To secure your chosen apartment, townhouse or penthouse, a holding deposit will be required which will vary in price depending on the rental amount of the property in question. Once it has been received, one of our LOCAL letting agents will start the administrative process of requesting relevant references from you.

References are necessary to ensure that you, as a tenant, are suitable for your chosen property and can pay the rental amount. A LOCAL letting agent may ask for proof that you have successfully rented a property before without any major problems and will ask permission to conduct relevant searches. Evidence may include a reference from previous landlords, a credit check, your bank details, and details of your employment, including your job title, payroll number, salary, and any previous employers. If they note a potential risk, you may be asked to provide a guarantor who will be contractually liable, both legally and financially, if you fail to pay rent or cause any damage to the property during your tenancy.

The inventory is an incredibly important document that can play a fundamental role in deciding how much of your deposit is returned to you once your tenancy has completed. This document should be thorough; detailing the condition of every item that comes included in your tenancy agreement. Tenants are recommended to take photographs for extra protection and will be expected to sign every page of the inventory before signing an official contract.

This is a legally binding contract between a tenant and landlord, detailing the rights of each party when letting out a property. Tenants are advised to read over it extensively and not to sign anything until they have a full understanding of the contract.

The most common form of tenancy agreement is an Assured Shorthold Tenancy. This means that most tenants sign to stay in a property for at least six months. This will include several details such as:

• Your name and your landlord’s name and the address of the property in question
• The date the property will start
•  The duration of the tenancy
• The rental amount and when/how it should be paid
• What payments the tenants are expected to pay, such as Council Tax, service charges or utilities
• What services will be provided by your landlord, including the maintenance of common areas
•  A notice period which both you and your landlord must give each other if the tenancy is to be ended

When deciding to move out, tenants must provide LOCAL with their agreed notice period. If a tenant wishes to extend the tenancy beyond its original terms, this could be discussed and potentially agreed. When moving out, tenants must thoroughly clean the property in order to secure their deposit back. This includes cleaning away rubbish, removing all personal belongings, tidying up the garden if relevant, and returning the keys to the landlord.

On your day of departure, you will have the chance to run through the inventory checklist. This is extremely important because it helps to determine if a tenant is liable for damages and whether it will affect the amount of holding deposit that is returned. If anything is damaged, costs to repair will be deducted from the deposit. However, if the condition of the property is left to a satisfactory state, the deposit will be released back to the tenant.