All our tenancy agreements are Joint and Several meaning that all tenants are jointly responsible for the payment of the rent plus any damage to the property (over and above wear and tear). We are always sympathetic towards tenants when things go wrong, but we are also responsible to our Landlords who want the rent to be paid in full. We advise all our tenants to take out their own insurance policy to cover the cost of loss or damage to their belongings.
We strongly advise you to ensure that your son or daughter knows the people they intend to share a property with. Many of our student houses tend to be reserved from January onwards which does not give very long for first year students to select their house mates for the following year.
Reserving a property through Bristol City Lets
When the whole group has viewed a property we allow them to reserve it, without obligation, for 24 hours on a first come first served basis. To secure the property each tenant will then be asked to to complete a Student Registration & Reservation Form. They will also be given a Guarantor Form to forward to you. Rent is to be paid quarterly via BACS transfer and the Tenancy Agreement can only be signed once we have received all signed paperwork and ID from all tenants. Once tenancy agreement is signed by everyone, should an individual tenant wish to withdraw from the tenancy agreement at any time they must find a replacement. Until they do so, they are still liable for their share of the rent until the end of the tenancy agreement. Agent/Landlord has to approve any proposed new tenant and has the right to accept or decline if not deemed suitable. Due to the amount of work involved (ie Liaising with new tenant, Liaising with existing tenants, New tenant checks,Guarantor checks, Right to rent checks, Deposit registration, Preparation & execution of new tenancy agreement, Serving & providing all other new legal documents required) administration costs of £395 will normally be charged & deducted from the deposit.
We ask Guarantors to supply a recent copy of a utility bill to verify their address.
Guarantor Forms
As a Guarantor you are legally guaranteeing the rent and all other liabilities under the terms of the tenancy agreement (a copy can be viewed on line – under Student Info heading). We always ensure that we have guarantors for ALL tenants on the agreement and therefore although the liability is joint & several all other guarantors and tenants are in the same position.
As an agency we have never had to chase guarantors for any monies due from tenants other than their own son or daughter. We are not responsible for the actions of private landlords who use our services for placing tenants only.
General Responsibility
Finally we would, respectfully, remind you that although you are acting as Guarantor for your daughter or son, you are not the actual tenant! When the letting process is complete and tenants have moved into the property, we prefer to deal only with problems raised by the tenants themselves. We are sympathetic towards the students and encourage them to report directly to us rather than via their parents/guardians. We have found from years of experience that most students are able to sort out their own problems.
If, however, there are still issues that parents feel have not been resolved, we are happy to discuss these either over the phone or by email.