Frequently Asked Questions

We employ a thorough referencing procedure for all prospective tenants (including anyone aged 18 or over who will be living in the property, irrespective of whether they will be named on the tenancy agreement) and where required guarantors. The referencing process may include….

• Photo ID and address proof
• Proof of income
• Credit check from a reputable credit referencing agency
• Landlords reference
• Employer reference

In order to reserve the property, you will be asked to pay a holding deposit which will be the equivalent of 1 weeks rent. This is non-refundable should you decide at a later date that you do not want the property or if we find that your references are unsuitable.

A security deposit is payable prior to commencement of the tenancy and will be held for the duration – currently, we are members of the Deposit Protection Service and unless we advise otherwise, this is where your deposit will be held. If we are working on behalf of the landlord on a ‘finders’ only basis, then your deposit will be passed to your landlord and they will be responsible for protecting it with their chosen scheme.

The typical amount of the security deposit is 5 weeks rent. The security deposit is used to protect the landlord against any losses incurred due to a breach of the tenancy terms. You can find more information about the circumstances in which all or part of your deposit may be withheld and timescales regarding the protection and release of your deposit within the sample terms and conditions of the tenancy here.

On the day you are due to move in we will meet you at the property at a mutually convenient time. One month’s rent in advance is payable at commencement of the tenancy; in order for us to be able to check you in and hand over the keys you must ensure that all outstanding rent is paid in advance, along with the security deposit. Please note, we do not, under any circumstances accept cheques. 

We provide one copy of keys to the property. Should you require further copies, please advise us in advance of your moving in date. We will provide you with cut copies at your expense.

We carry out an inventory on all properties prior to the moving in date both in writing and using a camcorder. At check in you will be invited to look over the written inventory and raise any amendments at the time. We will then provide you with a copy of this written inventory.

It is the tenant’s responsibility to arrange for utility supplies to the property using the provider of their choice. We request that you let us know out of courtesy in writing prior to the end of your tenancy, which providers are supplying the property.

When we are providing a full management service of your property we will contact the council to advise them of a change in tenants. This is however, out of courtesy to our landlords and is no guarantee to tenants that you will be billed accordingly. We recommend that you make contact with the council immediately to avoid delays in your bills.

Some properties may have phone lines/cable/internet. It is your responsibility to arrange connection of these services should you require them.

A tenancy agreement will be drawn up initially for a fixed period; usually 6 or 12 months. After this period, if all has gone well with your tenancy we may enter in to a further fixed term agreement with you; there may be a renewal fee payable which will be confirmed with you at the time. Alternatively we may allow the tenancy to go ‘periodic’ and roll on a month to month basis.

A tenancy agreement is a legally binding contract; you are committing to pay the rent for the fixed period agreed. For that reason, you can only bring your tenancy to an end on expiry of a fixed term and will be liable for rent for the full fixed term plus any costs incurred by us to re-let the property in the event that you choose to leave early.

A tenancy agreement is a legally binding contract. You are obliged to ensure your rent reaches us (by standing order or bank transfer) on or before your rent payment date. This date is specified in your tenancy agreement. If you would like to make payment on a different day of the month from that which you commenced the tenancy, then please bring this to our attention prior to moving in. Failure to pay your rent is a breach of your tenancy agreement and may result in court action.

We strongly advise that you arrange contents insurance to protect your belongings in the event of fire/ flood/ theft etc. It is neither Clarity Lettings, nor the landlord’s responsibility to insure your personal contents and we will not be held liable should you suffer a loss.

Should you experience any problems with the structure, fixtures or fittings of the property, or any contents provided by the landlord, please report this to us during office hours. We will then make arrangements for the problem to be assessed/repaired by an approved tradesman. Access may be required and we respectfully ask that you work with us to ensure the problem is remedied. Please do not instruct a contractor yourself and send us the invoice, as this will not be paid by us or your landlord unless we have previously agreed to do so.

If we are instructed by our contractors that the reported problem has been caused by misuse or lack of care by yourself or anyone visiting your property, then you will be liable for the cost of the repair.

By law your landlord must comply with the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 which means that a gas safety check must be conducted annually by a gas safe registered engineer on your property (if a gas supply is present). We will contact you to advise you when the renewal date is and request that you cooperate with our tradesmen on this issue.

For emergencies between 5:30pm and 7:00am please contact our out of hours number on 0114 304 9952.

With recent cold winters causing, in some cases, severe damage to properties due to burst pipes we expect all of our tenants to follow these simple instructions from October through to March:

Keep central heating systems set to a minimum of 10 degrees at all times. In sub-zero temperatures a system can freeze overnight if the heating is left off.

If you are staying away from the property for one night or longer then in addition to the above, please ensure that the stop tap to your property is turned off. This will minimise any damage caused by flood should a pipe burst.

Should you fail to comply with the above instructions and a flood occurs at the property then you will be held liable for any repair work.

Tenants are required to behave in a ‘tenant like manner’ which in short means that they are expected to carry out some maintenance of the property. It has been established to include such things as changing light bulbs, bleeding radiators, unblocking sinks, drains and gutters, cutting lawns, maintaining gardens and keeping the property free from pests such as fleas, ants, wasps etc.

At the end of your tenancy we will conduct a check out report on or after the day that you vacate. You will be invited to attend at a mutually convenient time. At this stage we will check over the property in reference to the inventory and will discuss with you deductions (if any) that need to be made from the security deposit. As your deposit will be protected within a government scheme it is open for both parties to use their adjudication service should an agreement not be reached.

All keys (and copies) to the property must be handed back at this time.