the prospective tenants to supply details so we can apply for an Insurance recognised Maras Comprehensive International Reference and Credit Search Report. Alternatively we can apply for the more traditional references from their Bank, Employers and a Character or Previous Landlord/Letting Agent. In the case of a Company or self employed applicant we ask for information from their Bank or a copy of the current Annual report, Accountant or Solicitor and a Trade referee. All references are submitted to the Landlord for prior approval. We will also ask the prospective tenant for a goodwill reservation payment usually equal to one weeks rent, so that the property is withdrawn from the market.

Tenancy Agreement
Unless we are otherwise instructed we will draft a suitable document by means of   our own comprehensive Tenancy Agreement in respect of all furnished and unfurnished lettings. Landlords instructing their own Solicitors to prepare an Agreement must be responsible for their Solicitors costs.

Stamp Duty Land Tax
Neither a Landlord nor an Agent has a liability for Stamp Duty Land Tax, or for submitting the declaration forms to the HM Revenue & Customs. The liability will be the Tenants.

Rent
Unless otherwise agreed, the rent quoted to the Tenant by us on your behalf must be inclusive of all outgoings for which you are responsible (i.e. ground rent, service charges, buildings and contents insurance, etc.). Rent is usually paid calendar monthly in advance, by bank standing order.

Deposit
The Tenant will be asked to pay a deposit, normally the equivalent to six weeks rent for dilapidations, breakage's and damage. This will be held in the Paul Lee & Company Clients Account, on the basis, the Agent as Stakeholder, until the termination of the tenancy. Any interest earned on monies that are held in the Paul Lee & Company Clients Account, will be retained by Paul Lee & Company

From the 6 th April 2007 the Tenancy Deposit Scheme legislation (TDS) comes in to effect in England & Wales. The TDS will provide protection to both Tenants and Landlords entering in to an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) Agreement (Housing Act Tenancy) by offering an independent means of dispute resolution. All AST's that commence on or after 6 th April 2007 or all AST's that commenced before the 6 th April 2007 and are renewed/extended for a further fixed term are affected by the legislation. Paul Lee & Company as existing ARLA members have joined the Tenancy Deposit Scheme for Regulated Agents (TDS) which is an insured scheme run by The Dispute Service for Letting Agents. They are one of the three scheme administrators appointed by the Government. The other two schemes are the insured scheme run by Tenancy Deposits Solutions Limited for private Landlords sponsored by the National Landlords Association and the Custodial Scheme which is for those agents and landlords who do not or cannot join an insured scheme. The Custodial Scheme called the Deposit Protection Service will be run by Computer Investor Services plc. Our tenancy agreement includes the necessary clauses that are required by the TDS.

Utilities
We will make every effort to notify the companies of the Tenants details and the Landlord must arrange for all accounts to be settled prior to the commencement of the tenancy. These should include Electricity, Gas, Water, Council Tax and Television licensing, which are paid for by the Tenant (except if Water and Gas are block inclusive). We do not inform telephone, satellite or cable companies.

Inventory and Professional Cleaning
A full inventory of furniture, fittings and a schedule of conditions is recommended prior to the letting. We can if required instruct established independent inventory clerks to act on your behalf on your accepting responsibility for their charges. While care will be taken in giving your instructions to inventory clerks, we cannot accept liability for any error or omission on their part, since they are not in our employ. We also advise that the property should be professionally cleaned and all outstanding works are completed before the inventory clerk's inspection and prior to the commencement of a tenancy.

If you asked us to arrange for an inventory report to be made at the commencement of the tenancy, then at the termination of the tenancy we will arrange for the inventory clerk who produced the original inventory report to re-visit the property to make a check-out report. We will submit a copy of the check out report to you and the Tenant for your consideration. Once you and the Tenant have agreed in writing to costs (if any) to be deducted for dilapidations, breakage's and damage, we will then return the deposit to the Tenant less agreed deductions (if any) that are due to the Landlord. Please note, The Landlord pays for the inventory to be made and the Tenant pays for the check out.

Renewals and Extensions
We will write to the Landlord and the Tenant prior to the expiration of the tenancy to ascertain if both parties wish to renew or extend the tenancy for a further term. We will then re-negotiate the terms of the renewal or extension between the parties and send out the relevant documents for both the Landlord and Tenant to sign; signed copies will be sent to the Landlord and Tenant for their records.

Taxes Management Act
You are responsible for notifying the HMRC of the tenancy. Where the Landlord of the property resides abroad, the Commissioners for the HMRC will hold us, as your Agents, responsible for the payment for any tax liability, which arises on rent collected by us on your behalf. From 6 th April 1996, legislation changed governing the collection of tax on rental income for non-resident Landlords. It is now possible for you to apply for self assessment which means that if the HMRC grants self assessment, we as your Agent will be issued with an exemption certificate and will thereafter be able to release the rental monies gross without making a tax retention. If you are not granted self-assessment, we will have to pay to the HMRC on a quarterly basis, 20% of rent received net after legitimate expense deductions. Any other payment of tax will have to reclaimed by you at the end of the tax year by submitting a statement of accounts directly to the HMRC. If the Tenant is paying rent directly to an overseas Landlord and the Tenant has not received an exemption certificate, then the Tenant will have to deduct tax from the rent at a rate of 20% and forward this to the HMRC.

We recommend that you contact your accountant or tax advisers if you require any further information.

It is hoped that all the above information will assist you in renting your property, however should you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact us.

All information is provided in good faith. It does not replace the advice of a qualified legal advisor/Solicitor.

If you have any further questions, or want to register, please contact us here