Value my property

Applying For a Property

In this section you will find all the information required to apply for a property. To ensure we can deal with your application quickly and efficiently, please ensure you thoroughly read all of the information below prior to submitting your application.

Step by Step Guide to the Application Process

  1. Read this page in its entirety prior to downloading the application form
    Ensure you complete the application form in full including the address of the property you are applying for (the application form will advise you to leave this blank but it should be completed)
  2. You are asked to provide a preferred move in date. Please bear in mind that completed applications take a minimum of 7-10 days to process. We will make every effort to accommodate any specific requests but these cannot be guaranteed and any complications or guarantor requests will delay the application process.
  3. Once we are in receipt of your completed application form and fee, we will contact the landlord for confirmation they are happy for us to proceed with obtaining references. Upon receipt of the landlord’s approval, in principal, we will proceed with your application and cease viewings on the property. We will notify you to confirm we have commenced the referencing process.
  4. If you cannot satisfy Homelet (the referencing company) that you have enough rent to income ratio you may require a guarantor. A guarantor will only be accepted at the landlord’s discretion and they must be UK based.
  5. They will be asked to sign an agreement to guarantee the full amount of rent for the property and will also need to be fully credit checked.

Providing results are satisfactory we will contact you to arrange two specific appointments:

  • The first appointment is to sign the contract and will be at our Henry Spencer & Sons office at 212 Crookes, Crookes S10 1TG. At this appointment we will also require cleared funds (not cheque) for the rent and bond. All bonds are paid over to the Custodial Scheme unless you are notified otherwise.
  • The second appointment is where our representative will meet you at the property on the day the contract starts. During this appointment we will hand over the keys, confirm the inventory, which details the contents and condition of the property to which you will be asked to agree/add your comments accordingly. Please be aware that it is your responsibility to register your own liability for gas, electricity, water and council tax, together with TV license, telephone lines, Broadband etc. as required.

Right to Rent Checks

Who we have to check

As part of the application and referencing we also carry out a Right to Rent Check

We must now check that a tenant can legally rent a residential property in England by law. Before the start of a new tenancy, we must make checks for all tenants aged 18 and over, even if:

  • they’re not named on the tenancy agreement
  • there’s no tenancy agreement
  • the tenancy agreement isn’t in writing

We must check all new tenants. It’s against the law to only check people who aren’t British citizens.

If the tenant is only allowed to stay in the UK for a limited time, we need to do the check in the 28 days before the start of the tenancy.

Further checks

We must make a further check on you as a tenant to make sure they can still rent property in the UK if your permission to stay is time limited.

The landlord or agent can get a fine (also known as a civil penalty) if we don’t make a further check and your permission to stay runs out.

Depending on which is the longest, we must make a further check just before either:

  • the expiry date of your right to stay in the UK
  • 12 months after your previous check

We won’t have to make a further check if you don’t have any time restrictions on their right to stay in the UK.

Referencing

A referencing check is just to make sure that you’re a suitable tenant and are able to pay your rent.

We will also check to make sure that you have rented a property without any major problems in the past and we will ask for an administration fee for completing this.

Be aware that if you fail any of the necessary checks, you may not be considered for the property.
We will check and confirm the following:

  • Three years' address history
  • Employment details
  • Confirmation of earnings
  • If self-employed evidence of the last three years' account details
  • Current landlord details
  • Your bank account details
  • Application forms are only accepted once you have viewed the property internally.
  • One application form must be completed by each person aged 18 or over who will be residing at the property
  • An application fee of £175 plus VAT (£250 plus VAT per couple plus £25 plus VAT per person thereafter) is payable upon submission of the application (this must be cleared funds in the form of cash or a bank transfer.
  • Please bear in mind applications take a minimum of 7-10 days to process.
    Unfortunately we currently do not have any landlords willing to accept DSS tenants.

Upon receipt of your completed application form we will contact the landlord and inform them of your application. Subject to their consent in principal we will proceed with the application process.

The application fee covers the administrative costs including referencing and credit checks which are carried out by the professional referencing company Homelet. Please note the payment is non-refundable if you fail the referencing or you withdraw your application.

Should the landlord refuse your application for any other reason, this fee less £30 per person will be refunded to you.