FAQS
For Landlords
HOW MUCH WILL IT COST ME TO LET MY PROPERTY WITH MARY KING ESTATES?
Our service charge depends on the amount of support required by the Landlord. At Mary King Estates Ltd, we offer a free service (T&C apply), a full property management service and a guaranteed rent service. Each of these require a different degree of work on our side, and this will be reflected in our charges. Our main goal from this is to accommodate for a client's individual needs and circumstances.
HOW DO I RECEIVE MY RENTAL INCOME FROM MY LETTING AGENT?
If you choose a Rent Collect or Fully Managed service, we will organise for the tenant to pay the rent via standing order or direct debit. We will then transfer the money to your account minus commission and any outgoings or fees (such as maintenance work fees). You will receive a statement every month.
WILL MY AGENT KEEP MY MONEY SAFE?
If you have chosen a regulated agent like Mary King Estates Ltd, then your money will be protected. Not all agents are regulated, but Mary King Estates Ltd chooses to be. We are members of the PRS Property redress scheme.
CAN I ENTER MY PROPERTY DURING THE TENANCY?
You need to give the tenant appropriate notice before you enter the property.
WHAT IF THE TENANT DAMAGES THE PROPERTY?
Either the tenant pays to fix the damage, or the cost for fixing the damage is removed from the tenant's security deposit at the end of the tenancy. However, fair wear and tear should be allowed for.
WHO WILL PAY THE COUNCIL TAX?
The tenant is responsible for the council tax, unless you decide to include this in rent. This needs to be clearly stated in the tenancy agreement. If the property is standing empty, it is the landlord's responsibility to pay.
CAN YOU GUARANTEE ME A SUCCESSFUL SALE?
Enter your answer here. Be thoughtful, write clearly and concisely, and consider adding written as well as visual examples. Go over what you’ve written to make sure that if it was the first time you were visiting the site, you’d understand your answer.
WHAT HAPPENS IF I DO NOT SELL MY PROPERTY?
Should your property be on the market longer than expected, we will help you review your options and conduct a full marketing review of your property every 28 days. We look at everything such as all of your previous viewings and feedback, ways to boost your viewings and we will re-evaluate the local market including details of what is selling in the area. No sale no fee.
WOULD I GET MORE MONEY FOR MY PROPERTY WITH A HIGH STREET ESTATE AGENT?
No. We will help you achieve the best possible price. We will help with negotiations and don’t forget, we will create competition when it comes to price. We judge our success on the basis of achieving the top price for our customers in a transparent way.
MY PROPERTY IS ALREADY ON THE MARKET. CAN I USE MARY KING ESTATES?
Yes, you can still use MK. You can choose to instruct us straight away and set the date for your marketing to start as the day your current agreement comes to an end. You could also instruct us as an additional agent, subject to the terms of your existing agency agreement.
DO YOU EVER RELEASE MY PERSONAL CONTACT DETAILS OR INFORMATION?
No. We will not share any of your personal details. We do however provide your name to the opposing party when a viewing is arranged, before the viewing takes place (unless you are selling/letting and have chosen for MK to take care of your viewings. In these instances, we provide the name and number of the agent.
WHY DO I NEED AN EPC?
An energy performance certificate, or EPC, is a report detailing the energy efficiency of a property. It gives a property an energy efficiency from A (most efficient) to G (least efficient) and is valid for 10 years.
All landlords are required to purchase an EPC for a property before they let it and, from 1st April 2018, the property must have a minimum rating of E on its EPC. It will be unlawful to rent a property which breaches the requirement with a penalty of up to £4,000.
WHAT ARE MY OBLIGATIONS SURROUNDING GAS?
A Gas Safety Record (GSR) is in place to ensure that all gas appliances, pipes and flues are in safe working order. It must be carried out by a qualified Gas Safe Register engineer. This needs to be checked every 12 months.
WHAT IS RIGHT TO RENT?
The Right to Rent scheme, which helps to make sure that people renting property in the UK have a legal right to be here, was rolled out across England in February 2016. At Mary King Estates Ltd we've been doing this as part of our referencing process for many years, but if a landlord carries out their own checks they will now ned to get an acceptable proof of residency or risk a fine. If we don't currently handle tenant checks for you, we'd be very happy to discuss how we can help you with this.
WHAT IS CLIENT MONEY PROTECTION?
The Client Money Protection (CMP) Scheme provides compensation for landlords, tenants and other clients when agents misuse or misappropriate their rent, deposit or any other client funds. Mary King Estates Ltd has CMP cover through money shield.
CAN MY TENANT REFUSE AN INCREASE IN RENT?
For a periodic tenancy (rolling on a week-by-week or month-by-month basis) You can't normally increase the rent more than once a year, unless you seek the tenant's agreement. For a fixed-term tenancy (running for a set period of time) you can only increase the rent if your tenant agrees.
WHY DO I NEED AN INVENTORY?
We strongly recommend that you take the option of a professional inventory. It helps you protect your property and forms part of the contract between you and your tenant. It will detail the condition of the property when a tenant moves in and at the end of their tenancy. Vital to ensure there is no deposit disputes at the end of tenancies.
FAQS
For Tenants
WHAT CHECKS DO YOU CARRY OUT AND WHAT DOCUMENTS DO YOU REQUIRE?
Our checks are done based on our clients needs, this can vary between a simple credit check to an enhanced check including guarantor information if required. Documentation that are required are:
x2 forms of ID - Passport/drivers license/ id card
Right to rent/work
National insurance number
3 months most recent payslips or self employment documents
Proof of address
Previous landlord reference
Proof of work
Proof of address
HOW DO YOU PROTECT MY DEPOSIT?
Your deposit is protected using the DPS (Depost Protection Scheme) within 30 days of your tenancy start date after which you will receive a certificate.
HOW MUCH IS THE DEPOSIT?
The deposit is 4 or 6 weeks depending on individual properties.
HOW LONG DO REFERENCE CHECKS TAKE?
Reference checks take up to 48 hour, however you can assist us by chasing your employers or previous landlords to make this sooner.
WHAT PAYMENT METHODS DO YOU ACCEPT?
We accept bank transfer and cash. We do not accept cheques.