Checklist for Renting a Home from Winkworth

Market Research - If you’ve decided on your preferred location, do some market research and gauge the sort of prices and quality of property on offer. Knowing what you should be getting for your money means you’ll be in a better position to haggle (see point 3) should you need to.

Agent fees
Estate agents manage a huge share of the rental market – again, shop around and establish what kind of fees are being charged by agents. Most will need to run credit checks as part of the contractual process – find out how much they charge for this, on top of their own administration fees.

Haggle
Where there are price fluctuations in a market, there’s an opportunity ripe for a haggle. If you’ve done your market research you should be well equipped to drive a hard bargain that is relevant and representative of the market you’re looking at.

Deposit
Establish how much the deposit is going to be – the standard tends to be one month to six weeks rent up front, but this can vary widely, it’s best to know in advance so you can either negotiate or save in preparation.

Rent
Whilst negotiating make sure you establish what is included in the monthly rent and what additional costs are going to be incurred – you should be able to work out how much these additional costs are going to be by requesting copies of old utility bills etc.

Contract
The standard tenancy agreement should detail all the terms and conditions with regard to the rental – tenants need to check these carefully. There should be standards set in the document with regard to deposit refund when the agreement comes to an end.

Inventory
All rental properties should come with an inventory checklist that is provided at the very beginning of occupation – this should detail the condition of the property, as well as all the fixtures, fittings and furniture that are provided. It is essential that tenants check thoroughly and edit accordingly, as this document will be updated at the end of the tenancy and play an important part in the deposit refund process.