Call of the month: Creating a tenancy

A member recently gave us a call looking for some general advice around creating a tenancy and how to make sure tenants know about their responsibilities from the outset.

They were a relatively new member of the NRLA and had previously used an agent, although had some knowledge about the legalities involved already, such as providing a gas safety certificate.

Their question related to the practicalities of being a landlord and engaging with tenants.

Our adviser began by saying that to start with, it’s important for landlords to reference appropriately and find a tenant that will be able to take on the property.

It is going to be no good for either party if the property is not within their means, nobody wants rent arrears to mount up.

When it comes to starting off the tenancy, many landlords like to offer their tenants a 'starter pack' or welcome letter.

This can include such things as a guide to operating the white goods that are provided (if any), the ‘house rules’ that you may set down as a landlord, notable parts of the AST such as the attached inventory or any particularly important clauses, useful local phone numbers, etc.

The NRLA provides a welcome letter template as part of its landlord starter pack page.

A landlord will also often include in this pack a number of legally required documents such as the Gas Safety Certificate, EPC, EICR, How to Rent booklet, the deposit protection prescribed information, and so on.

It may also be helpful to include a copy of the tenancy agreement if the tenant hasn’t already been given one.

In addition to this, it is often a good idea to have the tenant sign something like the NRLA’s start of tenancy checklist to create proof that this has been done, as giving these documents to the tenant is of high importance.

Starting the tenancy off by being as clear and as helpful as possible can help make sure that both parties are clear on where they stand.

It means tenants have lots of resources to help them and ensures they know what to do if, for example, a repair needs to be reported, so that the landlord can respond quickly.