Student Holmes has different types of agreements with our landlords. These various types of agreement may make a difference to who you make your rent payments to, who you report maintenance to, and who holds and registers your security deposit.
All of these details will be available for you to review on your holding deposit document, and also within your contract; and may explain why your draft AST agreement may differ from that of a friend who has also reserved a property with us!
Although agreements may vary, here is a rough guide on what you can expect for each tenancy type:
Fully Managed
If you sign a tenancy agreement that means your tenancy is Fully Managed, this would mean that your sole correspondent throughout the tenancy would be Adams Estates/Student Holmes.
The landlord has asked us to act on their behalf in all aspects of the tenancy, including:
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Security deposit will be held by us and registered by us. We will also be responsible for sending you your prescribed information and sending you a copy of your deposit protection certificate for your lead tenant to sign.
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Rent collection. The account details for your rent payments will be in your tenancy agreement.
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Maintenance issues. You would report maintenance to us, and we would speak to your landlord on your behalf to get them resolved. Usually, the contractors to carry out repairs would be booked via us, using our trusted tradesman, or a tradesman of your landlords’ choice.
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Routine property inspections.
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Any queries or issues that you have would need to be discussed via us.
This also means that we would not be permitted to give you the landlords personal contact details, such as their telephone number and email address; as this would be a breach of our contract with the landlord. All correspondence regarding your tenancy would be via Adams Estates/Student Holmes.
If you are signing up to a fully managed property, you should expect the following:
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You would be asked to pay the balance of your security deposit before your contract signing.
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Your first rent payment would be due shortly before your tenancy start date (see page 2 of your draft for details).
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At your signing, you would be asked to complete a joint tenancy form, naming your lead tenant, your prescribed information, and also your deposit protection certificate.
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Upon the signing being completed you will be sent confirmation that your tenancy is secure, but not your landlords contact details. You should contact your contracts advisor should you have any questions.
Let Only
For Let Only contracts, we would only be responsible for finding tenants for the landlord, and conducting the application process and contract signing on behalf of the landlord.
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Security deposit will be held by and registered by your landlord. They will also be responsible for sending you your prescribed information and sending you a copy of your deposit protection certificate for your lead tenant to sign.
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Your rent would be paid to your landlord directly. Your landlord would provide you with the bank details for your payments.
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Maintenance would need to be reported to your landlord or their property manager. Your landlord would provide you with the full details directly following your signing, when your tenancy begins.
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All aspects of your tenancy should be discussed with your landlord directly. If you were to contact us, the most that we could do to help you is forward your correspondence to your landlord.
Upon your tenancy file being fully completed, we would email you the landlords contact details before your tenancy begins, and your application forms, guarantor agreements and tenancy agreement will be sent to the landlord. From then on, your landlord would be your sole contact regarding your tenancy and any questions you may have.
If you are signing up to a Let Only property, you should expect the following:
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You would be asked to pay the balance of your first months’ rent before your contract signing.
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Your security deposit payment would be due shortly before your tenancy start date, and would need to be paid to your landlord directly. Your landlord will give you the payment details closer to your tenancy start date.
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After your security deposit has been paid to your landlord as they instruct, your landlord would be responsible for registering your security deposit, issuing you with your prescribed information and deposit protection certificate.
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Upon the signing being completed you will be sent confirmation that your tenancy is secure, and be sent your landlords contact details.
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Your landlord will let you know their procedure for reporting maintenance.
Rent Collection &/Or Maintenance Only
Sometimes there will be slight variations on the two main types mentioned previously. The landlord may wish to handle rent collection, and/or deposit protection responsibilities themselves, but not have access to a team to conduct their maintenance, or vice versa, or any other combination. All details of any special agreements with your landlord would be detailed within the contract.
Whichever agreement type you are asked to sign, your rights as tenants are not affected. For example, we are all bound by the same rules and guidelines with regards to your deposit protection, and we are all dedicated to making your experience as a tenant with us as enjoyable as possible.
