Before we go on with our short term rental apartment search, we will show you our action plan:

1. Find letting agents who deal with short term rentals in our desired locations – Knightsbridge, Kensington and Chelsea;
2. E-mail or message the agents our wish. The agents will help us save some valuable time.

We trust they will have some great offers for us but while waiting for agents to respond, we will have to look at other options, too.

3. Search the Internet for websites with short term listings. What type of sites are available? Are there any attractive offers?
4. Respond to attractive adverts.

By now we should have a good choice of apartments to choose from.

5. Compare the offers received from agents and found from the web.
6. Choose the most suitable offer.
7. Compare renting this short term apartment to the option of taking a hotel room.
8. Make a decision.

Have we missed something?

One of my favourite websites to use in getting to know London’s rental market, when I first moved to London in 2004, was Net-Lettings.co.uk. I wish it had the property news roll like it does now but back then I used it mainly to get to letting agents’ websites. Also, what kept me coming back was this very simple colourful London area map that I found so good to use as a reference. Here’s a piece of this great map:

The areas on Net-Lettings.co.uk map are divided into 5 groups, and if you want to know how much the rent is in a certain area, you can either take a look at the Weekly Rent Guide on the left sidebar or click on a place, say Knightsbridge, to open up a whole new more specific page (area card). Here you can find a lot of information: More specific rent guide, links to letting agents around the area, Council Tax charges in this area, comments on the area, featured property for rent in this area, and a transport guide.

The website’s main menu includes:
Council Boroughs – a clickable borough map that takes you to borough websites
Advice – links to advice sites
Short Let – Agents that offer short lets
Hostel – links to holiday accommodation offerers
Commercial – Links to office and other commercial space agents
Flatshare – Links to sites that offer flatshares
International – Links to agencies offering international properties

We will leave a few things for you to explore yourself. In summary, Net-lettings.co.uk is mostly a good depository of links. I cannot stress enough how very simple it is to use.

We have decided to start our search for a short term rental apartment from this website.

Alright, Ladies and Gentlemen – we will start with our very first open search for a rental! Open means that we will keep you posted on our blog on how our search is going. During our search we will send out inquiries to the agents, try out some websites, and pick up all the leads. If you are interested in how renting works here in London – keep reading our blog. it will all be here – where we are looking, whom we are contacting. Now, to the point:

We are helping a family of 4 to find an apartment to rent in London for a short period of time. Here are their requirements:

Arrival Date: 25.2.2008
Departure Date: 5.3.2008
Desired Location: Chelsea, Kensington, Knightsbridge
Bedrooms: at least 2

The tenants cannot come and see the property beforehand. They expect the apartment to meet relatively high standards. It does not have to be catered. If there are any additional specifications – we will let you know.

Updates:
24.01.2008 Not more than 3 bedrooms. Tenants have lived in the area before so they know it quite well.

***

Should you have any recommendations – leave a comment or contact us: info [at] royalsofrent.com

ROEA is a registry of real estate agents in UK, with the purpose to offer consumers the possibility to comment on firms and individual agents. Reading other people’s reviews should advise you on which agent to choose and whom to avoid. Here is an example of an agent’s profile with a comment. Joining the registry is free and they say they have over 8000 agents and 2000 firms listed already. The boss of ROEA is a former estate agent Henry Pryor, the man who is also behind TheHIPExchange.com & Primemove.

RoR review: Well, it’s an interesting site … with a lot of potential. We like the map search, and the visual result – looking at where the estate agents are situated. Great for locating an agent in your area, no doubt. Unfortunately, this is also what kills the usability for us – it is difficult to get the comments on agents from the map. It does not show whether the agent has been commented or not. I have to click on it before I can find out. Perhaps a full list of the results with the marks, commented or not, under the map would be helpful? Also, especially for the first time users, it would be great to see some shortcuts on the first page – most commented agents, most commented firms, latest comments, etc. At the moment it is just too time consuming to find the comments from the website. Hopefully they are working on improvements as we speak.

Screenshot from ROAE (The North London results).

BBC is looking for people with legal problems to be in their new show Street Legal. They will help you with free legal advice in return:

Do you need legal help, is the law on your side, do you want to know your rights? Then the BBC would like to talk to you about a new show that could help.

Maybe:

• You’re having a row with your neighbour and things are getting heated.
• Your flatmate owes you £1,000 but refuses to pay you back.

BBC will be using a team of mediators and legal experts to give you the best advice possible, and help get things under control before you end up in a solicitor’s office or a court room. If it sounds like we could help you, please contact us with your name, phone number, town and a brief summary of your legal dilemma.

Phone: 09015 22 33 33 Calls cost 15p from a BT landline. Mobiles and other networks may be higher.
E-mail: streetlegal [at] bbc.co.uk

Just in case you have not seen this humorous piece – see what happens if you don’t pay your rent on time!

Warning: some strong language

Via Will Ferrel’s Funny or Die

Q: My landlord did not think a written tenancy agreement is necessary, and in the haste of moving into a new place I did not care so much. But now, 3 weeks after moving in, I wish I had something tangible to hold on to… Isn’t he legally obliged to give me a contract?

Well, it depends. Since your tenancy started after 28 February 1997, the private residential agreement is always automatically Assured Shorthold Tenancy (unless agreed otherwise in writing). Now, if you agreed to a fixed term of 3 years and more, you are legally entitled to a written tenancy agreement. If your tenancy is shorter, the landlord does not have to give you a written agreement.

If you need something tangible, you should know, that with the Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement, you have the right to ask for a written statement of any of the following main terms of the tenancy:

1. The date the tenancy began
2. The amount of rent payable and the dates on which it is due
3. Any rent review arrangements
4. The length of any fixed term

Source: DirectGov

Image: -Gep- at Flickr

Evening Standard’s Homes and Property has their own vision of which London areas will be sparkling in 2008:

1. East Soho – Bounded by New Oxford Street, Charing Cross Road and St Giles High Street
2. City Road Basin In Islington, the triangle formed by Essex Road, New North Road and City Road in N1
3. Nine Elms in Wandsworth
4. Croydon South London
5. Depford Creek SW10 Greenwich

Read the full article HERE.

Image: Altitude 25, the new mixed building under construction in Croydon. Architect: Devereux Architects, Developer: Howard Holdings Plc.

Our rental of this week – something affordable in SW3.

Affordable in the SW3???

Well, you decide – Harrods Estates has a studio on their books that is across the road from Harrods with the rent of £170 per week! You wouldn’t be able to get a hotel room for that! From the advertisement:

Possibly the smallest flat in London… this studio apartment on the top floor at the rear of Princes Court opposite Harrods, is cleverly designed to fit everything into a very small space. Accommodation comprises desk area with bunk bed above, futon, kitchenette and shower, all in this secure portered block. Perfect for a week day pied a terre. Price £170 p.w (£737 per month).

Here are some photos from inside.

Think it’s not much bigger than your closet? Ask the agent if it is still available to view: To the Harrods Estates webpage

Telegraph lists top 10 London hotspots where buy-to-let investors should buy in 2008:

1. Kensington & Chelsea
2. Wandsworth & Battersea
3. Borough/Southwark
4. Hammersmith, Chiswick & White City
5. King’s Cross
6. Elephant & Castle
7. Docklands
8. Greenwich Peninsula
9. Lea Valley Olympic Park
10. Stratford

Image: Chelsea Embankment in 1905 via the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Virtual Museum

If you’ve seen Single White Female, you know what roommate from hell means…

Perhaps someone else will find this type of simple tenant screening helpful:

A landlord, who rents out rooms in his house, gives the potential tenants a sheet of paper with 10 questions on it. Included on the list are questions on their favorite movies, food, hobbies and their pet peeves about living with other people. Questions sheet is one of many ways he ensures that everyone in his house will get along. When a vacancy opens up, the landlord interviews the interested people and insists on immediate honesty if two of his housemates have a problem with one another.

Read the full story in Rochester Democrat & Chronicle.

London is the most expensive city in the world, reports Global Property Guide:

Residential apartments or flats in Prime Central London are among the priciest in the world, at £10,960 – £18,214 per sq. m. Prime central London include Belgravia, Chelsea, Mayfair, Notting Hill, Knightsbridge, Regent’s Park, South Kensington, St. John’s Woods, and St. James. Prices in other luxurious areas in London such as Wimbledon, Hampstead, Richmond, and Wandsworth range from £8,675 – £9,719 per sq. m., also among the highest in the world.

New York came in second, Moscow third. View the full list HERE.

Our Better Safe Than Sorry series are officially on!

The Tenancy Application Form is the 2nd most important document for the landlord after the tenancy agreement. The Landlord Zone lists reasons why landlords should always have the form signed and filled out as detailed as possible. Click here to get The Landlord Zone’s free download copy of the form.

For those of you who are new to London, here are the most common types of tenancy agreements that are used here:

Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement (AST) – Most common, most flexible. All the tenancies that started from 28 February 1997 will be AST-s unless agreed otherwise in writing. This agreement has straightforward notice procedures for bringing the tenancy to an end after the minimum 6 months period and a special Accelerated Possession court procedure should tenants fail to vacate.

Assured Tenancy Agreement - Usually issued by a housing trust or housing association. A more secure agreement granting a longer stay. Much more difficult to end than AST.

House and Flatshare Agreement -Both resident landlords and non-resident landlords can use these agreements. The main purpose is to create a tenancy agreement, which will not have the force of an Assured Tenancy or even an Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement. It allows both the tenant and the landlord to end the agreement quickly.

Holiday Lettings Agreement – An agreement with the intention of using the premises for holiday accommodation. The term of the letting agreement will usually be quite short, often one or two weeks, and usually less than three months, but certainly less than six months. If it is intended to create a tenancy agreement in excess of six months, an Assured Tenancy or an Assured Shorthold Tenancy or a House & Flat Share Agreement should be used.

Regulated/Protected Tenancy - If you moved into the property before 15th January 1989, you may have a Regulated or Protected Tenancy. This type of tenancy offers the most protection against rent increases or eviction.

Important: Please read the agreement carefully before signing it. You can always ask the landlord to give/send you a copy to read beforehand.

PS The tenancy agreements do not have to be in writing, even though we strongly recommend it. The verbal agreement is by law just as binding.

Sources: Houseshare.com, Government’s website Directgov, ARLA & the Citizen Advice Bureau’s Advice Guide

Too late for furniture shopping but your tenant is about to move in shortly? Or perhaps your time and nerves cost more than the painful quest for perfect furniture? Well, for those and many other more and less unexpected reasons, you can always rent the furniture! Here are a few companies that offer furniture for rent in London (click on company name to get to their website):

Roomservice by CORT
- The largest provider of relocation furnishings in the UK.
- Delivery within hours, nationwide
- Wide choice of home essential items including electricals
- Option to rent for short and long periods
- You can even rent bed linen and bath towels

The Furniture Rental Company
- There is no minimum rental period although a minimum charge of one month’s rent applies.
- For rental periods of up to 11 months a deposit of 1 month’s rental is required. For rental periods of 12 months and over we require a deposit of 3 months rental.
- Furniture is delivered within a few days.

Sterling Furniture Rental
- Can deliver your furniture rental within 24 hours of confirmation of your furniture rental order.
- Short-Term Furniture Rental – you can use furniture rental from one to three months.

Fully Furnished
Furniture rental service for complete packages, single items, emergency house packs and electrical equipment including televisions, videos, hi-fis and microwaves installed within days.

John Strand Interiors Ltd
- No deposit.
- No fixed term contract or penalty fees for early returns.
- Deliveries and collections within 5 working days.
- Repairs and replacements of faulty items within 5 working days.