I have a property up for rental. Following a viewing today someone has placed a holding deposit. The property has a centralised boiler with a monthly payment of 120 for all heating and Hot water. For the last tenant I just added it to the rent. Would you guys say that is the best option or should I put it in the tenancy to receive a separate payment?
I advertised it without including it in the rent and she has clicked rent now. Can I change the rent to reflect the payment? With the last tenant it was discussed before she clicked rent now.
Hi Wendy, apologies if you have already sorted this situation but here are some thoughts from me.
If you get a written agreement from the tenants (e.g. via email or on your OpenRent chat with them) that you will include a clause in the tenancy that describes the monthly payment you mention here, then that should be fine.
Problems could occur if you accept the holding deposit but then the tenants do not agree to that monthly fee. So I think it would make most sense to speak to the tenants and see if they are happy to agree to the clause describing the monthly payment. If they are not happy to pay it, but you are insistent that anyone renting your property must do so, then you will have to reject the enquiry. At this point, it would be sensible to edit your advert so that the rental price includes the monthly payment of £120, but to change the advert to ‘bills included’ and also add text in the property description that describes exactly what that £120 is paying for.