I did NOT accept rent in the form of sex. I just want to make that clear in case anyone read the title of this blog post and dived into it with a box of Kleenex, a pot of Vaseline and an erection, with the expectation of having their virtual fantasy fulfilled. This ain’t that kind of place. Today.

This will probably be the first time I’m going to significantly weave my personal life into one of my blog posts, so this is a bit of a revelation for me; it probably means fuck all to you, because, you know, why would it? But hey, I thought what the hell, why don’t I give this “bonding” thing a spin. Let’s bond.

I’ve almost definitely vaguely mentioned that I’m a bitch-magnet in the realms of my reality (operative words, “my reality”), so multitudes of questionable women are often drifting in and out of my life, but I’ve never directly tied my sex life into one of my posts before. Allow me to commence.

So, I was recently dating this girl (I say “was” because we’re no longer kicking it like Beyonce and Jay-Z), whom I shall refer to as “Bambi” for the sake of keeping this blog post as seedy as possible. Bambi and I managed to reach that healthy point in our relationship where we were both comfortable enough to rendezvous without applying our eye-liner and fake eyelashes. She even felt comfortable enough to unclip her hair-extensions from her scalp and toss them onto the floor like cigarette butts before dropping off to sleep. As for my quirky little comforts; I was comfortable enough to dry my penis into her bedsheets after intercourse so I didn’t have to make that dreaded walk to the bathroom to wipe my tools down with toilet-paper. That said, we weren’t “exclusively dating”, but I think we had an unspoken rule where we weren’t meant to engage in intimate situations with other people. If that was the case, I’m pretty certain I stuck to the deal, minus a few drunken mishaps. Being human is tough, especially when you’re a nymphomaniac equipped with the mother of all chat-up lines, “I have a landlord blog, and people actually read it” Ahh the power of success, it’s magnificent.

While I’m dating, or “courting”, if you will, I try to avoid discussing my involvement with property. Reason being is dead simple- outside the confinement of my blog, I find the topic mundane and pointless, because we could be undressing one another with our teeth and fucking instead. Only joking. I meant “making-love”

For whatever reason, I remember briefly mentioning to Bambi that I had a few properties that I rent out at the beginning of our short-lived relationship. I can’t remember why the issue cropped up in conversation, but it did. Regardless, a few months down the line from the conversation, we were still enjoying one another’s company; I liked her, and she probably liked me a little more. It was a good deal.

As Bambi’s life started to develop and fall victim to the reality that is “change”, she suddenly found herself in a position where she would shortly require a property to rent. She was currently residing with her parents, but they were due to sell up ship out of the country. That’s when she hit me with the inevitable questions 1) Have I currently got any vacant properties? 2) If so, could she rent a room? I’d never been put in that situation before.

Awkward. Very awkward. Suddenly my erection had the stability of a freshly baked pretzel.

I don’t even permit the sharing of my toothbrush, so allowing Bambi to rent a room from me was out of the question. I’m actually surprised I didn’t have a nose bleed when the question was posed. I definitely felt dizzy and light-headed at the time.

It’s nothing personal, but as a landlord, I choose not to rent out to friends, family or especially lovers! I personally think it’s a no-brainer, and you’d be mad to do it. However, I know many landlords that do. It’s just something I can’t afford to do; not financially, but emotionally. Well, maybe also financially. I’d probably end up accepting payments in the form of unorthodox sexual positions if I was renting a property to someone I had an intimate relationship with.

My response to Bambi was, “I don’t mix business with pleasure” It was a light hearted conversation, but she was dead serious about renting from me. She persistantly kept nudging me and saying, “Goooo on”, while innocently glancing into my eyes and rubbing her chapped nipples with ice-cubes (I may have fabricated the latter). Perhaps the story would have ended a little differently if she did do that. I wonder.

The issue kept cropping into conversation every so often, but I wasn’t budging. However, I did offer my assistance, by offering to view some properties with her. Unfortunately, she wasn’t too keen on that idea as she didn’t think it was any consolation. I think her exact words were, “I don’t need fucking help looking at properties; anyone can do that, I can do that on my own. Just give me one of your rooms!” She had a point. The answer was still no. So I got off the hook of helping her find a room as well.

Ahh the joys of a healthy relationship. I know what you’re all wondering, “did she still put out?” The answer is, yes, of course.

So that’s my little story. There’s no real point or moral, just the mutters of a sexually active landlord that refuses to mix business with pleasure. Just wondering, as a landlord, would you let your property to a friend, family member or lover? Anyone have any positive/negative experience in this particular area?

I’m going to part with some words of wisdom. Wrap it up, before you smack it up.

Related posts:

Rent Arrear Reminder Form
Notice Of Rent Increase Form – Section 13
Taking In Lodgers- ‘Rent-A-Room’ Scheme

Obviously, due to the fact I was covering such a riveting topic, the blog post received quite a few responses, which included several letting agents justifying the reasoning for charging tenants an admin fee. Apparently the fee is imperative to cover the costs of referencing the prospective tenants. Fair enough, I say reluctantly, as long as the fee isn’t extortionate (because there’s no need for it to be. But I still think the landlord’s fees more than covers those expenses). Either way, as with all my awesome posts, fun was had by all during the discussion. So if you’re reading this while you’re in the midst of sinking into your chair during the working hours of your bullshit job, surrounded by your bullshit colleagues, and contemplating whether life is worth living, perhaps you’d like to catch-up by reading the blog post linked above; otherwise it’s probably not worth it because there’s better shit to do in this world, and I’ve covered the gist of it anyways.

So, yesterday evening I was having a gander on Facebook and reading through my community’s status updates. One of my friends was having a bitch about a letting agent that was charging a ridiculous amount for a tenant application fee. I found it quite amusing, especially the comments, so I thought I’d share.

Bless my friend. She’s not the most coherent creature you’ll ever encounter, but you get the gist of her amusing tantrum. The agent wanted £240 for an application fee. The agent justified the price by suggesting they provide the best credit checks and references in the business. I’m going to go out on a whim and call bullshit. I don’t care if their credit checks/references come with 22 carot ribbons attached around them; there’s no way £150 + VAT for references can be justified, nor a £50 + VAT fee for a credit check. They use a third party credit check company just like thousands of other agents use; and those other agents seem to manage ok by charging a more reasonable application fee.

Here’s a list of Tenant Credit Check Services For Landlords – you can get checks done for free via Discount letting, while the others charge an average of £7. If agents want to make a small profit for arranging the credit check, then fine, by all means put a cherry on top, but make it reasonable and justifiable.

I went onto the letting agent’s website (R&P Lettings) and looked under the “Tenant info” section”. This is what they said about “References”:

As a minimum we will require satisfactory references from your employer (or college), a previous or current landlord, and a credit reference report. We may also require a personal reference, and sometimes a guarantor. We may use the services of an independent referencing company to obtain and evaluate these references.

That couldn’t sound more standard to me. Nothing special about it. Calling it “the best” is false advertising. I think my Facebook friend said it best- what a “fat little twat.” Out of principle, I would simply refuse to use agents that chat rubbish and charge unfairly.

Firstly, in my opinion, the agent needs to lower their bullshit tenant application cost. Secondly (while I’m in the midst of a rage), they also need to put a sledge hammer through that ‘Krusty the clown’ website of theirs; it looks cheap, and doesn’t fit nicely with their extortionate rates :)

I just explained the concept of letting agents charging both landlords and tenants fees to a friend of mine while he was towering over me, enquiring what I was blogging about. After I explained, he laughed and said, “Letting agents are benefiting from a double-ended dildo” Never a truer word spoken. And I think that’s how I’m going to end this blog post. Double-ended Dildo maaafuckers.

UPDATE (12th Jan 2012) – I just received the following email:

Dear sir

In regards to your Blog in which personal abusive and threatening attacks have been made against a member of my staff, and my company R&P Lettings. I have passed this over to the Police and my solicitor, they will contact you directly. They will also be in touch with the young lady.

1) I haven’t done anything illegal – what will the police do? 2) No one has threatened anyone.

I’m assuming it’s a sick joke conjured up by a 12yr old.

Related posts:

Techniques Tenants Can Use To Avoid Letting Agent Fees
Letting Agents Tenancy Renewal Fees
Finding Tenants Without A Letting Agent- Just Received The Worst Tenant Application EVER (Part 4)

They’re letting agents that don’t have shop-fronts, they operate purely online. The most reputable (and recommendable) online agents have a fully-dedicated support team which can be easily contacted via phone or email, so you’re not just dealing with a dormant website and automated responses- you actually are dealing with real people with experience in the field.

Online agents will market a landlord’s vacant rental across several (if not hundreds) of the biggest UK property portals. The landlord simply needs pay a small fee, upload their rental property details onto the agent’s website, and they will then Advertise Your Rental On Rightmove and various other property portals. The aim is to generate as many enquiries as possible for the landlord. When a prospective tenants makes an enquiry, the landlord will receive that enquiry and is then expected to arrange a viewing.

It used to be a model which catered best for landlords that wanted to take care of the management side of letting; the online agent’s role was to purely source the leads. However, a lot of online agents have evolved their services by offering a fully-managed package, which includes overseeing rent collection and maintenance issues. Having said that, I would probably only use an online letting agent if I wanted the tenant-only service, and I’ll explain why a bit later on.

So if you’re a landlord looking to find tenants, and willing to manage the property, then I would highly recommend using an online letting agent. It’s a much cheaper option than using a high-street agent.

List of online letting agents

Here’s a list of online letting agents, along with the fixed cost for their “tenant-only” service and the portals they’ll market the vacant property on:

What are the differences between a high-street letting agent and online letting agent?

These days, in terms of services, online letting agents can offer most of the services high-street agents can. However, they differ in the following ways (in my awesome opinion):

Local knowledge – high-street agents operate locally out of their shop-front, while online agents operate nationally (so lack local knowledge of specific areas) from an office. High-street agents pride themselves on local knowledge, and feel they have an extra edge with that useful information. Granted, local knowledge is useful in some ways, but in this internet driven world, the importance of local knowledge is declining by the day. Moreover, most agents generate most of their leads from property portals like Rightmove anyways, and local knowledge isn’t even required for a tenant acquisition sourced by Rightmove.

Shop-front / Face-to-face service – high-street agents can offer a face-to-face service. So, for example, if you get really pissed off with their service, you can storm into their shop and punch your agent square in their stupid-looking face (assuming the intoxicating scent of their Old Spice aftershave doesn’t choke you to death first. Only joking). With an online letting agent, you’re limited to communicating via phone and/or email- assuming you’re not a psychotic maniac and prepared to track down your agent, the biggest threat in your arsenal is a string of harsh words, like, “you’re a cunt, mate!”

Price – high-street agents have massive overheads in comparison to online agents, so they NEED to charge more for their services, and that they do! That’s a fact. Those fabulous multi-coloured Mini Coopers don’t pay for themselves.

Enquiries / Viewings – from what I’m aware, this is the one of the few services that online letting agents don’t/can’t offer, and that’s the whole procedure of enquiry handling and taking viewings. High-street agents will receive all the enquiries and arrange/take the viewings, and show the prospective tenants around the property. When you use an online agent, the enquiries are directly sent to the landlord for him/her to take action upon (e.g. arrange viewings). So if you reduce into a wheezing, nervous, anti-social hermit when you’re around strangers, you’re probably going to need the presence of a physical agent.

Inspections – bringing us onto the second feature online letting agents can’t offer, and that’s inspections of the property. Most high-street agents include a quarterly inspection with their fully-managed service. Inspections are imperative, as they can weed out any distasteful practises shown by the tenants at the early stages of the tenancy. Alas, a lot of agents methods of inspecting has yet to be desired- they may as well have walked in with a blindfold on. On the flip-side, it really isn’t much hassle for a landlord to arrange an inspection- plus, you’d probably be more thorough when inspecting your own property.

The tenant-only package is where it’s at!

Currently, the average price for using an online letting agent to generate enquiries across the biggest property portals is £45. Last time I checked, my local high-street agent wanted to charge me £500 for a tenant-find service. And seriously, they are a bunch of inbred wankers, so I would have begrudged giving them money anyways. I’ve personally saved thousands by using this kind of service from online agents. It’s a no-brainer.

As said, I would only use an online letting agent if I was a landlord that wanted to fully-manage my own property, which would mean I would arrange the viewings, take control of collecting rent and handling any maintenance issues. In the defence of high-street agents, if I wanted to use a third party to manage my property, I would want the peace of mind of knowing that I could strut into an office and discuss any issues face-to-face if I was having real issues with my tenant and/or the agents service, so an online agent wouldn’t cut the mustard. Additionally, I’d like to think that a high-street agent would be prepared to physically engage with the tenant if shit really hit the fan, because often a physical presence of an agent can be fearsome.

Either way, from my experience, even when a problem has occurred with one of my properties/tenants, there’s never been a scenario which has been out of my means to resolve. As long as you’re vigilant when screening a tenant, problems should be minimal. It’s never a case of being unable to resolve a situation, it’s a case of whether you can be bothered to resolve it or not. If you ever run into problems, there are plenty of resources online to help you, websites like LandlordZone are brilliant for problem-solving. I would say you could always contact me directly for advice, but i’d be lying- but by all means, make use of my landlord forum, because there are some really cool and knowledgeable folks creeping around in there. If you can’t be bothered with the whole problem solving aspect, use a high-street agent and snap up their fully-managed package. If you slip them a fiver, they’ll probably wipe your arse for you as well.

Ignore the cynics. Online letting agents are awesome

I read an amusing article last week over at ‘Estate Agent Today’ about angry high-street letting agents bitching about online letting agents.

How ridiculous, right? Right.

Essentially, you have a bunch of high-street letting agents complaining that Online Letting Agents (e.g. Upad and LettingAproperty) shouldn’t be able to advertise their properties on Rightmove. I don’t really understand the argument. I’m not even sure there is a problem, beyond the fact that high-street letting agents aren’t able to compete with the low prices online letting agents are charging. But that’s tough shit. They should either change their business model so they can compete; focus on building their “fully-managed” package….or roll over and die.

The consumer (landlord) should be able to choose whether they want the service of a virtual or physical letting agent. Despite common misconception, neither service is better than the other and they shouldn’t be compared, because they’re different services all together, designed for different types of landlords.

So, comments like this, “Some landlords will always be prepared to cut corners and avoid paying a good letting agent. In my experience, many live to regret it” are the remarks muttered by a petulant child. If I don’t need the extras that come with a high-street agent, why the hell should I bloody pay for one? It’s genuinely not a case of “cutting corners”, it’s a case of assessing my needs, and choosing a service based on them. Go figure.

You can ALWAYS use both an online agent and high-street agent

When people talk about online agents and high-street agents, I always get the impression they think it’s an either/or situation. That’s definitely not the case. Actually, I’ve probably given that impression myself. For anyone that’s reluctant about using an online agent, but wants to give it a whirl by ditching a high-street agent and their fees, I would recommend doing the following…

Use an online letting agent- invest £45 into their service, and see if you can bag yourself a tenant. At the same time, use a high-street agent to find tenants. May the best method win. Most agents don’t charge unless you actually USE the tenant they sourced (but double check that with your agent). If the high-street agent sources the tenant, then the worst case scenario is that you invested an extra £45, which in the grand schemes of things, isn’t a big loss. If not, you saved yourself a few hundred quid- go buy yourself a bag of weed, and get high as maaafucker!

But let me expand on how you can still use both online and high-street agents together. If you manage to find a tenant through an online agent, and take on the fully-managed role, but then realise taking on the responsibility isn’t suited to your lifestyle, then you can easily just approach an agent to take over the management. It really isn’t a case of either/or.

On that note, I hope everyone had a good Christmas. I’ll see you in the New year. Have a good one :) xxx

Related posts:

10 Reasons Why You Should Use Letting Agents
Is This Online Letting Agent Advert Distasteful?
An Example Of How Much Extra Letting Agents Charge

Holy shit, this has been the longest period of time I’ve gone without publishing a post. It’s almost been a month. What’s my excuse? I’ve been sunning myself in various locations around the globe. Alas, it’s back to reality now, and what a landfill of diarrhea it is.

Naively, I had genuine intentions of sitting under an umbrella, tapping away on my laptop and unleashing a few posts. Reality was, I ended up laying there with my shades on while drooling over exotic women and tucking my erection under the elastic waist band of my swim shorts. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted; I’m back now, doing what I do, and how I usually do it…

While I was away I had a few tedious interactions with one of my tenants. I don’t know what I did that was so terrible in my past, but for some reason Karma has deemed it appropriate for my tenant’s to always become problematic during my annual leave. Typical.

Admittedly, my problem is, I analyse every-fucking-thing. Not just analyse, but I over-analyse. Most normal people probably wouldn’t even get phased by the following, but my mind just logged it all, and drowned in frustration, so-much-so, that I’ve decided to regurgitate my ‘orrible little list of frustrations and Hollywood it up like a Diva.

Schedule of events that irritated me

• 1) Tenant was due to pay rent 4 days before I was set to leave the country. I silently waited until my day of departure (I figured 4 days was a generous amount of time for him to get his act together). He failed to deposit the funds. Mistake number 1.
• 2) On the morning of my departure, I text my tenant enquiring when rent would be paid. That’s mistake number 2. I shouldn’t have had to initiate the conversation. He knew rent was due, and he knew perfectly well he didn’t pay it. He should have contacted me first; I had given him 4 days to come crawling on his knees.

  If I was in his position, I would have contacted the landlord first and supplied him with whatever sorry excuse I had managed to construde from out of my arse, and then told him when it would be paid. But I guess that’s the difference between someone with decency and an inconsiderate skidmark that enjoys sucking the blood out of innocent and beautiful people.

• 3) It took him 48 hours to respond to my text message. There we go, mistake number 3. It shouldn’t take someone 48 hours to respond to a text message, especially when it’s about something relatively important.

  If my tenants need extra time to pay rent, i’m perfectly fine with that. Just let me know so I don’t waste my precious time waiting and chasing.

  In his text he apologised and said he was paid late by his employer, and would pay me the next day. He said he would notify me with a confirmation text. At this point I was on my holiday in the Far East so I didn’t want to think about work, and also, texting back and forth was now an expensive delicacy. Either way, I responded and told him that was fine.

• 4) Next day had come and gone and I was still waiting for his confirmation. Mistake number 5.
• 5) Even though I didn’t receive any correspondence from the mute, I checked my bank online to see if he managed to pay rent. To my surprise, he paid £500. However, rent is £775. Mistake number 6. He didn’t pay the entire amount, and didn’t even bother informing me he was short.
• 6) 24 hours later, I’m laying on a beach texting my tenant, enquiring why the entire rent wasn’t paid. Mistake number 7 & 8; once again he had forced me to initiate a conversation he should have started, but more crucially, he had forced me to deduct time from my perving parade so I was able to chase him for rent. I told him rent was short (like the mute shit-for-brains didn’t know!), and asked him to tell me when the remaining balance could be settled.
• 7) Another 24 hours past and I was still dealing with a mute. Again, I decided to check my account online. Amazingly, he had deposited the remaining £275. So after 10 days of being in arrears, he had paid his rent. But again, there had been no correspondence from him (even until now). He was obviously receiving my texts. Weird.

I’m not even sure what the point of this blog post is. But I think it has something to do with the following:

• I wanted to explain why I haven’t been posting as much recently.
• I’m a reasonable guy. I don’t mind if my tenants need extra time to pay rent (as long as it doesn’t become a habit), but be bloody courteous and let me know what is going on. Moreover, don’t ignore my texts and say you’re going to contact me when you’re not.
• The combination of ignoring my texts and paying in unorthodox amounts without informing me became tedious.
• Tenants always seem to become problematic when I’m on annual leave.

So, on that note, has anyone else recently been irritated by their tenant or landlord? If so, let’s here it!

For those wondering, yes, I had a fabulous time, and it’s truly disgusting being back! x

Related posts:

List Of Tenant Eviction Services
List Of Tenant Credit Check Services For Landlords
List of Websites Where Landlords Can Find Tenants For FREE

I’m no legal bod, but I will quickly go over the basic differences. Hopefully I’ll cover enough of the basics to help you identify which one you should be serving to your tenant.

What is the difference between a Section 8 and Section 21?

Simply, a section 8 notice should be served when a tenant is in breach of contract (e.g. the landlord has grounds for possession). The most common ground for eviction is rent arrears. As long as the landlord has a legitimate ground for possession, he/she can serve the notice at any point during a tenancy. Here’s a more detailed look into Section 8- Notice To Quit Form

A section 21, also known as a ‘Notice of Possession’, should be served to end a Tenancy Agreement so the landlord can regain possession at either the end of the fixed date specified in the tenancy agreement, or if the tenancy has rolled into a periodic tenancy. Unlike when serving a section 8, a landlord does not any reason for serving the notice to regain possession of the property, other than he/she simply wants the tenant to vacate. Here’s a more detailed look into Section 21 – Notice of Possession Order Form.

So basically, a Section 8 should be served when a tenant has done something wrong e.g. fallen into rent arrears. A Section 21 should be served when the landlord simply wants the tenant to vacate the property at the end of the tenancy or during a periodic tenancy.

Some times it’s better to serve a Section 21, even when a tenant has breached their contract

This is a bit of personal tip, something which I’ve learned from experience. While I have said that you should serve a section 8 notice when a tenant is in breach of contract (e.g. the landlord has grounds for possession), there is, as always, an exception, in which it might be worth serving a section 21 notice instead.

If you have valid grounds for serving a section 8 notice, and the current term of the tenancy has either rolled into a Periodic Tenancy or with in or close to 2 months of the tenancy from reaching it’s end date, it’s probably better to serve a Section 21 instead.

The reason for this is because there is a lot less legal hassle and implications when serving a section 21. As said, when serving a Section 8, a ground for possession is required, which can be disputed by the tenant in court, which may prolong the eviction process, and consequently allow the tenant to remain in the property. The landlord will also need to prove to the court that the tenant has breached a condition in the agreement. Whereas with a section 21, as mentioned, a landlord does not need any reason for regaining possession. Even if the tenant refuses to vacate after a section 21 is served, providing the court is satisfied that it has been correctly served; then they are required to grant the landlord possession.

Does anyone else have anything else to add? :)

Related posts:

Section 8 Notice To Quit Form- Evicting Tenants
Section 21 – Notice of Possession Order Form
Notice Of Rent Increase Form – Section 13

A lot of landlords make the fatal mistake of accepting the first tenant that comes along because their primary concern is focused on filling the vacant property as quickly as possible. While that may make the most financial sense to a simpleton, it can actually bear the most cost.

Problematic tenants can be expensive in so many ways. I’d personally rather keep my property vacant a little longer if it means I’ll gain tenants that make me feel at complete ease. I can swallow paying a month’s mortgage out of my own pocket because that WILL be cheaper than harbouring problem-tenants that have no qualms with wiping their arse on the carpet, and other deviant acts that will irritate my aura.

Sadly, a landlord can never be sure how good or bad a tenant is going to be until they actually move in and take tenancy for a few months. That risk factor will always be there, regardless of how genuine the tenants initially seem. However, there are steps a landlord can take to ensure they’re minimizing their risk of harbouring shitty tenants, which brings me to the issue of referencing tenants.

Methods of Referencing Tenants

I’m sure many landlords have their own methods of referencing tenants that differ from mine, but below are a few of the precautions I take as part of my “tenant referencing” protocol.

Gut instinct

I personally believe that one of the greatest tools to identity a rogue tenant is by relying on gut instinct.

I’m sure a lot of landlords have shown prospective tenants around their property and thought, “Hmm I’m not sure I want these people living here”, I know I’ve thought that on many occasions. From my experience, if it looks like a chav, smells like a chav and walks like a chav, it’s probably a chav.

Unless I’m completely comfortable with my prospective tenants, I don’t bother wasting time on trying to convince myself they’ll result in being good tenants.

If your prospective tenants make you feel uneasy, it’s probably for a good reason.

Ask for I.D

Before you even start the process of deciding whether someone is a potential tenant or not, make sure they’re actually who they say they are.

If the prospective tenant seems interested, and you’re also feeling a good vibe, then ask for I.D. I always ask for photo-proof to confirm identification- password or driving license will do nicely.

Use Tenant Credit Check Service

Credit checks are often neglected by self-managing landlords, and that’s a sin if ever I’ve seen one.

I never used to run credit checks on my tenants, but as I gained more experience I realised the quantity of undercover scammers are quickly multiplying like a plague. Granted, credit checks aren’t bulletproof, they won’t guarantee “perfect tenants”, but they will reduce a potentially large risk.

Credit checks basically look into the financial history and current state of an individual. They are relatively cheap, and in my opinion, worth the investment.

In order to perform a credit check, you will need permission from the perspective tenant. The applicant will need to sign a release form, authorizing the landlord/agent to perform the check. Most credit check companies will provide landlords with a form online.

Here is a List Of Tenant Credit Check Services For Landlords. Discount letting actually offer a FREE credit check service for landlords, so it’s not even like cost has to be an issue. There really are no excuses.

Whichever credit check service you decide to use, make sure you know what kind of security checks they’re going to do for you. Some are just pointless.

Tenancy Application Form

I always make prospective tenants fill in a Tenancy Application Form before or during a viewing. It requires the tenant to provide the following:

• Tenancy details: property address, rental period, number of applicants, proposed tenancy start date.
• Tenant’s personal details: tenant’s name, contact details, and time at current address.
• Current Landlord: details about current landlord.
• Referee / Guarantor Details: details about guarantor
• Employment details: current and past employment details, and details regarding salary
• Details about occupiers: details about all the people that will occupy the property
• Other details: details such as smoking status, pet status

The form is useful because it provides details of employment and previous/current landlords. That will allow me to follow up their references and make sure they’re legitimate and have a good track record. Additionally, if I have a vacant property which is receiving interest from several prospective tenants, I will have a neat list of all applicants with all their details. It makes it much easier to manage the applicants details, and determine which applicant is most desirable, which will effectively help me choose the better tenant. For example, I can easily see which applicant has a greater salary and stronger rental history.

You can download and/or find out more details about a Tenancy Application Form.

Assessing Affordability

Regardless of whether your tenant is in receivership of Housing Benefit or a salary from full-time employment it’s important to assess whether your prospective tenant can actually afford your property.

Based on your tenants total monthly income (remember to check recent pay slips), assess whether or not you think they can realistically afford your property and all its added expenses, taking into account a budget for life’s social events.

I’ve seen it happen many times before, where a tenant gets totally excited by the prospect of renting a house which they’ve fallen in love with, and not realising that they can’t realistically afford it. Some times as a landlord, you need to do the maths for the tenant and make a calculated decision. Tenants are often ruled by their heart, neglecting their head. I guess it’s the same when it comes to women and shoes.

If after crunching the numbers, it seems unlikely your tenant will be able to pay the rent for the long haul, it maybe something to seriously think about.

Facebook

Ahh the wonder that is Facebook; probably one of my favourite and potentially most entertaining methods of referencing tenants.

Basically, when someone applies to be my tenant I always look them up on Facebook, by searching for their name and/or email address . 7 times out of 10 (I pulled those odds out of my arse, but they seem realistic enough), the applicant has a Facebook profile, giving me the opportunity to get a snapshot into their life. If lady luck is on my side, the profile will be completely insecure, allowing me to view the entire visual catalogue of the applicant’s life.

I’ve actually refused a tenant in the past based on what I saw on their Facebook profile. You can read about that delightful story here, The Results Of Referencing Prospective Tenants On Facebook.

Conclusion

As said, doing all of the above doesn’t take long at all, and it’s well worth the minimal effort it requires. Moreover, you can do all of the above for FREE. There really are no excuses.

Out of curiosity, does anyone else have any other weird and wonderful methods of referencing? I’m always looking to develop the ways of how I can harass prospective tenants.

Related posts:

Landlord Guide On Protection Against Bad Tenants
The Results Of Referencing Prospective Tenants On Facebook
Landlord Guide On Evicting Tenants

What is a Tenant Guarantor?

A “Guarantor” is commonly a friend or family member of the tenant and has agreed to vouch for the tenant and accept the liabilities on behalf of the tenant. Essentially, in the event of a tenant being unable to meet their obligations under the tenancy agreement, whether it is for overdue rent, damage to the property or whatever, the Guarantor is legally bound to accept the liabilities on behalf of the tenant. There’s tonnes more information in the Tenant Guarantor Form page.

I regularly receive an annoying amount of emails from teary-eyed mascara-dripping Guarantors asking two of the following questions:

• How can I stop being a Guarantor for a tenant?
• My friend has fallen into arrears, and I’m his/her Guarantor, how do I get out of being liable for the debt?

Let me show you a prime example of what I’m talking about. I received this ridiculous piece of shit email last week:

I’m a guarantor for someone for a rented property. I have just recently found out the reason they needed a guarantor was cause the landlord thought she wasn’t working. She is now in arrears, is there anyway I can get out of being liable for her debt? Please help, I am at my wits end.

I’m sure the lady that sent me the email is a terribly nice person, so I take no joy in calling her a tediously underdeveloped monkey, but unfortunately that’s exactly what she is. The million dollar question is, what the hell did she think she was signing up for when she agreed to be a Tenant Guarantor, and why is she at her wits’ end? It hurts me to assume the following because my faith in humanity is already limited, and the thought of someone being so dim is painful, but I think she’s got her nuts in a twist because she’s expected to take responsibility for what she agreed to take responsibility for. Heaven forbid, right? What a douche-bag.

There’s nothing wrong with being a Tenant Guarantor

Don’t get me wrong, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with being a Guarantor for someone. By all means, be a Guarantor for someone you love and/or trust, just don’t shrivel into a wheezing blubbering mess if you’re actually required to take on the responsibility of being a Guarantor when that’s exactly what you agreed to do. Please, let me know if i’m starting to confuse you with common sense, because I’ll happily hunt you down like a diseased dog and shoot you in between the eyes, and pat myself on the back for eliminating a cockroach. Only joking, that would be harsh. Kinda.

What you should consider before being a Tenant Guarantor

With the objective of preventing this kind of stupidity from spreading much further, I’m going to jot down a list of points for prospective Guarantors to consider before agreeing to anything. If you’re in that position, you should carefully understand what you’re being asked to do, and then consider whether you actually want to do it.

Do you understand what you’re being asked to do?

I swear to God, 90% of the people that are a Guarantor don’t even have a clue what they’re liable for, they’re just happy their helping someone out. Very cute, but dangerously stupid.

To reiterate, a “Guarantor” has agreed to vouch for the tenant and accept the liabilities on behalf of the tenant. Essentially, in the event of a tenant being unable to meet their obligations under the Tenancy Agreement, whether it is for overdue rent, damage to the property or whatever, the Guarantor is legally bound to accept the liabilities on behalf of the tenant.

Fully understand what responsibility you’re taking on.

Can you REALLY afford to pay someone else’s debt (not just hypothetically, but in reality)?

I think the main reason so many people agree to being Guarantors is because they believe they’ll NEVER be put into the situation of actually having to pay the debt of those they trust. They basically think it’s a hypothetical scenario because they’ll never be let down by those they trust. “It will NEVER happen to me”, says the idiot while being struck by lightening.

Unfortunately, the only certainties in this life are taxes and death. A friend and/or family member never falling into arrears is a far cry away from being a certainty.

Consider the implications on your own personal finances if the tenant you’re vouching for DOES fall into hardship. Can you REALLY afford to pay the debt, and more importantly, would you feel comfortable doing so?

In situations like this, it’s always worth considering the worst possible outcome.

To what level do you trust the person you’re being a Guarantor for?

Trust comes in many, many, many layers, and you need to calculate to what level you trust the tenant.

For example, I would trust my work colleague to pick up my Hugo Boss suit from the dry cleaners, but I wouldn’t trust him with in a 10 mile radius of my girlfriend after he’s intoxicated his liver with a bottle of Vodka. Common sense.

Calculate which level of trust you have with the tenant, and if you’re left with concern, maybe that’s your gut instinct telling you to back-the-fuck-off from the situation.

Are you being pressured into being a Guarantor?

From my experience, most Guarantors are either family members or extremely close friends of the tenant. So there’s usually a feeling of emotional obligation pushing us into the direction of being a Guarantor, even if it’s subconscious.

If you feel remotely pressured into being a Guarantor (even if it’s your own moral obligation pushing you, and not necessarily the tenant’s) or there’s a feeling of unease, even if it’s ever so slightly, I would think twice.

Emotional guilt tends to push us into a lot of situations we don’t really want to be in. Yes, we love our friends and family, and we want to do everything humanly possible to help them, but this is one of those situations where rationality is king.

There is zero reward for being a Guarantor

Understand, there is ZERO reward for being a Guarantor. Well, besides from self-satisfaction of helping out someone you love. But who in their right mind is going to count that, right?

But seriously, there is no opportunity for financial gain, it doesn’t even help your credit rating, and it’s not even worth putting on your C.V, and we’ve all put bullshit on that before.

It seriously is one of those things you have to do purely out of love, without the expectations of any returns.

Will you panic/worry/stress if you have to pay the tenant’s debts?

So, assuming your nearest and dearest does rack up a debt that falls onto your lap, how would you feel about it? Like I previously said, it’s always best to approach this situation with the worst possible outcome in mind. If you think it’s going to cause you stress, then don’t do it.

There’s no point in both of you (you and the tenant) being stressed over the same situation. So if taking on the debt of the tenant is going to inflict additional burden on yourself, forget about it.

How strong is your relationship?

I’ve seen best friends of 20 years become enemies over money. It happens all the time. Hell, just watch Judge Judy, most of the cases on that programme involve family members and best friends having a cat fight over money. Great entertainment, but ultimately it’s embarrassing.

Every relationship has their breaking point, and it usually involves a member of the opposite sex and/or money. That’s the kind of world we live in.

If the tenant (your close friend/relation) left you responsible for a pile of debt, would you carry any resentment towards them? If so, don’t put yourself into the situation where your friendship/relationship is on the line. It’s probably not worth it.

Guarantor nightmares

Anyone got any Guarantor nightmares to share?

Related posts:

Tenant Guarantor Form
HELP, I Can’t Get A Guarantor
Risks involved with Mortgages

Like with most professions, the majority of the skills required are learnt while ‘on the job’ – that’s especially true for landlords, since this isn’t Star Trek and we don’t have virtual landlord simulators at our disposal. So what’s a brother to do but learn on the job?

I’ve been a landlord for several years now, so I’ve watched dozens of tenants enter and leave my life. Many have been missed, while the others have been replicated into miniature Voodoo dolls, which rest under my sordid bed, with thick, rusty pins hanging out of their arses. However, regardless of how the note to each tenant ended, I’ve always managed to higher my learning curve from each tenancy. This is particularly true when tenants vacate the premises at the end of a tenancy.

Over the years I’ve lost lump sums of money because I didn’t spot damages my tenants were liable for until it was too late, which consequently meant the cash had to be pried out of my manicured hands. There was no one to blame besides from my own inexperience. In most cases, I failed to check specific areas of the property, which later on come back to haunt me with a financial consequence. In order to refrain myself from falling victim to the same problems, I developed a checklist, which covers areas to check when a tenant vacates.

My “checklist for when tenants vacate” usually increases by one or two points each time a tenant vacates. It’s not that I’m totally careless or cavalier with my final inspections, because I’m not, I do proper checks. However, each tenant is different, and each tenant has their own weird and ridiculous habits. So even when you think you have all the check-points covered, a tenant will come along and show you a new and unregistered way of pulling down your pants and riding you like Seabiscuit. A prime example being when I recently wrote a blog post about how my Tenant Left Me With a Drain Blocked With Shit. The problem was, the drain didn’t overflow until the kitchen tap was running for at least several minutes because the blockage was 15 meters into the pipes. A problem like that is not easily found during an inspection- how many landlords/agents actually let taps run for several minutes to check for overflows? Not many. I’ve previously blogged about similar scenarios where I got caught out, and so a few of my readers have asked me for a checklist they could use or perhaps get ideas from, so they don’t fall for victim to the same traps. So, here we are, again, together! Cosy.

I just want to point out that I use my “Checklist Form For When Tenants Vacate” along side a Landlord Inventory Form. A landlord inventory is a listing of all the contents of a property and a record of the condition of the property. These forms shouldn’t be confused with one another, they each have their vital roles to play. I would always recommend having an inventory in place for every tenancy. The “Checklist For When Tenants Vacate” concentrates on areas to check, as opposed to the condition of the property and the items before and after the tenancy.

My checklist of areas to check when tenants vacate

Plumbing

• Drains- run the taps from all water outlets in the house for several minutes to ensure there are no overspills from the drains. It’s also worth removing the drain covers and ensuring there are no obvious and visible blockages.
• Taps- check that all taps actually work, and water flows as it should. Don’t neglect outside/garden taps.
• Plug holes- I once had a tenant that left a disgusting amount of matted hair down the shower and sink plugholes. Apparently he malted like a husky in the summer. What a super freak. It was disgusting and could have easily caused blockages. Ensure the plug-holes are thoroughly cleaned by your tenant; it’s certainly not our job to unpick cheesy bunches of matted hair from plug-holes, or from any other type of hole, for that matter.
• Water pressure / flow- if there are any pipes blocked, it may have an impact on the water flow. So check that the pressure and flow from all taps are as should be. Blocked pipes commonly occur from abusive substances being wrongly disposed of down the sink. If that’s the case, the responsibility should fall onto the tenant.

Electrics

• White goods / Electrical Items- don’t rely on visual inspections, ensure that each item is tested and in full working order. Pay particular attention to the cleanliness of the items, especially the white goods. I got royally penetrated up the rectum recently by my dirtbag tenant that was too lazy and disgusting to clean the oven during his entire tenancy. I didn’t check INSIDE the oven during the final inspection, but when I did a few days later, I was in for a nasty shock in the form of congealed fat and food residue that resembled decayed bird shit. I had to hire a professional oven cleaning company to resolve the matter. Moral of the story: don’t underestimate the filthiness of tenants. Oh, and thoroughly check all appliances, inside and out.
• Appliances- as with the above point, check all appliances you provided with the property, don’t rely on appearances, and especially don’t rely on your tenant’s word.
• Plug points- check to see that all plug points are working. Additionally, check that the plastic plug socket covers aren’t broken/cracked. Plug socket covers often get broken when furniture is being moved around and/or when crazy sex stunts go wrong- it’s a pretty common issue. Not a huge financial burden, but nevertheless the deposit is there to cover those mishaps.
• Light Switches- ensure all light switches work, and again, check that the actual switches are in the condition they should be in.
• Fire / Smoke Alarms- check that all fire alarms still work. That’s a no-brainer, and should be covered in the inventory anyways.
• Door bell- check to see if the doorbell works. A lot of landlords generally forget about this one.

Fittings

• Doors- ensure all doors open, close and lock properly. It’s also worth looking for significant cracks/splits in the doors, especially where the lock is. Doors are expensive to replace.
• Windows- ensure all windows open, close and lock. Also look for for any chips and/or cracks.
• Laminate / hardwood flooring- if you have laminate/hardwood flooring, check for breaks, chips and unevenness. I had to replace hardwood flooring once because the previous tenant liked hosting gatherings which entailed a lot of fluid spillage (I’m not judging). Of course, that caused the floor panels to expand and dislodge. It cost quite a bit to fix, and I didn’t spot it during the inspection because the damage was being strategically covered by furniture. Yes, my thoughts precisely, what a sneaky, snakeoil, conniving little cock!
• Sinks / baths/ showers – check all ceramic and plastic fittings for cracks and chips. I had a tenant leave behind a huge crack inside a sink before.

Storage

• Outside/Inside Bins- always check that the bins are completely empty. It should be the tenants responsibility to dispose of all rubbish before they vacate the property. I’ve fallen victim to this ugly, ugly, ugly situation before, and it killed a part of me, a good part. My tenant left an ungodly amount of crap in the wheelie bins outside the property. Of course, I didn’t check the bins during the final inspection. Worst part was that the rubbish wasn’t disposed into black bags, it was just thrown directly into the bins. Seriously, are we back in the caveman era where we act like animals? Let’s just shit in the corner while we Willy-nilly dispose of rubbish directly into wheelie bins. To clear up the mess I had to retrieve my thick, rubber gloves from my special trunk and transfer the rubbish into black bin bags. By the end of it, I had 8 bags full, which I had to take to the local dump. It was an awful experience, which still gives me nightmares. Why didn’t I just let the garbage men collect the rubbish, you ask? Because while the property was empty, I applied for council tax exemption so I was revoked from my local tax privileges e.g. garbage collection. Is that a good enough reason for you? Lovely.
• Cupboards / Drawers- again, make sure cupboards and drawers are completely empty, otherwise the new tenants will only make you do it. And believe me, it’s not a fun job to dispose of other peoples shit (unless you’re getting paid for it).
• Shed / Garage- ensure all items from outbuildings are removed. Also worth checking the fittings in the outbuildings e.g. doors, windows, locks.
• Loft / Atic- check the loft/actic is empty and doesn’t contain any of the tenants unwanted items. Tenants have tried to pull this stunt on me one too many times. Amusing, but it gets old and boring.

Furniture

• Underneath / behind- the amount of times I’ve had tenants try and strategically place furniture in an attempt to cover up shit stains on the carpet is horrifying. Check around, under, behind, on top, and inside of the furniture, basically every which way possible.
• Testing- give each furniture piece a test of stability and usability e.g. lay down on the beds and sit down on the sofas. Make sure everything feels safe and sturdy.
• Unwanted furniture removed- tenants often buy temporary furniture with the intentions of leaving them behind when it’s time to vacate because they’re too lazy to dispose of their cheap Ikea crap. The tenant may suggest leaving the items in the property for your new tenants, and it may seem like a tempting offer. However, I ALWAYS refuse the offer because as soon as a landlord starts providing tenants with pieces of furniture, they automatically become liable for repairing/removing/replacing the item if it gets damaged (unless there’s a disclaimer in the contract). Make tenants remove ALL their furniture if you don’t want to provide a part/furnished property.

I’ve put my list in a form format which you can download from the link provided below, just in case, you know, you actually think it will be useful to you as a reminder.

The perks of having a checklist

It’s self-explanatory why checklists like these are crucial, but I may as well support the practise with a definitive statement.

It really is a simple case of investing a few hours into thoroughly inspecting a property for the sake of potentially saving a heap of money. So you decide, spend money on areas that could have been avoided, or buy a brand new wicked-cool Pioneer sound-blaster for your pimped out Renault Clio. It’s a no-brainer.

Add to the list

My list is custom to my needs, although a lot of the to-do’s are pretty generic, and good practise for all types of landlords and tenancies. However, feel free to add your own custom to-do’s from your own experiences and situation, and remove any action(s) you feel is inappropriate. Although, I’m rarely ever inappropriate, so I’d be interested to know if you remove any points. I’m usually prepared to fight to the death until I’m deemed right.

Anyone have any further suggestions/recommendations?

Does anyone else have any other to-do’s I can add to the list? Perhaps I’ve missed a few out because I’ve yet to be stung by tenants in that particular area.

Download Checklist Form For When Tenants Vacate

Checklist Form For When Tenants Vacate

Related posts:

Section 8 Notice To Quit Form- Evicting Tenants
Landlord Inventory Form
Tenant Reference Form

My ex-tenants got me good this time. Real good. Fair play to them. Hope they get reincarnated as a carnivore’s toilet-brush.

To cut a long and shitty story short, I had a family vacate a property after living there for 2 years. On their final day, I inspected the property, focusing on the usual areas; carpets, plumbing, condition of walls, windows, doors etc. Everything seemed hunkydory (do people still say that?).

A few days after they had vacated, I started painting a few of the rooms to give the house a lift. Having endured the intense first day of labouring (someone as delicate and precious as me is not used to hard graft), I rinsed the paintbrushes and trays in the kitchen sink. While the water was running for several minutes, I could hear the drain outside the kitchen window overflowing (the kitchen is placed at the back of the house). I popped my head out of the back door to see the tainted water overspilling onto the patio floor. The paint I was rinsing off was white, so it looked like an overspill of copious amounts of semen. It probably would have been amusing if it wasn’t my property and I was still 16. No such luck.

My hope was that it was just a light blockage, which required the aid of an industrial solvent. I purchased a ghastly cocktail for £10 that my plumber had recommended. Ironically, the solution resembled diarrhea in every possible way. I poured the entire contents down the drain while pinching my nostrils. It did NOT smell good. The instructions advised it could take up to 12 hours to take affect.

I returned the next day to see if the problem had been resolved. The water level had reduced, and there was no visible blockage. “I swear to God i’ll be good for the rest of the week if this works” You know, Karma and all that crap.

I ran the water again for several minutes only to be reunited with the same overflowing semen. At this point I was stomping my feet like a petulant child as I knew I required the assistance of professionals. Great.

I quickly contacted Dyno Rod, drainage specialists (notorious for being ridiculously expensive). They came over like the Ghostbusters with various poles and water jets. After 30mins of prodding and blasting, they eventually diagnosed and resolved the problem. Apparently, 15 meters into the drain pipes, there was an unhealthy and dangerous build-up of rice and deposits of congealed fat.

My previous tenants basically poured rice and fat down the sink during their 2 year tenancy, and this was the result. They’re a Ghanaian family, and their diet largely consisted of traditional Ghanaian cuisine, such as rice and highfat supplement dishes.

There was actually nothing I could do to recoup the money because I had given them the all-clear after the inspection. I had to take the £150 Dyno Rod fee on the chin. But I didn’t take it like a man, because evidently I’m having a mental masturbation about it on here.

Bloody idiots. What kind of people pour rice and fat down the sink? Idiots, that’s what kind.

Annoyingly, my tenants MUST have known about the problem. No doubt the blockage surfaced every time they ran the tap for several minutes, specifically when washing the dishes. Conveniently, they failed to mention the problem to me. Perhaps they forgot. Like I said, I hope they get reincarnated as tools which exist for the sole purpose of scrubbing excrement off surfaces.

The thing is, how many landlords actually run the water for several minutes during an inspection? I’m not sure many do. Moreover, for those with managed properties, do lettings agents do that during a final inspection? I usually just run the taps to check the water-flow consistency and pressure levels.

Was it the perfect crime, or negligence from the landlord? You could probably argue either.

Shit cleared, lesson learned.

Related posts:

My Tenant Left Me With A Wheelie Bin Full Of Shit And Sex Toys
Funny Shit Friday – DSS Tenant Demands Apology, But Walks Away With I.T Advice
Shit You shouldn’t Write Or Put In Your Tenant’s Christmas Card

I’ve been sitting here for the past few minutes trying to think of a neutral opening paragraph about how tenants with pets can provide realms of good and bad pleasures for a landlord. But then it dawned upon me, and I think I understood the reason for why I was struggling to find a neutral and well-balanced opening line…

A tenant with a pet is one of those situations that a landlord can rarely ever gain any joy from, but can easily gain stress and frustration. I say that because what joy do I personally get from a well-behaved pet that belongs to a tenant? Absolutely zero. I’m not humble enough to get filled with joy because my tenant has a Sausage Dog that can fetch his slippers in the morning, and let’s face it, nor are you. The ain’t making your life any easier. However, if I get a tenant that harbours a snapping little terror that enjoys flooding the place with steaming piss, dismantling fittings like it’s a game, and uncontrollably releasing natural musky Old Spice odours, then all of a sudden I have a serious problem on my moisturised hands. No wonder I couldn’t think of a balanced statement.

Albeit, it’s almost a certainty that a landlord will at some point encounter a prospective tenant that comes attached with a malting bag of fleas. At that point, the landlord needs to decide whether they’re going to play ball or show the access-denied card. I’m not going to discuss the pros and cons of allowing tenants with pets, because I’ve already covered that jazz over in the Guide On Landlords And Pets article, but I am going to discuss pet clauses in Tenancy Agreements.

When tenants/landlords discuss “pets”, they’re typically referring to dogs and cats. Dogs are the most common pets in the UK, and if there’s any type of household pet that is capable of destroying a house, my money is on a dog. Smaller pets like fish, hamsters and rabbits aren’t usually a problem. On that basis, I’m going to focus this article with the assumption we’re all here because we want to protect our investments against dogs and cats.

Pet Clauses in Tenancy Agreements

Most good tenancy agreements will have a pet clause, but what it stipulates can vary from contract to contract. In general, they will say whether a tenant can or can’t keep pets. But even if the tenancy agreement does say NO PETS permitted, a landlord can change his/her mind with written permission.

In an event of any damage caused by pets, with or without any specific ‘pet related clauses’, the tenant will still be held liable and responsible. The landlord will still be protected if cute little Daisy decides to scratch the living crap out of your newly fitted carpets and misjudge the corner of the living room for a dumping ground. Damage is exactly that, so it doesn’t matter if it’s a tenant, their friend or their dog that cause it. The security deposit can be used to cover damages caused by pets. However, just so tenants are clear about what is expected from their pet-keeping abilities, landlords can provide a supplement Pet Clause Policy Form with the Tenancy Agreement.

If you’re a landlord that permits tenants to keep pets in your property, you may want to consider supplying a supplement pet schedule with your Tenancy Agreement.

I recently came across a website called Lets and pets that provides a neat little pet policy, which is a supplement to a Tenancy Agreement. But don’t worry, you don’t need to leave this website to get the information, because I’m going to break it down for you.

Adding a Pet Clause to a Tenancy Agreement

Here is an example of a pet policy clause which refers to the supplement pet policy:

The tenant agrees that they will abide by the pet policy as shown in Schedule 1 attached to this tenancy agreement.

On signing this tenancy agreement, the tenant will pay a deposit to cover any damage caused by their pet to the property or furnishings during the tenancy.

Now, before you randomly go adding the clause into an existing Tenancy Agreement, ensure the above clause doesn’t conflict with any other pet clause that may already exist. Moreover, just to clarify, the information provided does not constitute legal advice. You should contact a Solicitor for advice. Whilst every effort has been taken to ensure that the information provided is accurate, no responsibility is accepted for any loss arising from your reliance on the content provided including any errors and omissions :)

Pet policy schedule

Now, below is the pet policy which the clause refers to, which you can use as a supplement with your Tenancy Agreement. Some of the clauses seem odd, in the sense that they’re either O.T.T and/or unenforceable. But there’s nothing to say you can’t remove some of clauses to suit your needs.

So in theory, your Tenancy Agreement could refer to a Pet Policy, in which the pet related clauses are stipulated. Remember, the pet policy acts as a counterpart, it is NOT a replacement for a tenancy agreement.

Download Pet Policy schedule

Here’s a copy of the Pet Policy schedule Form for you to DOWNLOAD and use:
Pet Policy schedule Form

Buying a Tenancy Agreement

The above schedule can be easily used with the Tenancy Agreements available to buy from this website. All the documents available for purchase have been created by award winning Solicitors that specialise in landlord law.

As usual, if anyone has anything add, please use the comment box below. It’s good to talk.

Right, that’s all folks. Enjoy :)

Related posts:

Tenancy Application Form
Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement
Tenancy Agreement Break Clauses