All posts by vikki Bond Hmo Letting Agent

Your tenancy agreement is ready and waiting in COHO for you to review and sign.

Please check out the tenancy and supporting documents

Review all documents and when your happy you can accept the documents and sign the agreements within the COHO app.

No need to download and manual sign

The documents then remained signed in your account and if you ever need a copy you can download them from there

Its simple and very cool.

Here are the instructions on how to sign your agreement ( Click the link)

Use COHO eSignature to sign a tenancy agreement | COHO

Any questions at all please do not hesitate to contact Rooms to Let North East on [email protected]

Rooms to Let Ne work really hard to ensure tenants have a good experience and this shows with the Stats we achieve.

Please find the details on our

• Occupancy levels
• Days it takes to fill voids.

This is the Occupancy of a 4 bedroom NHS House share, opposite a Hospital in the North EAST.  All four tenants were put into here as individuals / strangers.

Brilliant tenants, never any issues.

Another 4 bedroom located within reach of the Hospital.  Couple of change overs .  Longest tenancies 23 months.  This was a newly refurbished house with NHS staff entering on completion and still a very happy house

Another House opposite the Hospital. 5 Bedroom HMO. Tenanted on completion and still going strong.  Great tenants . Again all tenants were individuals.
98% of our tenants are from referrals from our tenants past and present.

Landlords / investors always ask where we get our tenants.  Is it Spare room? Right Move ? Zoopla? On the Market. Room Lets.  NONE of the above its direct from referrals

Another HMO 5 bedroom.  Again Hospital NHS.

As soon as a Doctor / Nurse has a new post in a different city they always have someone waiting or looking for a place. Obviously look towards the best agent in the city ( Ok guys i cant take that claim haha – but you get how it works)

One DR actually referred me the next DR who had took his role.  The new Dr took the Job and the room.

4 Bedroom, Close to UNI.  This house has done really well since it was renovated.  It was a very tired old HMO from the 2000s . Renovated before covid.  Rooms are let back – back . There’s always a tenancy due to start before the current tenant checks out.

Typical days between 2.  This is to turn the rooms around with cleaning and maintenance.

If the room has been occupied a long time then 5 – 7 days renovate,  clean ready to go.

What about large HMOS ?? they obviously turn around much more because its a bigger house and many share facilities.

This is a 7 bedroom HMO , all professionals mainly NHS

Ok so we covered ROOM lets.  What about OUR family lets?  Not many know but we have a portfolio of family homes occupied by lovely families.

Long term family homes.  Majority are NHS staff with families but not all of them.

We have lots of other families too.  All cause no issues.  I visit all houses in Spring and Autumn to ensure all ok and address anything that require works or attention.

Our Family Homes don’t turn around that often!

We are always looking for more properties for our tenants waiting.

As we get good feedback,  we get a lot of enquiries just not enough property to meet the high demand that we have.

All tenants are referenced in full and checked for suitability prior occupying.

A lot of tenants have been our tenants already and we know their history of being fab tenants.

This House is in Sunderland.  Area of SR5 . 3 bedroom semi detached home with gardens. Great family.

This house is located in SR4 , Sunderland.  3 bedroom semi detached located close to a great school

Another great 3 bedroom family home.  100% occupied . 49 months and no issues . House is in great condition.  Tenant is a model tenant.

Studio Occupancy – City Centre location. Occupied by a professional . Again Studios don’t turn over that much.  Always in High Demand.  Always have tenants waiting..

Two Bedroom Family Home.  Again these are high demand and don’t turn around too often. Great Tenants.

Happy tenants – Happy landlords

If you need advice / guidance or help with your properties / rooms please reach out.

When choosing a Letting Agent or Property AGENT you should check out the following to ensure you are protected.

• Accreditations-  Like Property Mark
• Redress Scheme- PRS or The Property Ombudsman
• Insurances – are they adequately insured, Public and Professional
• Do they have the required client money protection (is your money protected)
• Service Offered, does the service match what you need
• Marketing – are they proactive and marketing in the right places?
• Have the right team of Contractors / Maintenance
• Do they carry out regular Inspections
• What are all the fees and any additional fees
• What references and checks are carried out on applicants
• Do they check the right to rent of all applicants
• Do they have good Systems in place for compliance
• Do they know about HHSRS and fit for Human Habitation ACT
• Do They know about Awaab Law and how to monitor and address this and time limits.
• Do they keep up to date with ever changing legislation and whats expected to keep you out of trouble

How do Rooms to let fair ?

Accreditation Rooms to Let North East

Rooms to let are accredited agents and are accredited through Property Mark- ARLA & Hold required Client Money Protection.  All our certificates can be found here online.

Insurances

Rooms to let are fully insured to for Public liability and Professional Indemnity.  All our certificates can be found here online.

Client Money Protection

Rooms to let hold ring fenced accounts and hold the required client money protection. All agents operating in UK must have this ! Our certificates can be found here online.

Check out all of our services

All of our services and charges are available in the news tab – landlords information . We supply tenants for rooms and single let housing in the North East.

Marketing

We market our properties on On the Market, our Website, CRM, specialist room let portals and to our contacts within the companies we help find staff find accommodation.

Inspections

We carry out all our  inspections in Spring and Autumn each year.  Spring time and Autumn are brilliant times to inspect properties.  Spring after the hard winter.  Autumn before the winter to address any issues that might be un known before the hard winter sets in.

As well as the average 6 months inspections , we carry out communal checks at HMO properties each fortnight to check the safety of the property. Rooms can be checked 3-4 months into tenancy just to ensure all is good.

• Health and Safety
• Fire Safety
• Waste management

Fees and additional Fees

All our fees are here to see, Go to News then -landlords and services and charges

Right to Rent

All tenants are screened for the right to rent.  We have a system to track all right to rent tenants. To ensure their visas are all up to date.

Systems

We have an excellent system to track all tenancies and rents.  Our system covers all legislation to ensure that all areas are covered .  Keeping everything right.

Our ring fenced account is automated and tracks all rents and money due.

Legals can be instructed once any accounts fall into arrears

HHSRS

Health and Safety Rating System is in place to ensure the tenants safety.  All properties are checked and inspection with this in mind .  Any risks highlighted are addressed.

Legislation

Rooms to let carry out yearly CPD with courses to ensure they are up to speed with the latest things to be going on in the PRS.

Dealing with repairs

Tenants can report their maintenance through an app.  The maintenance is then allocated to a contractor and tracked through each stage of the repair

Its important to check planning and licensing in the area.

Planning Permission ( This is different to HMO licensing- The two departments don’t talk to each other)

If you wish to operate a house as an HMO, it must have the correct class of planning use. You may need to apply for planning permission to change it from C3 (dwelling house) to C4 (house in multiple occupation).

HMO Mandatory Licence

HMOs require a mandatory licence if they are occupied by at least five people, in a building that has at least three storeys, and where at least one person’s accommodation is not self- contained. Where the whole building has a mix of self-contained and non-self-contained flats, the whole building will be licensable.

Additional Licences

You need an additional HMO licence if you own and rent out a property in certain cities where they require additional licences for HMOS and all of the following are true: it is a house in multiple occupation (HMO) 3 or 4 people live there (but not 5 or more), forming more than one household.

Selective Licensing

Selective licensing gives the local council powers to regulate landlords and managing agents of private rented property in areas that suffer from low housing demand and/or high levels of anti-social behaviour and/or deprivation.

Professional Indemnity Insurance

Name of policy holder: Rooms To Let NE Ltd
Period of insurance: From 25/07/2024 to 24/07/2025 both days inclusive.
This policy is a Continuing cover policy
Insurer: Hiscox Insurance Company Limited
Retroactive date: 25/07/2022
Level of cover: £1,000,000
Signed on behalf of Hiscox Underwriting Limited as agent for the insurers

Public Liabilty

Insurer: Hiscox Insurance Company Limited
Period of insurance: From 25/07/2024 to 24/07/2025 both days inclusive.
This policy is a Continuing cover policy
Limit of indemnity: £1,000,000
each and every claim or loss, excluding defence costs and criminal
proceedings cost

Thank you for your time.

To instruct Rooms to Let North East to carry out any services. You will be given our Business Terms and conditions to read and accept.
The terms and conditions will specify the all the services we offer, and prices involved.
Please confirm the exact requirements of services you require.
Along with our terms and conditions, we will require you to fill in a details form. This is to gather your details and the details of the property. We require this information to carry out the services.
When completing our details form and terms, you will need to supply the following information and proof to satisfy Anti Money Laundering Regulations. We will also need to set up your account up on our system.

• Details to get handy
• Full names of all owners
• Details of any company or trust that has interest of ownership
• D.O.B of all owners
• Full address of the property to be LET
• Contact names and numbers for all owners
• Correspondence address for all owners
• Details of an emergency contact
• Verification your tax address is in the UK and you reside there more than 6 months of the year
• Companies house details if registered as a company
• Company number
• Proof of ownership
• Account details for payments
• Photo ID
• Utility Bills

Any questions. please do not hesitate to contact our office for further information.

The correct set up of a HMO from the start is vital to how well the HMO will work.

Safety

The property must be safe.  This is for all HMO from a 2 person plus house share.

( any property with 2 or more unrelated sharers is a HMO)  Fire Safety & Safety Standards should be considered when dealing with the safety aspects of your HMO.

Safety aspects to be considered

• All external doors and bedroom doors need fire rated thumb turn locks.  This is to ensure all tenants can leave in the case of a fire , without them having to hunt for keys.
• Fire rated handles that are robust.  Some modern looking styles are not fit for purpose as they only look good and after 3 months of use will drop off.
• Fire doors 30mins should be put on kitchens and high risk areas.  Larger properties require fire doors on bedroom doors too.
• Fire doors must be fitted with closures and cold seals. Closures should be well fitted and not fitted to flimsy pinned in door surrounds.
• Fire doors should be well fitted and installed by a competent installer to ensure they are fit for purpose and have adequate gaps. ( checked with a fire door checking tool)
• Fire alarms to be installed on each storey and also bedrooms when a property is a certain size.  Heat alarms and alarms in fire boarded cupboards that house meters or appliances.  Fire alarms installed and serviced by a engineer/ electrician
• Carbon monoxide alarms should be installed where needed
• Any internal doors with single pane glass should be removed.  These are classed as high risk/ dangerous
• Meters exposed should be boxed in with fire rated boarding
• No smoking / vaping or charging electric scooters in communal areas, along with fire safety.
• Tenants need to be aware that smoking and vaping should not take place in any part of the property
• Fire blankets in kitchen areas.
• Do not supply fire fighting equipment, unless you have a trained live in manager to over see this. The local council want tenants to be educated on leaving the property and not fighting fires
• The property must have adequate amount of waste bins.  The council prefer tenants to recycle so often you have 1 green bin for waste and 2 recycling bins.  Tenants must have education and a rota for bin waste.
• Set up a cleaning for communal space at least every fortnight , to ensure the house is kept in good order. Tenants are responsible for cleaning but cant guarantee the areas will be kept in good order relying on tenants. The cleaner can also be eyes and ears every week / fortnight.
• Supply cleaning items, hoover, mop,brush bucket to help tenants to keep areas clean.
• Ironing board- Iron ( saves your carpets)
• Rear electric shutters must have a manual turner for fire safety
• The house should be safe and secure and have adequate security in place.
• Security includes the external yard area.

En-suites

• Ensuites should be built with 2025 in mind.  Humans are bigger than 1990s humans.  Folk are getting taller and wider.  Don’t build an en-suite that’s going to have very little space to move in.
• Showers should be built to have access to traps
• Shower rooms need ventilation
• Build your ensuite to be water proof and clean.
• No tiles ( these are thing of the past) good robust cladding for cleaning and quick turn around.
• Hard – water proof flooring – easily cleaned and built to last

Kitchens

• Provide enough cupboards and amenities for everyone in the household.
• Good sized fridge freezers
• Washer
• Dryer
• Kettle
• Toaster
• Make sure the kitchen is made to be robust and can take several bodies and higher use than a normal home. Factor in that the house will be used in higher use than average home and there will be things that need repair / replace quicker than usual. If its built and designed with this in mind , it will stand the test of time.

Rooms

• Bedroom doors should have thumb turn fire rated handles and shouldn’t be cheap yale lock ( close behind you) locks. This is important
• Double beds- no adults want to sleep in a single bed
• Wardrobe
• Drawers
• Side cabinet
• Desk and chair
• Black out blinds / curtains

Hazards

• The property should be free from hazards
• Health and safety checked
• Free from anything that can cause trips and falls
• Damp and condensation
• Windows should have restrictions on where required
• Safety bars on low level windows
• Fire escape windows from bedrooms leading off high risk areas like kitchen / laundry

Painting / Decor

• A totally white everywhere property will need to be refreshed every 12 months
• Avoid Matt paints for any colours , they wear really quickly
• Avoid Fashion – that gets tired quick
• Avoid fancy wallpapers – get tired quick
• Wallpaper in WC- bathrooms _ just NO!
• Choose hard wearing robust paints that will last and wont tire quick.
• Be reasonable that areas will need to keep getting refreshed to keep the property in good order.  8 years of back to back occupancy rates and no refreshing / updates wont work well.
• Fit homes regs , landlords have a duty to keep areas in good order , if a 20 year old kitchen has seen better days , you will be ordered to replace it should an inspection from the local authority take place.

Flooring

• HMOs have a lot of footfall so you want to have a good robust flooring that will stand the test of time.
• Good flooring that is able to be kept clean and hygienic
• Carpets in bedrooms, choose a good carpet.  No weave cheap thin carpet.  Carpet laid without underlay will not last
• Cheap badly laid non water proof laminate will decay very quickly

Plumbing.

• Make sure you have a good plumber that doesnt push fit the whole pipework.  This is cause endless issues. Also you want to be able to have iso valves in all areas you can cut off in emergencies.
• The plumber should be confident in making falls for ensuites to avoid back ups
• JUST NO to the mechanical electric saniflow toilets that cause endless issues and  scary poop episodes.

Electrics

• Electrics must be safe and in line with current standards.
• Most HMOS now have separate room, so when a tenant plugs something in and trips the board its only their room that goes off.

Pests

• Pest proof your property from day 1
• City houses are now plagued with nuisance of rats and mice.  Its everywhere and not always down to the tenants or the house. Neighbours in terraced properties might already have the problem and are infecting the house. If you can do as much pest proofing as possible from the start it can help reduce the nightmares.
• Also prevention treatment to prevent pests.

Common Issues on badly constructed HMOS

• Saniflow toilets (dont work)
• Make sure the builder knows the falls on waste /pipes for ensuites
• Good plumbing to avoid push fit nightmares
• Thumb turn exit locks
• Fire rated door handles ( buy cheap they wont last)
• Door closures should be fitted corrected and this includes the frames they connect to
• adequate heating and property checked for excess heat or excess cold
• Can tenants fall out of windows ?
• Have all fire routes been addressed and window escapes
• Make sure all the electrics are safe and addressed whilst under refurbishment, to avoid having to disturb the house once occupied
• If its old dated and seen better days just replace it at the start, avoids issues when the property is occupied.
• Locks should never be yale lock out locks. They will cause nightmares and are not fit for purpose in 2025
• If you buy cheap it wont last
• Make sure if using a person to source your property and organise the refurbishment that the investment is going into the house, on good products that wont cause you a headache, Once your person is in Turkey getting new teeth. (its been known).  Can gauge the finish of the HMO by how much experience the person has with constructing and finishing HMOS, How much they are charging for this and if they are opting for a over priced cheap and cheerful approach.
• It is vital that the construction and fixtures / fittings are built to be robust and long lasting.  For the tenants comfort, ease of turn arounds , your property keeps inline with the the Fit Homes Act, your property keeps inline with legislation and most importantly its not costing you to pay for everything twice, three times over.

Here are the basic standards that are expected with a HMO Property.

• If the property has gas, the property must be inspected by a qualified gas engineer and  have a gas certificate every 12 months.
• There should be electrical test and certificate at least every 5 years and all electrical’s checked by a competent engineer.
• All electrical appliances must be checked and PAT tested every 12 months
• There should be a fire alarm installed at minimum on each floor of the property. Often these are installed in bedrooms.  Also fire boarded cupboards that house appliances.
• The Fire alarms should be serviced every 12 months and checked regular by management. At least once a week.
• The emergency lights should be serviced every 12 months and checked regular by management.
• Legionnaire tests every 12 months on all showers, tanks, hot water systems

Room Sizes

• The floor area of any room used as sleeping accommodation must be no less than 6.51 square meters. (one person)
• The floor area of any room used as sleeping accommodation must be no less than 10.22 square meters (two person)
• Any room less than 4.64- cannot be sleeping accommodation

Room sizes are due to change to 7.5m2 with up coming changes

Most licenced HMO properties are single occupancy and don’t allow couples of multiple tenants for fire safety regulation.  One room counts for 1 person allowed.

Waste

• The management is responsible for making sure adequate waste containers are available and all tenants are aware of waste management.
• They should be educated in what bin requires which waste and when the waste bins are to be presented.
• Information available to all tenants.
• All tenants are educated and sign up to a waste management policy

Property Management

• The property must be inspected every 6 months.  In the case of non contact or missed rent then management must act on visiting at earliest opportunity to ensure the property has not been abandoned.
• Ensure any complaint about pests, the action is taken and work carried out as soon as reasonably possible.
• Emergency work and property security must take place in 24 hrs.
• Repairs and work to the house must be carried out by a competent , reputable person and completed to reasonable standard.
• Management must ensure they have the funds available to be able to act on emergencies within a period of 24 hours.  Sufficient funds are available to finance emergency repair.

Emergency Repairs

• Any Leaking water, waste pipes, cistern, boiler leading to dampness or flooding
• Fire detection warning system
• Failure of electrics, gas or water supplies resulting from defects
• Window , door security to the property
• Failure of the heating
• Blockage of drains, soil pipes or sewage
• Damage to roof coverings, rainwater goods leading to severe rainwater penetration

Fire safety

• Ensure all fire fighting equipment alarms are maintained and in good working order. Services and certificates for these every 12 months .
• Fire extinguishers must not be supplied, unless regular training to an live in onsite manager is given.  The local authority want you to educate the tenants to escape the fire and not put themselves at risk of fighting the fire.
• Fire blankets still must be supplied to kitchens

Exteriors

• The exterior of the house is maintained in a reasonable decorative order and in good repair
• All outbuildings and yards gardens are tidy and maintained
• No refuse to be kept in front or rear gardens / yards

Tenancy Management Information

• Tenants must be aware of who to contact on repairs and timescales for response / works.
• Instructions and manuals should be available at the property for tenants
• copies of all certificates, gas, electric, epc available for tenants

Tenants quiet enjoyment

Tenants are entitled to quiet enjoyment of the property and should be given 24 hours notice for a visit, unless in emergencies.  Notice should explain the reason for the visit.

References

• All tenants must be checked and vetted. Referenced and IDs and right to rent details.

Deposits

• On taking deposits, they must be registered in the required Schemes and details given to the tenants.
• Prescribed information given to tenants to tell them where the deposits are held and terms and conditions for applying for the deposit back.

Anti social behaviour

• All reasonable , practical steps for preventing and dealing with anti social behavior are dealt with effectively.  All occupants must read and sign up to the anti social behavior policy and management must follow the anti social policy on first incident of ASB.
• During the reference stages.  Management must ensure that the incoming tenant has no history of ASB.
• Copies of all warnings must be available to the council on request.  All correspondence must be in writing at all times.
• If there are any incidents of ASB that are criminal / Management have the right to inform the relevant authorities.
• When invited to any conferences or meetings arranged by the police or council.  Management must attend.
• Management must have the policy in written terms and signed along side the
• tenancy agreement.

Management must ensure the Local Council is informed in writing within 14 days of the following changes

• Change of ownership / management
• Change in Licence holder- management or contact details
• Any proposed change in construction/ layout or amenity
• Anything that will affect the licence conditions

Fit and proper

The management for the HMO must be a fit and proper persons.

This means that at any time during the licence period any changes must be reported to the local authority ASAP

• Unspent convictions, convictions for drugs, fraud, dishonesty, violence, sex offences 2003
• Management has practiced unlawful discrimination on grounds of sex, colour, race, ethnic or origin or disability discrimation
• Contravention of public, environmental health, tenant law which led to criminal proceedings resulting in a judgement or finding being made against them.
• Any information, when a property the licenced holder or manager owns or manages has been subject to a control measure Under section 379 Housing Act 1985.
• Any information when a property the manager is responsible for has had a licence revoked or refused due to part 2, 3 of the ACT.  Or the manager had breached their conditions
• Information that the manager licence holder owns or have managed a property subject to interim or final management order under the housing ACT 2004.

General

The local authority can make a visit to the property to check for compliance with the condition of the licence.  The licence holder must ensure all requests for access are met.

• The management must ensure the house is managed and Let to all the conditions accepted in the licence.
• The licence and conditions clearly displayed in the communal area for all tenants
• Managers name and contact details are displayed in the communal areas
• The manager must have someone to contact during holidays / absence
• The management must ensure the house is compliant with the local council standards.

Please find the accountancy rules for client money protection provider.