Tenant Fees

Reservation Fee

A reservation fee will be received to secure the property during the referencing stage and will form part of your initial payment prior to occupation of the property. It is held by RE/MAX Star as stakeholders between the parties. This reservation fee is non-refundable except in the circumstances that the landlord changes his/her/their mind about letting the property. If your reference/s is/are rejected, the reservation fee will be refunded less £240 (incl. VAT) tenancy administration fee, £48 (incl. VAT) referencing fee per applicant/guarantor, £180 (incl. VAT) cancellation charge, and bank charges when applicable. The proposed move-in date is subject to receipt of satisfactory references, full cleared funds and approval of the landlord. You have also confirmed that you intend to use the property as your main or only residence, that the detailed information you have given in the referencing form is correct and that you agree to references being taken from the referees, as stated.

 

Taking up references

RE/MAX Star engage an independent referencing company to perform reference checks. All prospective tenants will be asked to complete an application form. Once the form is submitted, it typically takes 72 to 96 hours to finish the report. In order to avoid any hold-ups in the referencing process, please kindly inform & authorise your landlord, employer, accountant (if any) and personal referee to respond to the referencing company without delay.

 

Tenancy Agreement

After the referencing stage, the tenancy agreement (a legally binding document between the landlord and you) will be drawn up. This agreement must be signed by all tenants and the landlord (or RE/MAX Star on the landlord’s behalf).

 

Standing Order Mandate

You will be asked to sign a standing order mandate to make monthly rental payments to the landlord / RE/MAX Star. If you pay rent directly to your landlord’s bank account and your landlord is not resident in the UK, you will be responsible for applying the provisions of the HM Revenue and Customs Non-Resident Landlords scheme for taxing UK rental income and should ask us for advice on this. This may mean that you have to deduct tax from the rent and pay to HM Revenue and Customs on behalf of your landlord. These provisions do not apply where you are paying your rent to RE/MAX.

                                                                                                                                                             

Initial Payment

The initial payment must be received by RE/MAX Star as cleared funds prior to possession being given and keys being released and usually consists of the following:

 

• One month rent in advance

(Up to 6 months’ rent may be requested if you do not satisfy the income requirements or are unable to provide a satisfactory UK guarantor. In this instance, you will most likely be a student from overseas. Guarantors from overseas are not acceptable. Therefore 6 months’ rent in advance is required and the subsequent monthly rent will be payable from the end of the first month.)

• Six weeks deposit

(Up to 8 weeks deposit may be required if you have a pet to cover the added risk of property damage)

• Tenancy administration fee at £240 (incl. VAT) per property

(Contract negotiation, agreeing/amending terms, setting up/arranging tenancy and preparing the tenancy agreement and tenancy related documents)

• Referencing fee at £48 (incl. VAT) per person (tenant or guarantor)

(Identity, immigration and visa confirmation, financial credit checks, obtaining references from current or previous employers/landlords and any other relevant information to assess affordability and suitability)

• Guarantor agreement fee at £90 (incl. VAT) per guarantor

(Setting up and preparing guarantor agreement)

• Check-in service fee when applicable

(Dependent upon the number of bedrooms, ranging from £120 (incl. VAT) for a studio/one bedroom apartment to £156 (incl. VAT) for a four bedroom property. Larger properties will be quoted on an individual basis by the independent inventory clerk. Aborted appointments will be charged at £36 (incl. VAT) + cost. Please ask your agent for details)

 

During the tenancy (if applicable)

• A renewal document fee of £90 (incl. VAT) will be applicable if you wish to extend your tenancy.
• A fee of £150 (incl. VAT) to renegotiate the contract terms and arrange the new tenancy agreement and tenancy related documents and £48 (incl. VAT) referencing fee per new applicant will apply if there is a change of occupancy
• £25 (incl. VAT) per late rent payment letter
• Interest charges of 4% above the base lending rate from time to time of Barclays Bank Plc will apply on any amounts owed to the landlord or RE/MAX Star not paid on the due date
• In the event that you wish to terminate your tenancy before the end of the term and the landlord is agreeable to early termination, you will be responsible for the repayment of the pro-rata commission paid in advance to the landlord for the unexpired segment of the tenancy. This does not apply if you are exercising a break clause which is contained in your tenancy agreement.

 

Other Fees and Charges

• Key replacement fee of £36 (incl. VAT) plus item cost

(Obtaining necessary permissions, sourcing providers and travel costs)

• Failed appointment charge of £36 (incl. VAT) plus cost
• Inappropriate call out charge £50 per hour (incl. VAT) plus any actual costs incurred

(Where actions of the tenants result in a call out by the agent or nominated contractor attending the property to remedy a situation of the tenants’ making, time to remedy the situation is charged at the prevailing rate)

• End of tenancy professional cleaning fee (if required)

(Dependent on the size of the property, Prices start from £180 (incl. VAT) for a studio/one bedroom property plus £50 (incl. VAT) for each additional room. In addition, carpet cleaning will be charged at £50 (incl. VAT) per room. Fee will be deducted from the security deposit)

 

Amendments

RE/MAX Star reserve the right to change the schedule of fees and these terms of business upon providing reasonable notice in writing.