Renting in Brighton

Renting in Brighton is made simple through Q Estate Agents.  Once you have found your ideal Brighton property, we will require you to put down holding deposit equal to one weeks rent.  The holding deposit is payable on the day of reserving a property and signing the reservation agreement.

You will then need to be referenced by our out of house referencing agency and will have 7 days to complete your online referencing form once referencing is set up.  All tenants must meet the following criteria to pass:

Tenants

• Must have Clean Credit History
• Must have an income of or savings of 2.5 x your portion of the rent.  (Income from employment is counted as gross income i.e. before tax.  If self-employed, you must have at least one years’ worth of accounts in the form of an SA302 form from HMRC or be able to have an accountant provide a reference.  If the income is from a Pension a P60 will be required.  If savings the account must be in your name only and be an instant access account.)
• Must have positive previous Landlord Reference. (This would only be required if the tenant has previously rented privately or through a University)
• Must have Proof of funds (This would only be required if the tenant is planning to pay more than a month’s rent in advance)

Please note:

1. Employment references will need to either be permanent or for a contract length greater than the proposed tenancy term.
2. We do take working tax credits into account.
3. If you are on zero hours contract you will need to show consistent income meeting the 2.5 times requirement over the past 6 months.

If a prospective tenant fails to meet our criteria, or they are a student, they may be able to rent a property by providing a suitable guarantor who will need to meet the following criteria.

 Guarantor

• Must be a UK resident
• Must have Clean Credit History
• Must have an income of or savings of 3 x the portion of the rent you are guaranteeing.  (Income from employment is counted as gross income i.e. before tax.  If self-employed, you must have at least one years’ worth of accounts in the form of an SA302 form from HMRC or be able to have an accountant provide a reference.  If the income is from a Pension a P60 will be required.  If savings, the account must be in your name only and be an instant access account.)

Please note:

1. Employment references will need to either be permanent or for a contract length greater than the proposed tenancy term.
2. We do take working tax credits into account.
3. If you are on zero hours contract you will need to show consistent income meeting the 2.5 times requirement over the past 6 months.

After the initial 7 day period is over, you will then have a further 8 days to for all tenants and guarantors to pass the referencing before the deadline for agreement is reached.  At this point you will be expected to be in a position to sign the tenancy agreement or you risk losing your holding deposit.

Once all tenants and guarantors have passed referencing and you have signed the tenancy agreement your lead tenant will be provided with a move in statement.  All rent and deposit (less the holding deposit) will need to be paid to our client account no later than three working days before the move in date. (Natwest/Q Client Account/11524626/601030):

(All charges are inclusive of VAT)

• One month’s rent on the day you move in (less the holding deposit paid when reserving the property)
• 5 weeks rent as a deposit (unless on a high rent tenancy over £50,000pa)

Mid Tenancy Fees and Charges that may be applicable:

• Mid-tenancy change of tenant – A minimum of £50 inc VAT – The tenant may also be charged for any additional costs for works required to complete the process e.g. inspection for and preparation of a new inventory and schedule of condition.
• Variation of a Tenancy Agreement requested by the Tenant – £50 inc VAT
• Loss of key or security device £12 inc VAT  to the agency plus the cost of the replacement item.  Tenants are liable to the actual cost of replacing any lost key(s) or other security device(s). If the loss results in locks needing to be changed, the actual costs of a locksmith, new lock and replacement keys for the tenant, landlord any other persons requiring keys will be charged to the tenant.
• Early Termination of Tenancy Agreement at the Tenant’s request.  This would be subject to the landlord agreeing to the request and a date for an early surrender of the tenancy being agreed in writing.  The tenant will be liable to the landlord’s costs in re-letting the property as well as all rent due under the tenancy until the start date of the replacement tenancy. These costs will not exceed the maximum amount of rent outstanding on the tenancy
• Unpaid Rent – Interest at 3% above the Bank of England Base Rate from Rent Due Date until paid in order to pursue non-payment of rent. Please Note: This will not be levied until the rent is more than 14 days in arrears.

Our agency is a member of the NFOPP Client Money Protection Scheme and a member of the Property Ombudsman redress scheme.

Right to Rent Criteria:

In order to meet our responsibilities under the Immigration Act 2015, we must collect and hold evidence that you can legally reside in the UK.  In order for us to do this you must come to the office in person to provide either ONE document from list A or TWO documents from list B.

List A: UK Passport, EEA/Swiss National Passport/Identity Card, Registration Certificate or Document certifying permanent residence, EEA/Swiss family member permanent residence card, Biometric Residence Permit with unlimited leave, Passport endorsed with unlimited leave, UK Immigration status doc endorsed with unlimited leave, A certificate of naturalisation of registration as a British citizen.

List B: UK Birth or adoption certificate, Full or provisional driving license, A letter from HM Prison Service, A letter from a UK Government Department or Local Authority, A letter from National Offender Management service, Evidence of current of previous service in armed forces, A letter from the police force confirming that certain documents have been stolen, A letter from a private rented sector access scheme, A letter of testimony from Employer, A letter from a UK further or higher education institution, A letter of Testimony from a UK passport holder, Benefits Paperwork or Criminal Record Check.

The following list C, are documents that can be provided to show a time-limited right to rent and depending on the length of the tenancy you are applying for you may be asked to provide proof of your right to rent when the existing documents expire.

List C: A valid passport endorsed with a time limited period, Biometric Immigration document with permission to stay for a time limited period, Non EEA national residence card, UK immigration status document with a time limited endorsement from the Home Office.