TENANTS

OASiS believes in the value of creating lasting relationships with all our clients. You see, even though our ‘customer’ is technically the landlord letting the property, we make sure that everyone involved in the process enjoys the full ‘OASiS experience’. It’s important to us that, somewhere down the line, anyone who’s dealt with us will want to come back to us – whether they’re renting, letting, selling or buying – for the same level of service and professionalism they received first time around.

Our duty of care means that we place your interests at the centre of the letting and renting process, ensuring that you are kept fully informed about all the prospective properties on our books. And during the subsequent process of taking up references, organising inventories and arranging contracts and deposits, we’ll keep you fully up-to-date with every development as we head towards your moving-in date. It’s our goal to make it as easy and stress-free to rent as we make it for our landlords to let.

So as well as the colour brochures with floor plans and picture galleries that you might expect, we’ll also provide you with video tours, local and aerial maps on our website along with invaluable information on local schools, leisure facilities and amenities, to help you make more informed choices about the properties that interest you.

Our instant notification service means you’ll receive emails advising you of suitable new ‘instructions’ coming onto the market before they go live on the internet. And whenever you go to a viewing, you will always be accompanied by one of the team.

And because our experienced and award-winning Oasis team are all local people, you can expect the best recommendations for our partner professionals in the area when it comes to removals or tenant insurance.

Every one of the team has been a ‘renter’ at one point or another, so we understand how you feel and, with our extensive knowledge of Staines-upon-Thames and the surrounding areas, we pride ourselves on finding the perfect rental property for you, quickly and efficiently.

In most cases, OASiS will approach the Landlord and the Tenant, approximately two months prior to the end of the Tenancy in order to ascertain whether both parties wish to renew their tenancy agreement. If the term of the original agreement is extended there will be a charge of £120 inc VAT to cover the cost of preparing documentation, for each and every extension or renewal.

Please note, this fee does not apply to tenancies entered into after the 1^stof June 2019.

TERMINATING YOUR TENANCY

Your tenancy agreement will outline how and when a Landlord and Tenant are able to serve notice to either party. In most cases, each party will need to give two months’ notice. If the tenancy becomes periodic then the tenants are required to give one months’ notice to expire on the last day of the rental period and landlords remain at two months’ notice which can be served at any time.

CLICK HERE for Tenant Terms & Fees for Tenancies Entered into After 1st June 2019

CLICK HERE for Redress Scheme Certificate

CLICK HERE for CMP Certificate

CLICK HERE for our Contractor Services

THE TENANCY DEPOSIT SCHEME (TDS) IS RUN BY THE DISPUTE SERVICE LTD. IT IS AN INSURANCE-BACKED TENANCY DEPOSIT PROTECTION SCHEME AUTHORISED BY THE GOVERNMENT.

TENANCY DEPOSIT SCHEME HAS TWO MAIN ROLES:

• To protect deposits.
• To help resolve disputes about deposits.

WHAT IS TENANCY DEPOSIT PROTECTION?

Tenancy deposit protection applies to all deposits for assured shorthold tenancies that started in England or Wales on or after 6 April 2007. By law, a landlord or agent who receives a deposit for such a tenancy must protect the deposit.

TENANCY DEPOSIT PROTECTION MEANS:

• Protecting a tenant’s deposit with a government-authorised scheme such as the Tenancy Deposit Scheme;
• Providing the tenant with prescribed information about where their deposit is being protected and how it will be managed.

TENANCY DEPOSIT PROTECTION SCHEMES CAN BE ONE OF TWO KINDS

• Custodial – this is where the scheme itself holds the deposit during the tenancy.
• Insurance backed – this is where the landlord or agent holds the deposit during the tenancy, but must give it to the scheme at the end of the tenancy if there is a dispute. The scheme is insured because this guarantees that tenants will always get back the money to which they are entitled. The Tenancy Deposit Scheme is an insurance-backed scheme.

Each tenancy deposit scheme has its own rules setting out in detail how it operates. The Tenancy Deposit Scheme Rules are available from the Tenancy Deposit Scheme website and on request.

WHAT ARE THE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS?

These are contained in sections 212–215 of, and Schedule 10 to, the Housing Act 2004 (as amended). Tenancy deposit protection applies to money received by a landlord or agent that is meant to be held as security in case a tenant does not comply with their obligations.

The landlord or agent must comply with the initial requirements of an authorised tenancy deposit protection scheme within 30 days of receiving the deposit. To protect a deposit with the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, the landlord or agent needs to belong to the scheme, register the deposit on the Tenancy Deposit Scheme tenancy database, and pay a membership subscription or deposit protection charge.

A Tenancy Deposit Scheme member (landlord or agent) must also give the tenant ‘prescribed information’. This information is set out in the Housing Tenancy Deposits (Prescribed Information) Order 2007. It must also be given to anyone who paid the deposit on the tenant’s behalf.

The prescribed information includes the contact details of the landlord and tenant, the rented property’s address, the deposit amount and a leaflet on the Tenancy Deposit Scheme.

IS MY DEPOSIT PROTECTED?

Tenants can check if their deposit is registered with the Tenancy Deposit Scheme by visiting www.tds.gb.com. If tenants have received a Tenancy Deposit Protection Certificate, they should enter the code number from that certificate. Alternatively, they can enter their surname, the deposit amount, the tenancy postcode and the date their tenancy started.

WHAT HAPPENS TO THE DEPOSIT AT THE END OF THE TENANCY?

If there is no dispute about the return of the deposit at the end of the tenancy, the landlord or agent must pay the deposit to the tenant without delay, less any deductions that the tenant has agreed.

If there is a dispute about the return of the deposit or about proposed deductions, the parties should try to reach agreement without delay. Most disputes are resolved informally in this way. But if the deposit has not been returned to the tenant within 10 days of the tenant asking for it, any of the parties can ask the Tenancy Deposit Scheme to resolve the dispute.

IF THERE IS A DISPUTE, WHAT HAPPENS TO THE DEPOSIT?

The landlord or agent can make a payment from the deposit if:

• Both landlord and tenant have agreed; or
• The court has ordered the deposit to be paid; or
• The Tenancy Deposit Scheme directs them to send the money to the Tenancy Deposit Scheme.

Once TDS has been asked to resolve a deposit dispute, the landlord or the agent must send the disputed amount to the Tenancy Deposit Scheme. By this time, the landlord or agent should have paid the tenant any part of the deposit that is not an agreed deduction or in dispute.

HOW ARE DISPUTES RESOLVED?

The person who wishes to send the dispute to the Tenancy Deposit Scheme can do this online or by completing a Dispute Application Form giving details of the dispute, and any relevant supporting documents.

The deposit holder must then send the disputed amount to the Tenancy Deposit Scheme. It will copy the dispute details to the other parties and give them 10 working days to consent to the Tenancy Deposit Scheme resolving the dispute, respond to the claim, and send in their evidence.

If all the parties agree to the Tenancy Deposit Scheme resolving the dispute, the Tenancy Deposit Scheme will appoint an impartial adjudicator to make a binding decision, normally within 28 days of receiving the parties’ consent to resolving the dispute. If landlords and agents do not reply, they are treated as consenting. In all these cases, the adjudicator will normally make a decision within 28 days after the deadline for giving evidence.

Within a further 10 days of the adjudicator’s decision, the Tenancy Deposit Scheme will pay the amount due to each party.

The adjudicator’s decision will be based only on the evidence sent to the Tenancy Deposit Scheme – there will be no hearing or visit to the property.

The adjudicator’s decision is final. There is no right of appeal to the Tenancy Deposit Scheme or to the government department in charge of the tenancy deposit protection schemes.

CLICK HERE for More Information on the Tenancy Deposit Scheme

OASiS has teamed up with a number of specialist brokers to offer our clients access to some of the best rates of home insurance to be found.

They, like us, are passionate about client service and believe that the best way to support you and deliver real value for money is through their teams of friendly and experienced staff.

As a local business they specialise in understanding the individual needs of their clients, a factor often missed when dealing with a national or internet-based organisation, and one particularly pertinent to our riverside location.

As well as arranging new cover, they are happy to review the cover you already have in place to make sure your current policy is suitable for your needs.

For more information, please let us know and we will arrange for a member of their team to contact you for a quote with preferential rates.

Please note, if you decide to benefit from the preferential rates you will receive for being referred by OASiS, OASiS will receive a referral fee.