How to Start a New Tenancy Part 2: Moving in Day

It’s the big day: your tenants are moving in!

It’s always a relief when you finally welcome new tenants to your rental property, but there are quite a few details to sort out on moving in day so it’s a good idea to make yourself a ‘to do list’ so nothing is overlooked.

Landlords: What You Need

Things to remember to take with you include:

• two copies of the inventory check-in report
• two copies of the tenancy agreement
• two copies of the deposit protection Prescribed Information
• gas safety record
• a valid EPC
• a list of useful numbers and information
• a set of keys for each tenant
• a copy of the How to Rent tenant guide

Most landlords like to meet their new tenants at the property and hand over the keys themselves, but if this isn’t convenient, don’t worry.

Inventory Still Outstanding?

If you’ve used a professional clerk to prepare an inventory, you can arrange for them to do the check-in too. Upad can sort this out for you.

The clerk will walk through the property with the tenant and prepare a report detailing the condition of the property and all the contents. Copies of their report will be sent to both you and the tenant to be signed.

If you had a check-in report compiled in advance, take two signed copies with you and ideally get the tenant to sign both to say that they accept it’s an accurate report, then you can keep one copy and leave them with the other. If the tenants want more time to go through the check-in report, ask them to let you know of any discrepancies within seven days.

Deposit and First Month's Rent

You should make sure you’ve received the first rent payment and any deposit you’ve requested before authorizing the clerk or anyone else to hand over keys.

Don’t forget you’ll need to protect the deposit with one of three government-approved schemes within 30 days or receiving the payment. You must then send the Prescribed Information about the deposit to the tenant.

If you’ve already received and protected the deposit, the easiest thing is to take two copies of the signed paperwork with you on the day they move in and ask them to sign one copy for your records. For further information on protecting the deposit, see www.gov.uk/tenancy-deposit-protection/overview. If your tenants are yet to move in, both the inventory as well as the deposit and first month's rent formalities are worth sorting out in advance. Check our Part 1 of this series to see what else you can do before moving in day.

Final Things to Remember

You should also take two copies of the tenancy agreement with you, which you have signed, and get the tenant to sign both. You should leave them with one copy and keep one for your own records.

Make sure you also give them a copy of the gas safety record as it’s against the law to let a property without one.

Remember to take final gas, electricity and water meter readings (a check-in clerk will do this if you have one) so you can inform the utility providers to close the previous accounts.

It’s a good idea to provide tenants with a laminated sheet of useful information, such as what days the binmen come and where the stop-cock is located, plus an emergency contact number, but you should also take a little time to show them how everything works.

Then all that remains is to wish them good luck in their new home!

Part 1: Preparing For Moving In Day

Part 3: What To Do Next