FAQ for Landlords | Squarefoot Estate Agents
02920 990088 02920 371897 contact@squarefootagents.co.uk

FAQ for Landlords

Q. I have a property to let, do I need permission?

If you are thinking about letting your property and becoming a landlord you will need to obtain permission from your mortgage lender (if applicable) and the freeholder (if your property is leasehold) prior to agreeing any contracts. A mortgage lender or freeholder might impose conditions prior to giving you permission to let your property.  You should always comply with the conditions of your mortgage or leasehold for property letting because in the worst case you could face repossession. You will also need to check your insurance policy to check that your insurance companies’ buildings insurance is valid for rental property.

Q. If I let out a property, do I have to provide the tenant with any furniture? I have an old three piece suite. Can I put this in the property?

There is no obligation to provide the tenant with furniture. You can let a property furnished, partly or unfurnished.  You must also be careful that any furniture in the property complies with the latest fire regulations. Only furniture which is properly labelled as compliant with the latest legislation should be provided to the tenant.

Q. Can I enter the property to inspect the state of repair and how the tenant is looking after it?

This will depend on the terms of the tenancy agreement. Squarefoot tenancy agreements allow the landlord to inspect on giving 24 hours notice and requires the landlord to give the tenant notice in writing. What would not be acceptable is simply turning up and letting yourself in as this could be a breach of the tenant’s rights of quiet enjoyment.

Q. Do I need an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) when letting a property?

Since October 2008 all landlords letting property to new tenants require an EPC or energy performance certificate.   An EPC demonstrates the energy rating and efficiency of a property.  Energy performance certificates for properties to let are valid for ten years.  However if improvements are made to the property which might affect the energy rating then the EPC can be carried out more often. If a landlord renews the lease to the current tenants, an EPC will not be required as the EPC is valid for 10 years.

Q. Rights of redress

We are committed to dealing effectively with any complaints you have about our service. If we have made a mistake we will apologise and try to put things right. If we have failed to provide a service that you are entitled to and you let us know about this, we will provide it.

We want it to be simple and convenient to you to complain, make a comment or pay us a compliment.
• Call the office on 02920 990088
• Email to contact@squarefootagents.co.uk
• Write to us at:
Squarefoot Estate Agents Ltd
198 Cowbridge Road East
Cardiff
CF5 1GX

If we receive a complaint from you, we will do all that we can to help you and we will try to find a solution to any problems you have brought to our attention. We will ensure that:
• Your complaint is acknowledged within 5 working days of the date that it is received by Squarefoot Estate Agents Ltd
• Aim to resolve the complaint within 28 working days – if your complaint is more complex we may need more time.
• Let you know within the 28 working day period if we think it may take longer to investigate your complaint and tell you how long we expect it to take, providing regular updates.
We will respect your right to confidentiality and privacy and we will treat you fairly and in accordance with our commitment to equality.
The person who is investigating your concerns will firstly aim to establish the facts. In some instances we may ask to meet you to discuss your concerns.
We will look at relevant evidence and this could include files, notes of conversations, letters, emails or whatever may be relevant to your particular complaint. If you do not want the person investigating the complaint to see the files that we hold in relation to your complaint, it is important for you to let us know about this. If necessary, we will also talk to the staff or others involved and look at our policies and any legal entitlement and guidance.

If we formally investigate your complaint, we will let you know what we have found and we will use your preferred form of communication, such as letter or email, when we contact you. We will explain how and why we came to our conclusions. If we find that we have done something wrong, we will tell you this, explain what happened and apologise. If we find there is a fault in our systems or the way we do things, we will tell you what it is and how we plan to change things to stop it happening again.

If there is a simple solution to your problem, we may ask you if you are happy to accept this. For example, where you asked for a service and we see straight away that you should have had it; we will offer to provide the service rather than investigate and produce a report.
If we did not do something well, we will aim to put it right. If you have lost out as a result of a mistake on our part we will try to put you back in the position you would have been in if we had got it right.

We believe that all complainants have the right to be heard, understood and respected. However, our employees have the same rights and we will not tolerate unacceptable behaviour such as aggressive or abusive behaviour or unreasonable demands. We have separate guidelines to help us manage unacceptable / threatening behaviour.

You can contact the Property Services Ombudsman for Wales about your complaint at any time. However, the Ombudsman expects you to bring your concerns to our attention first and to give us a chance to put things right. The Ombudsman is independent of all government bodies and can look into your complaint if you believe that you, or the person on whose behalf you are complaining:
• Have been treated unfairly or received a bad service through some failure on the part of the body providing it.
• Have been disadvantaged personally by a service failure or have been treated unfairly.
You can contact the Ombudsman by:
Email: admin@tpos.co.uk
Phone: 01722 333306
Website: https://www.tpos.co.uk
Writing to: 4 Bridge St, Salisbury SP1 2LX