6 month or 1 year lease?

jillyb

hey there,

Moving into a place in a week and have to ring them monday with a length of lease agreement. We're taking over a lease from tenants that have to break it and the minimum is 6months. I 'm just wondering in this climate is it better to opt for a 6 month lease or a 1 year lease?

I know 6 months gives us the flexibility to move out if needs be seeing as who knows what job situation etc we could be in and could be cheaper properties in 6 months or not but also the landlord could ask to raise the rent after the 6 month period.

With the 1 year lease we're stuck there unless we needed to leave early we could try and re assign it, just weighing it up and wondering what people would recommend. I'm a first time renter.

thanks

Jesus Wept

I'd take 6 months as it will make it easier to renegotiate the rent downwards in 6 months time.

OS119

The-Rigger wrote: »

I'd take 6 months as it will make it easier to renegotiate the rent downwards in 6 months time.

^^^this^^^

take the 6 month option - the benefit to you of being able to leave earlier if your employment situation changes or you don't like the property/landord, and the ability to re-negotiate the rent in 6 months time far outweighs the likelyhood that in 6 months time both your current landord will want to increase the rent and that equivelant rents will also have gone up significantly.

if your initial lease is succesfull by all means look at a longer lease - the LL gets greater security from a longer lease and peace of mind because he now knows you are good tennants, so you can get a lower rent - but think of the rental process as being llike meeting a new boy/girfriend: its testing the water, far better to dip your toes in than to plunge headfirst.

jillyb

Thanks for replies

Turns out min is 1 year so we're going with that.
Also they seem to want copy of passport, bill with name and address and bank details of head tenant for rent.

Is this normal? seems a bit much, and also i thought a standing order was the norm and if so then surely they give me the landlors bank details. Will ask when i'm on to them but wasn't sure

This was on their website:

Requirements for Tenancy

-A completed Tenancy Application Form (click here for application form).
-Two written references are required from each tenant - one work reference & one previous landlord reference. Verbal references are not accepted.
-Photocopy of a recent Passport/Driving License per applicant
-Bank account details are required from the head tenant for the monthly payment of rent before the signing the lease.
-A security deposit (to be paid prior to signing the lease). This is normally the equivalent of one months’ rent.
Following approval from the Landlord, each tenant will be required to sign a lease.
-The first month's rent is payable when the lease is signed by draft/cash or can be paid in advance. All future rents will then be paid by Standing Order direct into our client account.

OS119

jillyb wrote: »

Thanks for replies

Turns out min is 1 year so we're going with that.
Also they seem to want copy of passport, bill with name and address and bank details of head tenant for rent.

Is this normal? seems a bit much, and also i thought a standing order was the norm and if so then surely they give me the landlors bank details....

its kind of normal - they are looking to be absolutely certain of who they are leasing to - and getting a copy of a bank statement with your bank details on makes it easier to trace you/get money out of you if you leave (or they are just gits, which has happened before).

the lease thing is negotiable - especially in this market. you're dealing with an agent, the agent only gets paid if he gets a tennant in - if you ring him up and say 'sorry, the 6 month tennancy thing isn't negotiable, we're not interested. click, brrrrrrrrr' you can bet your childrens eyes that he'll be on the phone to the LL within 30 seconds and telling him that he'll not shift the flat with a one year lease and using his sales skills - because thats what rental agents are, salespeople - to get the LL to agree to a 6 month lease.

unless this is litterally the only rental property within 20 miles and you and your worldly belongings are in black sacks in the snow, do not sign a 1 year lease.