Steps and procedures for undertaking a Tenancy through Rickman Properties:

Once agreement has been reached by the tenant and landlord to rent a particular property through Rickman Properties, we normally request a financial deposit of intent which would enable us to secure the property for you, subject to satisfactory references and contract; this is purely due to the high demand for rental accommodation.

References
We use Maras to carry out our reference and credit searches. A fee of £35 per adult is applicable at point of application for a specific property. This application requires details and references including:

• Bank/Financial/Accountant
• Employers
• Previous Landlord
• Personal
• Guarantor (if required)

Monies
Prior to the commencement of your tenancy, we must have received cleared funds to cover the following:

• First months/quarters rent payable in advance
  (Thereafter by standing order to Rickman Properties – unless otherwise instructed).
• Security deposit - equivalent to six weeks rent held by Rickman Properties as stakeholders.
• Administration charge £130 + VAT (including legal documentation). There is an additional charge if the Tenancy is renewed or extended beyond the initial period for the necessary legal paperwork in the sum of £85.00 + VAT at the prevailing rate.

Bonded
We are members of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) http://www.naea.com/ , The Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) http://www.arla.com/  and The Ombudsman Scheme http://www.ombudsman.com/  which are governed by their professional code of business practice. This ensures that all monies held in Rickman Properties are fully protected. Rickman are also members of the Government backed Tenants Deposit Scheme (TDS) where all assured shorthold Tenancies deposit disputes are covered by arbitration. (Further information at http://www.thedisputeservice.co.uk/

Additional Costs
All occupants of the rental property will be liable for payment of all local council tax, electric and gas service, water rates, telephone services and T.V licence (where applicable) throughout the duration of the tenancy together with the monthly rental, unless otherwise instructed. Relevant service providers will be informed of new occupants by Rickman Properties, with the exception of telephone & broadband services.

Inventory
On the day of commencement, we arrange on behalf of both tenant and landlord for an independent inventory clerk (unless otherwise instructed) to carry out an inspection of the premises stating the contents and condition of the property. The same process is also carried out at the termination of the tenancy. As an inventory “check in” and “check out” are extremely important to both parties, the cost of the "check in" is borne by the landlord and the "check out" cost by you, the Tenant. The cost for the compilation of the original inventory is borne by the landlord.

We hope that this information is of use to you, but feel free to contact us where a member of our staff is always on hand to help with any particular query.