Landlord services

Tessa comes to the property herself and values it against what is actually letting in your corner of north-west London right now. There is no charge for the visit, and no obligation to instruct us afterwards.

• Evidence from comparable lets nearby.
• The rent we think is realistic, and how long it should take to let.
• What, if anything, would lift the return: furnishing, cosmetic work, or compliance gaps to close.
• A straight view of the kind of tenant the property is likely to attract.

We put the property wherever serious tenants are genuinely searching. Presentation matters: a good listing fills a property faster and often at better rent.

• Portals: Rightmove, Zoopla, OnTheMarket and our own site.
• Photography: professionally taken photographs and floor plans, with the EPC rating shown where there is one.
• Waiting list: applicants already on our register, pre-referenced and searching locally.
• Social & email: sent out to our followers and to everyone signed up for alerts.

Every viewing is accompanied in person, so the property is shown as it should be and whatever an applicant asks is answered there and then. We’ll also feed back anything useful we’re hearing: objections, comparisons with other properties, price signals.

No applicant is put forward to you until they have been thoroughly checked, so you know who you are letting to. A few quiet weeks between tenants costs far less than a tenant with a weak reference.

• Credit check (CCJs, bankruptcy, affordability).
• A reference from the employer, or from an accountant for the self-employed.
• Previous landlord reference.
• Identity checked for Right to Rent, a statutory requirement.
• Guarantor checks where the main tenant doesn’t meet affordability alone.

We draw up the tenancy agreement to comply with the law, and serve with it every piece of prescribed information a tenant must receive by law. The Renters’ Rights Act has made most tenancies periodic, with no fixed end date, and it has significantly changed the rules on notices and grounds for possession.

From the day a deposit is received there are 30 days to protect it in a government-approved scheme, and the prescribed information has to reach the tenant within those same 30 days.

• Deposit collected before tenancy start.
• Registered with DPS, TDS or MyDeposits, the government-approved schemes.
• The tenant, and any guarantor, served with the prescribed information.
• Every document kept on file in case the deposit is disputed when the tenancy ends.

Before your tenant moves in, we prepare a detailed inventory and schedule of condition. This is the single most important piece of evidence in any deposit dispute, so it’s done properly with photographs, dated and signed by both parties.

• Every room photographed and its condition recorded.
• A complete list of the furniture and fittings that come with the let.
• Gas, electricity and water meters read at check-in.
• Keys logged and signed for.

We coordinate the transfer of gas, electricity, water, council tax, and broadband into the tenant’s name, ensuring a clean handover and that no-one ends up paying for someone else’s supply.

We collect the rent monthly in advance and pass it on to you promptly, with an itemised statement you can keep for your records and your tax return.

• Rent paid to us each month by standing order or direct debit.
• Once funds clear, the rent reaches your nominated account the same day.
• Statements that itemise the rent received, any fees taken and the net amount paid to you.
• Any arrears followed up quickly, with the proper notice served if it comes to that.

We inspect the property at intervals agreed with you and send a written report with photographs, so you always know what condition it is in. The point is to catch maintenance problems while they are still cheap, and to check the tenant is taking care of the place.

Day-to-day repairs and emergencies go to contractors we know and trust. At the outset we agree a spending limit with you, and for anything above it we ring you for approval before any work begins.

• 24/7 emergency line for genuine emergencies (gas leak, burst pipe, no heat in winter).
• Vetted local contractors: plumbers, electricians, gas engineers, handymen.
• Larger jobs are quoted before anything goes ahead.
• Have your own tradespeople you would rather use? That is fine: we can work with your preferred suppliers.

For as long as the tenancy runs, we stay in touch with your tenant, look at the rent periodically, and serve a compliant rent increase notice when one is appropriate.

Since 1 May 2026 tenancies roll on with no fixed end date, so there is nothing to renew. The rent can go up once a year (not in the first year) by a section 13 notice giving at least two months’ notice, and the new rent must be in line with the open market rent. We’ll advise on what’s defensible and serve the correct notice on your behalf.

When a tenancy ends, the property is checked out thoroughly against the original inventory, and any deductions from the deposit are handled fairly and in the open.

• A full check-out report, photographed and set against the check-in record.
• Fair wear and tear applied (landlords can’t charge for normal use).
• Where we can, deductions are agreed with the tenant; where we cannot, they go to the scheme adjudicator.
• Repayment of the deposit within the statutory timeframe.

Marketing starts well before a tenancy ends, so the property spends as little time empty as possible and the rent keeps coming in. The aim is to have the next tenant ready to move in soon after the last one moves out.