FEES FOR TENANTS…
Throughout the course of dealing with JCR Property Co, you will be required to pay fees at certain stages. Some of these payments are deposits, and are refundable under certain circumstances, and others are fees or costs that are not refundable. If you are uncertain about whether any payments you make are refundable or not, please ask a member of staff prior to making the payment.
Below is a comprehensive list of fees and costs payable during the process of applying to rent a property through JCR Property Co and whilst you remain a tenant of the property
Holding Deposit – Equivalent of 1 week’s rent (to show commitment whilst your application is being processed & references checked. Applications must be completed within 14 calendar days, & if your application is successful, your holding deposit will be deducted from the move-in balance (consisting of 1st month’s rent & deposit). Your holding deposit may not be refundable if you provide false or misleading information, simply withdraw your application or your application is not completed within the 14 day timescale & you have not made every effort to avoid this happening. Full details of circumstances under which the holding deposit is and is not refundable will be provided before the holding deposit is paid). FOR EXAMPLE – if the calendar monthly rent is £500.00, the holding deposit will be £115.00 (£500 monthly rent x 12 months / 52 weeks gives the weekly equivalent)
Rent – 1 month’s rent (to cover the 1st month’s rent due for the tenancy. Rent is usually payable monthly & in advance). FOR EXAMPLE – if the calendar monthly rent is £500.00, the rent payable upfront will be £500.00
Security Deposit – Ususally equivalent of 1 month’s rent (but up to 5 weeks’) (to cover damages or defaults on the part of the tenant during the course of the tenancy) FOR EXAMPLE – if the calendar monthly rent is £500.00, the deposit will usually be £500.00 but could be up to £575.00 (£500 monthly rent x 12 months / 52 weeks gives the weekly equivalent then x 5 weeks gives the maximum amount of deposit)
Unpaid Rent – Bank of England base rate plus 3% (to pursue non-payment of rent, payable from rent due date to the date rent payment is received. N.B. this charge is not levied until 14 days after the rent due date)
Lost Key or Security Device – the actual cost of replacing any lost key(s) or other security device(s). If the loss results in locks needing to be changed, the actual costs of a locksmith, and new lock and replacement keys for the tenant, landlord any other persons requiring keys will be charged to the tenant. If extra costs are incurred there will be a charge of £15 per hour (Inc. VAT) for the time taken replacing lost key(s) or other security device(s). (agents/landlords have no statutory or contractual obligation to assist with this, so tenants are responsible for making the agent/landlord whole again for any time or actual costs incurred)
Contract Variation at tenant’s request - £50.00 (Inc. VAT) (to cover the costs associated with liaising with the landlord & taking their instruction, plus preparing & executing a new legal document)
Change of Sharer at tenant’s request - £50.00 (Inc. VAT) (to cover the costs associated with liaising with the landlord, referencing the new tenant, Right to Rent checks, deposit registration and preparing & executing a new legal document)
Early Termination – Letting Agency Fee usually payable by landlord (£395.00 Inc. VAT), plus all rent due until new tenancy commences (to make the landlord whole from any costs incurred or loss of rent. Early termination is a breach of tenancy as the tenancy clearly outlines the rent the landlord will receive and the period in which you have possession of the property, and so the landlord should not incur any losses or costs. The total cost will never be more than the maximum amount of rent outstanding on the tenancy.
Upon application to commence a tenancy, the Holding Deposit will become payable and you will be required to complete the associated application forms. Then, upon successful completion of referencing, the security deposit will be payable. The holding deposit will be refunded to you by way of deducting the amount paid from the balance due for the Security Deposit. The 1st Month’s rent will become payable at the start of the tenancy term, on or before the key collection.
We are a member of The Property Ombudsman who are a redress scheme and also subscribe to The Property Ombudsman Code of Practice for Residential Letting Agents. If you are ever unhappy with something we do, you should read our in-house complaints procedure.
Since 1st April 2019, it has been a legal requirement for all Letting Agents who handle client money to be a member of a Client Money Protection scheme. JCR Property Co is a member of Propertymark Client Money Protection scheme.
It is now also a legal requirement to provide a copy of the accounting rules of our client money protection provider. The Propertymark Conduct and Membership Rules can be found here: www.propertymark.co.uk/professional-standards/rules.html#obligations.
Below is a copy of our membership certificate.
PLEASE NOTE – Fees are always advertised as Inc. VAT for transparency purposes, so you know the total cost but in the case of JCR Property Co, VAT is not charged due to not being VAT registered, as a result of the size of the business/turnover not requiring VAT registration/VAT to be charged.