London s largest lettings-only agency Lettings and Property Management www.blackkatz.com
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CONTENTS 05 Landlords 07 Don t Just Take Our Word For It 08 Letting Only Service Letting And Property Management 09 Administration 10 Why Our Landlords Choose Property Management 11 Property Management 12 Protecting Your Deposit 13 Landlords Obligations 14 Notes And General Terms BL ACK KATZ LET TINGS AND PROPERTY MANAGEMENT 03
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L ANDLORDS Our aim is to provide you with a stress free service. To let your property quickly and efficiently as soon as we have been instructed. We are the largest... We are London s largest lettings-only agency. We have been established for over 20 years. We employ 60 people located in 7 offices in Camden, Clapham, Crouch End, Hammersmith, Islington, London Bridge and West Hampstead. The size and success of our service results in us letting a property every 50 minutes. Which on an annual basis is 3000 plus properties let to approximately 6000 tenants, generating a rental income in excess of 45 million per annum for our Landlords. We are very experienced... This is simply because we specialise in Residential Lettings Only no sales, commercial, etc, just 100% lettings. Our teams are exclusively dedicated and have a huge local market knowledge providing a quick and efficient letting service. Unique marketing... We use an intensive marketing approach to show your property to all suitable tenants from your local office and if necessary we also market the property using all our negotiators throughout the entire group, each with their own portfolio of tenants. Only the Black Katz group are in a position to be able to do this for you. In addition we offer free valuations, photos, free coverage on our website and other leading websites such as Prime Location, Right Move, Zoopla, Loot.com and many more. BL ACK KATZ LET TINGS AND PROPERTY MANAGEMENT 05
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DON T JUST TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT We have found letting our flats through Black Katz to be extremely efficient. We have never had a bad experience with Black Katz on any level and find them very approachable and responsive. R / Z Heller Friendly, efficient team who know their Landlords and local areas inside out P. Chapman I have always used Black Katz and have had an excellent service and prompt re lettings. They are very reliable, competitive, up-to-date with legal issues and punctual with payments. M. Poole We have used Black Katz continuously over the last eight years for tenant finding and management of our properties and would have no hesitation in recommending their services. B Parsons During the 12 years that I have used Black Katz they have provided me with a fast and efficient service. L. Glancy Black Katz have been finding me tenants for six years now and every tenant has been fantastic. V. Healy The top letting agent in London fast, efficient and caring M. Leatherby Flexible speedy service and quality tenants C.Severs BL ACK KATZ LET TINGS AND PROPERTY MANAGEMENT 07
LET TING ONLY SERVICE Rental valuation. Marketing of property. All viewings accompanied by a Black Katz negotiator. Negotiation of terms between prospective tenant(s) and yourself. A Landlord and tenant meeting can be arranged by request. References taken-up (including a financial reference),checked and sent to you for approval. Each office has a full time administrator dedicated solely to processing every tenancy. Contracts prepared. Monies collected, including deposit. Statements prepared and submitted with monies. Our fees for the Lettings Only Service are 10% plus vat of the monies receivable for the period of the agreement plus vat plus a contract fee. A renewal fee is chargeable at a discounted rate of 20% of your letting fee (subject to our terms and conditions). LETTING & PROPERTY MANAGEMENT ALL THE ABOVE + Tenant check-in. Rent collection. Payment of any outgoings. Dealing with maintenance and repairs. Emergency repairs. Liaising with the tenant and dealing with their enquires. Tenant check-out. Our fees for Property Management are 5% plus vat, in addition to the Letting Only Service. There is a surcharge of 1% plus vat payable by overseas landlords due to the additional time and costs involved. BL ACK KATZ LET TINGS AND PROPERTY MANAGEMENT 08
PERSONAL ADMINISTR ATORS CHASING EVERY LIT TLE DETAIL Each office has it s own personal administrator to provide a one to one personal service to ensuring that the move in runs smoothly and efficiently. Once we have let your property a full reference check is done on every tenant. References include employment, financial, previous landlord, character and guarantor agreement where necessary. We prepare contracts using Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreements / Common Law Agreements which are updated every year with all new legislation. We collect 6 weeks deposit and the first month s rent in advance. In view of the Governments tenancy deposit legislation effective on the 6th April 2007, Black Katz will guide you through the procedure of joining a scheme to ensure you meet your legal requirements. We can organise inventories, cleaners, gas safe certificates, and additional services ensuring the move in for all parties is a smooth and pleasant one. We are members of The National Approved Letting Scheme, The Property Ombudsman and SAFE AGENTS accreditation schemes for letting and management agents. This offers peace of mind to Landlords and Tenants in knowing that they are dealing with a firm which agrees to meet defined standards. Black Katz prides itself on treating each of its Landlords as individuals and not as a number. BL ACK KATZ LET TINGS AND PROPERTY MANAGEMENT 09
WHY OUR L ANDLORDS CHOOSE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT They want to save time and effort, reduce headache and hassle Dealing with all the Tenants enquiries, general repairs and emergency repairs- not just Monday to Friday but also at weekends. Chasing and collecting rent - we collect rent over 7 million per annum. Ensuring legal requirements are met from obtaining Gas Safe Certificates to the serving of section 21 notices to help ensure tenants vacate when they should, helping to give Landlords plenty of time to find new tenants to minimise void periods. Organising ingoing and outgoing inventories and making recommendations for deductions from the deposit at the end of tenancy. BL ACK KATZ LET TINGS AND PROPERTY MANAGEMENT 10
PROPERTY MANAGEMENT DEDICATED P ORTFOLIO MANAGER FOR YOUR PROP ERTY Portfolio Manager - dealing with move-ins, maintenance, renewals, move-outs. Moving In Process: Full Referencing Obtaining references. Drawing up contracts. Tenant(s) check-in with full inventory report. Key holding service. We can hold and register deposits with My Deposits.com. Maintenance: Cost Effective Our property management department has a large portfolio of experienced trustworthy contractors. Ensuring landlords are notified of repairs and costs involved before works are carried out, working to keep both landlords and tenants happy. An emergency telephone line open for both landlords and tenants over the weekend period for emergency repairs (i.e leaks, boiler breakdowns, break in, loss of power, etc). We use the same contractors for both general and emergency repairs so no over the top charges for out of hour repairs. Organising Gas Safety Inspections and Energy Performance Certificates. Renewal of Contracts: Avoiding Voids Serving Section 21 Notices within appropriate time frame. Full negotiation of new terms and rent increases, Always striving to get you the best deal. Organising renewal contracts. Inspection of the Property We will carry out an inspection on your property midway through the tenancy at no extra cost. This will be a visual inspection and we will report back any damages with recommendations. End of Tenancy: Helping to Protect your Property Full detailed check-out report at the end of the tenancy which is based on and compared to the original check-in report. The check-out process includes the meeting of the tenant(s) at the property, ensuring meter readings are read correctly, collecting all keys and leaving the property secure. Advising the landlord on justifiable deposit deductions. Informing tenant(s) clearly of any justifiable deductions to be made from the deposit and the final amount due back to them to minimise disputes. Return of deposit. Finance Director - All financial matters will be handled by the full time Finance Director, who is supported by our great new CFP software. Rent Collection: Prompt & Pro-active Where Necessary Prompt payments to landlords. Provide monthly statements with full details of income and any expenditure. Chasing tenants late rents by telephone and a series of formal rent demands sent electronically and by post. Working closely with external legal teams if required. Our fees for Property Management are 5% plus vat, in addition to the Letting Only Service. There is a surcharge of 1% plus vat payable by overseas landlords due to the additional time and costs involved. BL ACK KATZ LET TINGS AND PROPERTY MANAGEMENT 11
PROTECTING YOUR DEPOSIT Every private Landlord in England and Wales letting private residential property is by law required to join one of three government authorised tenancy deposit protection schemes if: The start date of the Tenancy is af ter 6 April 2007 (existing tenancies prior to this date will not be affected by this legislation), the Tenancy is let under an Assured Short Hold tenancy agreement. Once you have received the deposit you must join one of the schemes within 30 days and give your tenants the details of the scheme that you have joined within the 30 days. As we do not hold deposits (except for Property Management Landlords) we would advise you, our Landlord to look into the schemes that are on offer. If you have any problems with this procedure just contact the office that you have been dealing with and they will guide you through the whole process step by step. The Deposit Protection Service (The DPS) Custodial and Insured Deposit Protection Scheme The custodial deposit protection scheme is free to use and open to all Landlords and Letting Agents. The service is funded entirely from the interest earned from deposits held. The Insured deposit protection scheme has no registration or annual renewal fee but charges from 15.00 per deposit registered. The Landlord retains the deposit and protection will be provided to the tenant(s) for the duration of the tenancy. Landlords and Letting Agents are able to register and make transactions on line. Paper forms are available should internet access be an issue. The scheme is supported by a dedicated call centre and an independent dispute resolution service. For more information, visit www.depositprotection.com or call 0844 4727 000. MyDeposits This insurance-based tenancy deposit protection scheme enables Landlords to hold deposits. The fee for joining this scheme is 14.40 and then from 24.00 per deposit registered. The protection covers the duration of the tenancy and if the tenant(s) continue into a Statutory Periodic Tenancy then you need to inform MyDeposits. A new protection fee is payable at the start of each new fixed term AST agreement. For more information, visit www.mydeposits.co.uk or call 0844 980 0290. For more information, visit www.tds.gd.com or call 0845 226 7837. *If you are a landlord that lives overseas you have to join the custodial deposit protection scheme. If a deposit is not protected, the Landlord will be breaking the law. The Landlord will be unable to regain possession of the property using notice-only grounds for possession under the Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988. The Tenant can apply for a court order requiring the deposit to be protected, or for the prescribed information to be given to them. If the court is satisfied that the Landlord has failed to comply with these requirements, or is not satisfied that the deposit is being held in accordance with an authorized scheme, the court must either: 01.Order the Landlord to repay the deposit within 14 days of the issuing of the court order, or 02.Order the Landlord to pay the deposit into the designated account held by the custodial scheme administrator. The court may also order the Landlord to pay to the Tenant (or person who paid the deposit on his / her behalf) an amount equivalent to three times the deposit amount within 14 days of the making of the order. The Dispute Service (TDS) This is an insurance-backed deposit protection and dispute resolution scheme which has been established since 2003 to provide dispute resolution and complaints handling for the lettings industry. The scheme enables letting agents and landlords to hold their deposits. There is no fee for joining this scheme and costs 21.95 per deposit registered. BL ACK KATZ LET TINGS AND PROPERTY MANAGEMENT 12
A L ANDLORDS OBLIGATION Provide an ENERGY PERFORMANCE CERTIFICATE. (EPC) All rental properties with a new tenancy in England and Wales are required to have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). Provide an annual Gas Safe Certificate The legislation in place relating to the installation and maintenance of gas appliances (Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998) demands that all Landlords must ensure that any gas appliances within their rental property are inspected and passed annually by a Gas Safe qualified engineer. Ensuring all electrical appliances are safe The Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994 governs the safety requirements of electrical appliances. As a result Landlords have a duty of care to ensure that the electrical appliances that they provide are safe to use. This regulation relates to both new and second hand goods; however, there is no mandatory checking period. Ensuring that the furniture and furnishings within the property meet the fire safety standards Under the Furniture and Furnishings Regulations 1993 the landlord is responsible for ensuring that all upholstered furniture and furnishing is fire resistant (match and cigarette test) and carry the manufacturers label stating that they are fire resistant. Maintenance The landlord it required to keep the structure and exterior of the dwelling, the installations for the supply of water, gas, electricity and the installations in the property for space heating and heating water in good repair and proper working order, in line with the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 Section 11. Protect the tenants deposit Every private Landlord in England and Wales letting private residential property is by law required to join one of three government authorised tenancy deposit protection schemes if: The start date of the Tenancy is after 6 April 2007 (existing tenancies prior to this date are not affected by this legislation), the Tenancy is let under an Assured Shorthold tenancy agreement. Once you have received the deposit you must join one of the schemes within 30 days and give your tenants the details of the scheme that you have joined within that 30 days period. As we do not hold deposits (except for Property Management Landlords) we would advise you to look into various schemes that are on offer. The Deposit Protection Service (The DPS) For more information, visit www.depositprotection.com or call 0844 4727 000. MyDeposits For further information visit www.mydeposits.co.uk or call 0844 980 0290. The Dispute Service (TDS) For more information, visit www.thedisputesevice.co.uk or call 0845 226 7837. *If you are a Landlord that lives overseas you have to join the custodial deposit protection service. BL ACK KATZ LET TINGS AND PROPERTY MANAGEMENT 13
NOTES AND GENER AL TERMS 01. RENT Unless you notify us to the contrary, the rent quoted on your behalf will be inclusive of all out goings for which you are responsible (e.g ground rent, service charges), except for telephone, gas, electricity, water rates and council tax. 02. AGREEMENTS We use our standard forms of agreements. You may wish to check with your solicitor that these are entirely appropriate to your particular circumstances. 03. LEASEHOLDS (Managed Properties Only) In the event of you being the Leaseholder and us paying contributions on your behalf we will be entitled to accept and pay without question demands on account from your Freeholder that appear to us to be in order. We cannot accept responsibility for the adequacy of any insurance cover or the verification of demands accountant or estimate. 04. MORTGAGES If your property is mortgaged, you will require your mortgagee s consent. 05. INSURANCE You should ensure that you are covered in the case of lettings. 06. GAS REGUL ATIONS Under the Gas Regulations 1994 the landlord is responsible for the safety, checking and maintenance of all gas appliances a least every 12 months - keeping a service record and using only Gas Safe registered companies. We can supply further details if requested. 07. EPC Under The Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2011, you will need to supply us with a copy of an EPC certificate for your property or confirm that an EPC certificate has been commissioned before we can market your property. 08. FURNITURE AND FURNISHING REGUL ATIONS Under the Furniture and Furnishings Regulations 1993 the landlord is responsible for ensuring that all upholstered furniture and furnishing is fire resistant (match and cigarette test) and carry the manufacturers label stating that they are fire resistant. We can supply further details if requested. 09. GUARANTEES (Managed Properties Only) You will need to supply us with copies of all guarantees relating to the property e.g. domestic appliances, boilers etc. 10. DUR ATION (Managed Properties Only) This appointment will remain in force until terminated by service of three months notice by one party or the other. This appointment maybe terminated by ourselves forthwith and without service of notice in the event of any breach by you of the express terms hereof or in the event of any act or commission on your part which makes impracticable the further performance of our services hereunder. 11. TAXES: NON-RESIDENT L ANDLORDS (NRL) SCHEME The NRL scheme applies to payments of rental income made on or after 6th April 1996 and in highly recommended and used by virtually all our oversea landlords. Landlords who are residents abroad and wish to receive their rental income with no tax deducted can apply to the Inland Revenue Financial Intermediaries and Claims Office (FICO) for approval - we can supply the appropriate Inland Revenue form and further details. Where the Landlord has either not applied or not been approved by FICO, the managing agent under section 42a of the Income & Corporation taxes Act 1988 is obliged to retain an amount from the rent sufficient to pay the tax. 12. LIABILITY We shall use our commercial judgment as to the terms of any agreement entered into on your behalf and shall use our best endeavours to ensure that, where appropriate to your circumstances, such provisions as are legally permissible and as are agreed with the occupiers, are inserted to facilitate your regaining possession but we shall not, under any circumstances, be liable to you in the event of a protected tenancy being created (whether intended or not) or in the event of any difficulties arising in your recovering arrears or possession of the property or in any way whatsoever relating to our appointment hereunder. 13. INDEMNITY (Managed Properties Only) The owner will at times indemnity us and keep us indemnified against all actions, proceeding, claims and demands, costs, damages and expenses which may be levied, brought or made against us by whom ever or which we may pay, sustain or incur by reason of any non-payment by the owner of the mortgage instalments, or other outgoings in respect of the property. 14. PROOF OF OWNERSHIP By law we are required to get some form of Proof of Ownership i.e loans / mortgage statement or letter, letter from the solicitor, service charge statement or land registry details this does not have to show any of your personal financial details, just confirm that the property is privately owned by yourself. It is largely to prevent agents from letting out Council or Housing Association property. BL ACK KATZ LET TINGS AND PROPERTY MANAGEMENT 14
BL ACK KATZ LOCAL OFFICES & AREAS WE COVER CAMDEN / WEST END 69 Parkway, London, NW1 7PP Tel: 020 7284 3111 Baker Street Bayswater Belsize Park Bloomsbury Camden Fitzrovia Kentish Town Hampstead Holloway Ladbroke Grove Maida Vale Marylebone Notting Hill St Johns Wood Tufnell Park CL APHAM 78 Borough High Street, London, SE1 1LL Tel: 020 7378 0700 Balham Battersea Brixton Camberwell Clapham Denmark Hill Earlsfield East Dulwich Herne Hill Oval Pimlico Stockwell Streatham Tulse Hill Vauxhall Wandsworth Westminster CROUCH END 1 Topsfield Parade, Middle Lane, London, N8 8PR Tel: 020 8347 3335 Alexandra Park Arnos Grove Bounds Green Crouch End East Finchley Haringey Highgate Finchley Friern Barnet Muswell Hill New Southgate Palmers Green Southgate Turnpike Lane Wood Green Woodside Park ISLINGTON / EAST 22 Baron Street, London, N1 9ES Tel: 020 7713 7337 Angel Archway Bethnal Green Finsbury Park Hackney Highbury Holloway Islington Kings Cross Manor House Mile End Russell Square Spitalfields Stoke Newington LONDON BRIDGE 78 Borough High Street, London, SE1 1LL Tel: 020 7403 5010 Aldgate Bermondsey Blackfriars Borough Canada Water Canary Wharf Elephant & Castle Kennington Lambeth North Liverpool Street London Bridge Shad Thames Surrey Quays Moorgate Peckham Tower Hill Waterloo WEST HAMPSTEAD / HAMMERSMITH 199B West End Lane, London, NW6 2LJ Tel: 020 7328 5000 Belsize Park Dollis Hill East Finchley Finchley Central Finchley Road Golders Green Hampstead Harlesden Hendon Kensal Green Kilburn Ladbroke Grove Maida Vale Queens Park Swiss Cottage Willesden Green West Hampstead BL ACK KATZ PROPERTY MANAGEMENT 69 Parkway, London, NW1 7PP Tel: 020 7428 9494