Our Welcome
JSM welcomes all prospective tenants. Every year we find homes for families, for companies with visiting employees, for students and for retired people and we aim to assist everyone in finding the right home. Our trained and experienced staff will help you in any way they can. Please do not hesitate to ask questions.

Your Choice
JSM always has an excellent choice of homes to rent: furnished and
unfurnished, studios, apartments, flats and houses.

Our branches cover town and country areas throughout East Anglia and all
our properties are in good order.

Our negotiators will, wherever possible, take you in a courtesy car to view your
selected homes and advise you on local amenities such as schools, public
transport and hospitals.

Your Security
We offer tenants security: most lets will be on an Assured Shorthold Tenancy
Agreement for a minimum period of six months, unless agreed otherwise.

We are bonded members of ARLA – the Association of Residential Letting Agents – your deposit and rental payments are held in client accounts and secured by the ARLA bond and with our own high standards you can have every confidence in renting with JSM.

Your Safety
We take your safety very seriously. Our Landlords are advised of their responsibilities under safety regulations and every effort is made to ensure that appliances and heating systems are functioning properly and furnishings meet the requirements of the law.

The Tenancy Application Form
Please feel free to ask any of our negotiators to help you complete the Tenancy Application Form. The details given will in due course be used to draw up the legally binding lease. If your references are deemed by the Landlord to be unsatisfactory, no refund of the initial monies paid will be made, however, if the Landlord withdraws from the transaction for any other reason, a full refund will be made to you.

References and Guarantees
To enable us to complete your Tenancy Application we need certain information: a reference from your employer and from a previous Landlord or friend to confirm your status. If you are self-employed we will need a reference from your accountant and your bank. If you have not been in full time employment for at least six months or perhaps you are a student, you will need a guarantor such as a parent, relative or close friend who will guarantee the rent and adherence to the Terms and Conditions of the Agreement.

Please ensure you complete the application form in full to enable us to process your references quickly.

Students
Students should provide proof of grant entitlement.

Costs and Time Scales
Please allow a minimum of ten working days between submitting your Application Form and moving into your new home, subject to the date the property is available.

Before you move in, you will be asked to sign the Tenancy Agreement and to pay the initial rent in advance plus a deposit, usually the equivalent of one and a half month’s rent which will, in most cases, be held by ourselves in a bonded client account. The Company does not pay interest on monies held.

This must be paid by Banker’s Draft, Cash or Building Society cheque. Personal cheques will not be accepted unless received seven working days before the tenancy begins.

Your Initial Rental Payment
You will be asked to pay the equivalent of one month’s rent from the date you move into your new home. All future rental payments should be made by standing order in each subsequent month and a standing order mandate will be issued to you at the commencement of your tenancy. Overdue rentals will be subject to a liquidator’s damages payment of £1 per day for each and every day the rental is overdue.

The deposit will be payable at the same time as your initial rent payment.

Rental payments must be made promptly into our account by the due date and thus we require, that payments are made at least 3 working days before the rent is due in order to allow time for it to clear the banking system.

Returned cheques will be charged to the tenant at the rate of £20 per cheque. Should written reminders for late payment of rent be necessary, JSM will charge a fee of which you will be advised, to cover our administration costs.

Service Arrangements
When you sign a Tenancy Agreement, it is your responsibility to inform all the utility companies (including the gas/electricity board and the water board) of your move in date, since you will be responsible for all these as of that date. Utility companies may ask you for a deposit if you have not had a previous account.

Council Tax
You should inform the appropriate Council that you are the new resident of the property and are responsible for all payments from the start of the tenancy.

Maintenance
Most properties are managed by JSM, this means that when repairs are
required you can simply contact your local JSM branch and our staff will be
pleased to arrange the necessary repairs.

Maintenance request cards will be supplied to you at the beginning of the
tenancy and if you have any maintenance problems which need attention,
you should complete the maintenance request form and send it to your local
branch where it will be attended to and either a JSM employee or an
approved contractor will get in touch to arrange a convenient time and date
to remedy the problem.

Maintenance problems which occur outside normal office hours should be
reported to your local branch by leaving a message on the answerphone and
this will be dealt with promptly and efficiently when the office re-opens.

We also provide 24-hour cover for dire emergencies and further details will
be given to you if your tenancy application proceeds.

Property Inspections
At intervals during your tenancy, we will need to visit you to check that all is well with the property. This will be arranged with you in advance and benefits both Tenant and Landlord as any problems can be discussed and resolved.

Tenancy Status
Your tenancy will be for an initial fixed term usually of six months, after which the tenancy will automatically become a Statutory Periodic Tenancy on a month by month basis. You may leave the property by serving at least one months notice, the landlord is required to serve two months notice to terminate the tenancy, at the end of the fixed term or at any other time thereafter. If however, you require a further fixed term, new tenancy documents can be drawn up at a cost of £75 plus VAT, subject to the Landlord’s agreement.

Requests for a further fixed term should be made to your local branch office at least two months before the end date of your tenancy, in order that the Landlord’s agreement may be sought and new documents processed.

Upon Taking Possession of the Property
You will be required to carefully check through the inventory issued to you at the commencement of the tenancy. This is most important, as the inventory will be our record of contents, condition of contents and condition of property. The document must be signed and any comments recorded before returning to our office to be lodged with the lease documents. It is essential that the signed inventory is returned to us within 5 days of receipt. If we do not receive it within this timescale, the document will be deemed to be accepted as issued and you agree to take responsibility for any damage or missing items.

Please also take time to read and understand your responsibilities as laid out in the lease, for example:

1. In most cases gardens must be maintained by the Tenant and the
property must be kept clean and tidy at all times.

2. JSM must be notified immediately should maintenance be required.

3. Should you wish to terminate your agreement at the end of your initial
fixed term, a minimum of one month’s notice must be given in writing to
JSM.

The End of Your Tenancy
As the tenancy ends, you will need to arrange an appointment with one of our representatives to carry out a final inspection of the property. A ‘check out’ fee of £50 plus VAT is payable by the tenantand is normally deducted from your deposit at the end of your tenancy. We will then arrange for your deposit to be returned, wherever possible within 3 working days, subject to a satisfactory inspection. It is because of our unique experience that we are able to make a fair decision in matters of deposit dispute and are able to advise both Landlord and Tenant alike. It should be clearly understood that, in the event of any deductions having to be made from the deposit, the decision of JSM is final. Please ensure that you let us have your forwarding address so we may send a cheque to your new home.

Finally
We look forward to receiving your Tenancy Application for one of our properties. We are absolutely certain that you will experience a significantly better level of service from JSM than from any other agent.

Contents and Accidental Damage Insurance
It is a requirement of your tenancy that you have in place a current contents insurance policy before the commencement of your tenancy. The purpose of this requirement is to safeguard your own property/ contents and also those of your landlord should anything be accidentally broken or damaged. By having this insurance in place you are protecting your damage deposit which in most cases will be able to be returned to you in full at the end of your tenancy.

For full details please click on 'Contents and Accidental Damage Insurance Policy' either above or on the previous page.