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A Tenant’s guide to renting a property

Table of Contents

A Tenant's guide to renting a property
K&G Lettings Limited guide to renting a property

The Tenant’s Guide has been created by K&G Lettings Limited to provide tenants – existing and new – with information about letting a property. It has been divided into sections which are designed to help you decide what is of interest to you. Within the sections are summaries of articles which have been written by K&G Lettings Limited for their tenants. If the summary interests you and you would like to learn more, click the read more link to access the full article.

If you have any suggestions for articles which you would like included in this guide, please contact us.

1. Before Renting a property

Articles in this section of the Tenant’s guide are designed to help you decide on the type of property which best suits your needs; provide you with information on the costs of running the property; and to provides you with information around the documents associated with renting a property.

Defining your housing requirements

This article aims to help tenants to determine their housing requirements.  It is important tenants choose a property which meets their needs and is within their budget.  This is increasingly important in turbulent economic times and will ensure tenants do not over extend themselves.  As landlords and letting agents K&G Lettings Limited often deal with tenants who have over extended themselves and then had to downsize to a more affordable property.  This creates extra expense and stress that can be avoided with a little extra planning and careful consideration of their housing requirements….Read More

Where to find property

You can find a list of property managed by K&G Lettings Limited by clicking on ‘Property To Let’ in the menu at the top of the page, or by clicking Property to Let

Energy Performance Certificate

This article focuses on one of the key documents when letting a property – the energy performance certificate….Read More

What is a Guarantor?

Often when renting a property a tenant will be asked to provide a Guarantor; Landlords and Letting agents often look more favourably on prospective tenants who have a Guarantor. This article provides information, including: what a guarantor is; what it means to be a Guarantor; and why lettings agents and landlords require guarantors.

A standing order mandate

This article focuses on explaining one of the key documents when letting a property, the Standing Order Mandate

How to determine the council tax band of a property

One of the most frequent questions we are asked as landlords is the council tax band of the property being let. Due to the frequency this question is asked we thought it would be useful to write a short guide for tenants.  This will allow any prospective tenant to check the council tax of the property

Arranging contents insurance

Tenants are responsible for ensuring the contents of a rental property are insured against loss. K&G Lettings Limited have partnered with one of the leading insurance companies in the UK – Endsleigh – to offer tenants quality and cost-effective Contents Insurance. This allows K&G Lettings Limited to continue to take the hassle out of renting a property in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire and South Wales…Get a Free Quote

An Assured Shorthold Tenancy

This article is designed to give tenants looking to rent a property, information on the most important documents issued and signed by both tenant and landlord – the Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST). Many tenants sign an AST without understanding what the document contains and what conditions they will be required to fulfil as a result. This guide although not exhaustive due to the marked differences between ASTs, aims to provide sufficient guidance to ensure the tenant understands the types of conditions that are contained within a typical AST… Read More

What is an inventory

An inventory – also known as a schedule of condition – is a key document when renting a property and should be provided by the Landlord at the start of the tenancy. The inventory is a vital document should there be a dispute over the deposit, as it lists the items that the Landlord has provided as part of the let.

What is a Tenancy Deposit

This article is designed to give tenants looking to rent a property key information on various aspects of letting; this article deals with the Tenancy Deposit, explaining: what it is; what happens at the end of a tenancy; and when money can be deducted from it…. Read More

2. When renting a property

Articles in this section of the Tenant’s guide are designed to help you with renting a property, providing you with the key information you need as a Tenant.

A Tenant’s responsibilities when letting a property & Tenants responsibilities matrix

A tenant’s responsibilities when lettings a property outlines some of the responsibilities of being a tenant.  At K&G Lettings Limited, we are often asked by tenants what their responsibilities are.  This document is based on these questions and aims to outline what a tenant should expect to be responsible for once they have commenced an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST)….Read More

A tenant’s responsibilities matrix outlines the responsibilities of the tenant and the landlord in a matrix form, for ease of reference, and to compliment the more detailed article A tenant’s responsibilities when letting a property.  The document attempts to include most responsibilities but, it is inevitable it will not be exhaustive.

Preparing your Property in Summer

Summer is an ideal time to check you property to ensure that it continues to be maintained to a high standard – this article gives you tips on what to do.

Preparing your Property for Winter

Winter is rapidly approaching and along with it comes certain hazards for you and your home.  To ensure you continue to have a hassle free letting we have prepared some advice and checks that we recommend you undertake.  These should ensure that you get through winter without any problems and continue to enjoy your home.

Emergency Procedures

This document provides a guide for tenants to help to resolve emergencies.  The document covers utilities of water, gas and electric.  If you do not find the information required.

What to do if a pipe bursts or leaks?

A burst or leaking pipe can result in extensive damage to both a property and the belongings contained within it.  This short article aims to provide you with the information needed to minimise the effect of a burst or leaking pipe.

Stopping condensation and mould

Tenants can complain of damp problems in a rental property.  Often, if the property has adequate heating, ventilation and damp proofing the problem can be one of condensation.  This article gives a tenant some helpful tips in order to stop condensation and mould formation. Read More…

Tenant Safety Tips

We are always trying to help our tenants and offer a hassle free service. To help our tenants, we are created some top tips for the safety and security of your person and your home.

Saving money on utility bills

any people are paying more than they need to for their gas and electricity bills. This article will focus on helping tenants to get the best value gas and electricity bills.  It forms part of a series of articles designed to provide information for people who rent property.

Energy saving grants

Increasing the energy efficiency of your home means you use less energy to heat your home to the same temperature.  As you use less energy, you pay for less energy, leading to lower energy bills.  All homes can benefit from improved energy efficiency through improved insulation or more energy efficient appliances.

Energy efficiency and the impact on the environment has recently become headline news.  As a result, a range of grants are available for private tenants to improve the energy efficiency of their homes.  These grants mean that energy improvements can be made for zero or at very low cost.  This article will outline how private tenants in Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire can receive these grants…. Read More

Decorating a rental property

At K&G Lettings Limited, we are often asked by tenants whether they can decorate the property they are renting. The answer is Yes, but only with the written permission of the landlord and, only if the decoration is undertaken to the required standard. If the tenant does not get the written permission of the landlord they could be held responsible for returning the property to its previous décor. This can be expensive if professional decorators are used….Read More

A Tenant’s guide: Painting Tips and Instructions

This article is designed to give provide hints and tips for tenants that intend to decorate a property.

Arranging contents insurance

Tenants are responsible for ensuring the contents of a rental property are insured against loss. K&G Lettings Limited have partnered with one of the leading insurance companies in the UK – Endsleigh – to offer tenants quality and cost-effective Contents Insurance. This allows K&G Lettings Limited to continue to take the hassle out of renting a property in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire and South Wales…Get a Free Quote

Section 21 Notice

A Section 21 notice allows the Landlord to end an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) without giving a reason such as the breach of a term of the tenancy agreement. Section 21 relates to the part of The Housing Act 1988 which states that a minimum of two months notice must be served on a tenant before a Landlord can gain possession of a property. In 1996 the Housing Act was amended to include the requirement that the minimum two months notice must be served in writing

Section 8 Notice

A Section 8 notice is used to serve notice of the intent to seek possession of a property as a tenant has breached the terms of their tenancy.  A Section 8 notice is often termed the fault based possession notice and can be used for both Assured and Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) agreements.  If the landlord wants to gain possession of the property at the end of the tenancy agreement, a Section 21 notice should be served rather than a Section 8

How to end your tenancy agreement

At K&G Lettings Limited many of our tenants rent our properties for several years – see our testimonials.  However, at times,  tenants ask us to end their tenancy.  This article has been created to give the tenant the information they need to end their tenancy.

What to do when your tenancy ends

K&G lettings Limited are often asked by tenants what happens at the end of the fixed term of their tenancy agreement.  This article is designed to answer this question for current and future tenants, with the aim of providing a hassle free service for our tenants.

When renting a property a from K&G Lettings Limited, a tenant signs an Assured Shorthold tenancy agreement.  This tenancy agreement lasts for a fixed term (usually 6 or 12 months) and then reverts to a monthly periodic tenancy.

3. After Renting a property

Articles in this section of the Tenant’s guide are designed to help you make a smooth transition from one of our rental properties to your new accommodation.

What to do when your tenancy ends

K&G lettings Limited are often asked by tenants what happens at the end of the fixed term of their tenancy agreement.  This article is designed to answer this question for current and future tenants, with the aim of providing a hassle free service for our tenants.

When renting a property a from K&G Lettings Limited, a tenant signs an Assured Shorthold tenancy agreement.  This tenancy agreement lasts for a fixed term (usually 6 or 12 months) and then reverts to a monthly periodic tenancy..