Dear all,
There was some interesting information in this weeks money saving expert email which you may find useful and incase you do not receive it we wanted to pass it on. Also the site is English based and as you are aware the Scottish laws and English laws differ, which has never been quite so as apparent as during the pandemic!
If your deposit’s not protected, you could get it back… plus THREE TIMES the value. With most tenancies, your landlord/letting agent MUST put your deposit into a Government-backed protection scheme by law. If they don’t, you’ve rights to redress. See deposit protection.
The deposits Glasgow Property Letting Ltd deals with are held with either safe deposit Scotland or letting protection Scotland and the deposit is usually lodged once it has been received, which is often before the tenancy has started.
Make the most of where you live – easily & cheaply boost storage & spruce your space. From sticking up temporary wallpaper to using the backs of doors or under beds for storage, we’ve 25 tricks to make the most of where you live.
We do ask if you are making alterations to the property, can you advise the office before hand so we can have authorization from the landlord.
Renters can slash monthly household bills by £100s too The rule is simple: if you pay the bill, then you are usually allowed to choose suppliers, and can therefore switch and save money – as long as you’re not altering the property. So unless you pay an ‘everything included’ rent, don’t sit on your laurels, do some saving. Though for courtesy it’s worth letting the landlord know.
As part of the Private rented tenancy agreement if you change suppliers you should notify the office, but in these modern times when you can save a lot of money by switching it can be easy to forget. We are in partnership with a company wo can offer competitive rates for utilities https://store.vouch.co.uk/?cid=2684, it may be worth having a check to see if there are savings to be made.
We do ask at the end of the tenancy for you to fill out https://glasgowpropertyletting.com/wp-content/uploads/End-of-tenancy-procedures-tenant-email-website.pdf and we use these details to transfer the account out of your name and back into the landlords.
You own more than you think you do – half of renters don’t have contents insurance. It can cost less than £10/mth. Your landlord is responsible for buildings insurance, but that only covers the stuff that wouldn’t fall if you turned the home upside down.
In pre covid times when signing a lease, we would stress how important tenants content insurance was. The landlord legally has to have buildings insurance and insurance on any items they own, however your items such as watches, rings, ipads, mobile phones are not covered by the landlords insurance. https://store.vouch.co.uk/?cid=2684 or any comparison site can offer a quote for this.
I could go through all the points from the blog, but as you can tell my copy/paste skills are not great! There is a lot more information on the Money Saving Expert website and I am a huge fan of Martin Lewis and his advise and tips.
Just a reminder that the bank account details for your standing order for the rental payment are :
- Clydesdale bank / Virgin Monday
- Glasgow Property Letting ltd
- Client account
- Sort code 82-51-01
- Account number 80024746
- IBAN GB86CLYD82510180024746
- BIC CLYDGB21943
- Reference Property address
I have mentioned this is previous emails, but if you are in financial difficulty, there are avenues available, and the Scottish government has set up a Tenant hardship loan. https://tenanthardshiploan.est.org.uk/
The Tenant Hardship Loan will provide short-term support for tenants who are having difficulty paying rent because of the impacts of COVID-19.
Alternatives to the loan
Before you consider applying to the loan fund you should check to see if there are other non-repayable forms of support available. For example:
Universal Credit can include a housing element, which helps towards rent. This element replaces what was known as “housing benefit”. It can be paid to people who are:
- in work but who have low earnings, or
- if you are out of work or in receipt of other benefits.
Tenants who already get Universal Credit or the older type of Housing Benefit can apply for Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP). This is extra money if you might be able to get if you are behind with your rent or if your benefit payments don’t cover the full cost of your rent. If you apply for Discretionary Housing Payment and it’s refused or isn’t enough to clear the arrears you can still apply to the Tenant Hardship Loan Fund later.
See the page on Discretionary Housing Payment to find out how you can apply.
The Scottish Welfare Fund helps families and people in Scotland who are on low incomes through Crisis Grants and Community Care Grants. These grants, though they do not cover rent payments, can be given to cover the costs of an emergency, or if your circumstances have changed, for example, if you have recently left care.
Check if you’re entitled to benefits
Use the Turn2us benefit calculator
You’ll need information on your household’s:
- income and savings
- outgoings, such as rent
- existing benefits and pensions
- council tax bill
Get help managing your money
Services that can help with budgeting, applying for benefits, and debt
It is very important that you speak with the Glasgow Property Letting team if you do have any financial concern or worries.
If you have any maintenance issues to report these can be reported using the link
https://glasgowpropertyletting.fixflo.com/Auth/HomeIssueCreate.
Thank you to those who have sent over an inspection video, very much apricated and if you haven’t as yet, please do, it is a good way for us to check and catch any concerns before they become bigger issues.
Michelle O’Donnell
Branch Manager
17 Elmbank Street
Glasgow
G2 4PB
0141 221 3990
Registration number LARN1903009
VAT : 174415411
SC345735
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