Landlords

At Direct Lettings our property managers have completed LETWELL. This is a programme delivered by Landlord Accreditation Scotland (LAS) and the CIH Housing Academy. After achieving the level 3 certificate in letting and managing residential property, our staff complete hours of continued professional development to retain CIH membership.

With this in mind, we are aware of ever changing legislation and have the capabilities to deal with all sorts of situations the letting world throws at us!

We have two main services we offer, but we are happy to tailor a package so if you do have any concerns our Property Managers are happy to talk through options.

• Our Fully Managed Service is charged monthly as a 10% + VAT* commission of the monthly rental. Within this agreement there are a few other charges which are 1. New Tenancy Cost at £210 INC VAT every tenant changeover and 2. Annual Inspection Fee at £90 INC VAT. For this we complete bi-annual inspections every 6 months’. The fully managed service covers marketing, viewings, referencing, leasing, lodging security deposits, inventory/check-in, and final check out inspections. We will also respond to maintenance requests for the duration of the tenancy, unless agreed otherwise.

• The Let Only Service fees are 75% + VAT of the first months’ rent. Within this we will market the property, arrange and host viewings, reference, lease, lodge the deposit, and complete an inventory/pre-check in. Once the tenant collects keys we would hand the responsibility over to the landlord.

*Fees can be discussed, particularly with multi-property landlords.

We use several channels when it comes to marketing. You can find your property on the following sites;

• Our own website, www.dlscotland.com
• Rightmove
• On the Market
• Citylets
• Gumtree
• Our social media, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Alongside web pages we instruct rentals boards, full colour window schedules, branded pool cars, and individual marketing campaigns.

Ideally we want vacant periods to be kept to a minimum, our ideal turnaround between tenancies is 5 working days.

We use a third party, Help The Move, to notify utility companies and the council of any switchovers. We will receive any bills required to be paid to our office address. When received the meter readings and dates are checked before processing.

If the property remains vacant for a longer period of time we will ensure to check it weekly to cover any insurance policies. In colder months we will also turn the heating on a timer to avoid any maintenance mishaps!

We follow a strict arrears chasing process which aligns with the guidelines from Let Alliance. For more information on this process please contact us, info@dlscotland.com.

We use Let Alliance to reference any potential tenants. This means that you can enter into the Rent Guarantee policy they offer with no additional checks. This is 2% + VAT of the monthly rent. We can share a fact sheet about this policy upon request.

With our LETWELL training we are also competent handling evictions and civil proceedings with the First Tier Tribunal Housing and Property Chamber. We can submit a Form F for recovery of income.

Within our fully managed agreement we organise any repairs up to a limit of £200. We have a list of approved contractors who we trust and ensure landlords are getting best value, along with good quality work. We have contractors on hand to attend to out of hours emergencies.

We also instruct renewal of safety certificates to keep clients compliant.

We can negotiate any changes to the handling of maintenance to suit each clients preferences, just ask! There are also options to start a maintenance back-up fund by withholding a percentage/monetary amount of the monthly rent.

It can be quite overwhelming when getting everything together to market a property for the first time, but that’s where we can help. We will go over each step at our free, no obligation, market valuation which can be done either in person or online. This information will then also be emailed over to you to process in your own time.

A summary of points are included below;

• Obtain consent from all owners and mortgage lender, if applicable.
• Arrange relevant insurance cover.
• Register as a landlord

which shows current value in the local area for similar properties. All of our agents are local so have great experience and knowledge of the areas.

We have a process in place for annual rent increases. The Property Managers will review appropriate figures and discuss any concerns with you.

We are a local letting agency which is part of the well-known J&E Shepherd surveying firm. We have been trading in Edinburgh, Dundee, and Forfar since 1997 [under different names].

We cover a large proportion of Scotland including, Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife, Dundee, Forfar, and more recently expanding into Glasgow and the West, as well as Aberdeen in 2023.

Our staff pride themselves on service and attitude. We are keen to get to know all of our clients in order to manage their specific requirements. With this we can mould our service to suit the owner, tenant, and property.

We promise not to “Let it and Forget it”.

We are more than happy to go that extra mile. Whilst they do not fall under our remit in day to day management, we can deal with arranging common repairs. There are additional costs to our clients but we will always discuss this beforehand. Common repairs are a nightmare so let the professionals handle the stress!

We can also deal directly with insurance claims where required. If you are under our block policy with Howden’s we will be named to handle it. If you have another provider and would like us to deal with it, they will request written confirmation. Again, this will be chargeable as it’s not within our management agreement.