Even though you’ve found your perfect accommodation, you should never enter into a legally binding contract lightly: to help ensure a smooth rental experience, please check the following tips before signing a contact.

Due diligence checks on your landlord/agent:
Make sure your landlord is the genuine owner. Make sure your agent is regulated if you rent through an agent. It may sound crazy, but you’d be surprised how many scrams and frauds happened in London’s private renting sector each year. After all, you can only bring an “existing” landlord/agent to the court if anything goes really wrong during your stay.

Check out the type of your contract
There are different types of tenancy agreements; we’ll briefly touch on two examples.

• - Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST)
  This type of agreement is for those renting from a private landlord who does not live in the same property. You have control over your home and those who visit it. Once the fixed term ends, either the landlord or tenant can decide to end the agreement.
• - Joint Tenancy Agreements
  For those renting together with one signed agreement, you will likely have a joint tenancy. In this type of arrangement, all those listed on the agreement are fully responsible for the payment of rent and for meeting any stipulated conditions. It’s good to be aware, though, that if one person on the tenancy agreement was to move out then the responsibility would fall to the other listed persons to continue to meet the agreement conditions – including making up for any ‘missing’ rental payment.

Check out key information
Check to see if the agreement includes all the relevant information, including what the rent covers and if there is a break clause. Also have a look for rules on whether pets or smoking are allowed. Keep an eye out too for terms related to repairs. Usually the landlord is responsible for most repairs, but in some cases the responsibility lies with the tenant.

Check out how your deposit will be protected
In England and Wales, landlords must place tenants’ deposits in one of the following three government-approved deposit protection schemes

• - Deposit Protection Service
• - My Deposits
• - Tenancy Deposit Scheme

Keep an accurate inventory
An inventory is very important as it can prevent disputes between landlords and tenants during regular property inspections or at the end of the tenancy period. It also helps to safeguard a deposit if tenants want to dispute a landlord’s decision to keep some or all of the money.

What fees are mentioned in your contract
The government’s Tenant Fees Act from 1 June 2019 bans most letting fees and caps tenancy deposits paid by tenants in the private rented sector in England. It is illegal to charge you an admin fee and viewing fee for instance. In general, all you need to pay is the deposit (up to five weeks) and rent to move into a new property.