If the property is managed by us, the tenant will be introduced to their property manager at check in. He or she will be the tenants main point of contact throughout the tenancy to ensure they have a single person who can deal with any queries. They are available to ensure the tenants time in the property is trouble free and enjoyable.

The safety of our tenants is of paramount importance to us. Before the tenancy starts, the property manager will ensure your home is safe and compliant. Throughout the tenancy, the property manager will arrange contractor access for:

• Annual gas safety inspections
• Annual/Periodic electrical inspections
• Fire/smoke alarm testing if the property is part of a larger complex
• Reactive maintenance when something goes wrong
• Ad hoc visits to monitor ongoing issues

Important note: Our property managers will always try to give at least overnights notice, normally longer, of any visits. Should something be of a more urgent nature we will reserve the right to access the property at shorter notice.

The dedicated property manager will visit on a minimum of 2 occasions each year. The first visit will be after 3 months, and 6 monthly thereafter. This will give us the opportunity to:

• Meet the tenant and speak to them about any concerns they might have
• Review the condition of the property
• Make recommendations to the landlord for any required works
• Send the landlord a full report with photos

Important note: As we are managing the property, the landlord will not be visiting. It is therefore important that we visit, take photos, and send a detailed report to the landlord so they can be confident their tenant is looking after their property.

The dedicated property manager is here to help when something goes wrong. They will react to reported maintenance issues depending on their urgency. They will always try to trouble shoot the issue on the phone with the tenant or attend the property if they feel they can help. If they feel a contractor is needed, they will request one of our trusted contractors to attend at their earliest opportunity.

• Non urgent maintenance should be emailed to the property manager
• For urgent maintenance issues the tenant should call their property manager as soon as the problem becomes apparent.

Important note: Our property managers spend much of the day out of the office visiting properties. Should the tenant have an urgent maintenance issue, another member of the team will be ready to help in their absence.

In the event of an emergency, the tenant should follow this advice:

• Gas emergency
  • If the tenant smells gas or are worried about gas safety they should try to contact their property manager in the first instance. Should they not be available or the situation be out of hours then please contact  the National Gas Emergency Service 24 hr Freephone number  0800 111 999 
• Plumbing emergency
  • If your property is managed by The Bristol Residential Letting Co then we offer a 24 hour plumbing emergency service through Advanced Plumbing & Heating 07785280611.  Please note that should the situation not be an emergency then any charges incurred will be the responsibility of the tenant.
• Other maintenance emergency
  • When a maintenance situation arises we request that tenants use their common sense to resolve it.  Should the situation be an emergency then the tenant should call the 24 hr emergency number they were given at the start of the tenancy. This number can also be found on their check in pack.

Important note: The emergency service numbers are there to help our tenants and keep them safe. If the emergency is due to any act of negligence or responsibility of the tenant, or if it is deemed to be a non-emergency, the tenant may be liable to reimburse the cost of the call out and any works carried out.

The following should be considered if you are going to leave the property vacant for a prolonged period for time:

• Pipes
  • Freezing temperatures can cause flooding to properties if pipes freeze and burst. Please leave the heating on low/winter setting, even if the property is unoccupied to prevent this from happening.
• Water Systems
  • If it’s likely that the property will be empty for a significant period of time, then the water should be turned off at the stop tap and the system drained by running the hot and cold taps.  The tenant should also advise their property manager if the property will be empty for any period longer than 14 days.

All tenancies commence with a fixed term.  As the end of this fixed term approaches your property manager will be in contact to discuss either extending the tenancy or bringing it to an end.  The tenant is likely to have the following options.

• Renew the tenancy for a further fixed term: We will draw up a new contract at a cost of £30 and arrange for the tenant to sign via Docusign. This will give the tenant security of tenure for a further 6 or 12 months.
• Continue on a statutory periodic tenancy: This is a monthly rolling tenancy to give the tenant added flexibility. The tenant can serve 1 months notice to vacate. However, the landlord does have the option to serve the tenant 2 months notice and so offers less security for the tenant.
• Vacate the property: If the tenant decides to leave they should give us the required notice. It is likely that we will have to remarket the property to find a new tenant. We will therefore require access for viewings and will advise as and when these are booked in

If the tenant has given notice to vacate the dedicated property manager will start the check out procedure. Our aim is to advise the tenant of what we will expect when they have moved out, and help them to prepare. Some points to consider:

• The property manager will send e mail confirmation  that we have received the tenants notice and will advise what needs to be done to the property before vacation.
• The property will be remarketed and we will attend for viewings with at least overnights notice.
• The tenant will return keys to the same office they picked them up from originally.
• The dedicated property manager will attend the property on the next working day and produce a check out report. He or she will have the original inventory to compare condition. The report will be sent to the tenant with photos and confirmation of any proposed deductions from the deposit, if any.

Following agreement between the landlord and tenant of deposit allocation, the deposit will be sent to you via cheque or BACS if the tenant can provide us with proof of forwarding address. We always aim to return the deposit as soon as possible after check out.