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What you need, what we have, and when.
London · Residential letting, since 2013
Everyone gets
Everyone gets
the same check.
In England a landlord must establish the right to rent of every adult occupier before they move in, not just the person who signs. Checking only the people who look foreign to you is unlawful discrimination. One discipline answers both: check everyone, identically, and keep the record.
- 2013letting since
- 18+every adult
- £10kper occupier
- EPC Eminimum
What we do
Four things, one check first
Every adult occupier is checked in the same way before any keys move, and the record is kept.
Letting our property
Letting residential property we own or lease, directly, as the landlord.
See the programRight to rent checks
Checking every adult occupier before occupation, by the prescribed method.
See the programSafety and energy
Gas, electrical, alarms and the energy certificate, in place before a tenancy starts.
See the programDeposits and payments
Holding deposits, tenancy deposits and what cannot lawfully be charged at all.
See the program
How it works
How we work
Check every adult occupier the same way and at the same stage, protect the deposit and serve the prescribed information, hand over the safety and energy documents before the start date, and move the date rather than release keys with anything outstanding.
A real viewing
The property itself, with its documents available.
Checks on every adult
Identical route, identical standard, recorded.
Keys on the agreed date
Once every document is in your hands.
Working together
What a let costs
Rent is quoted per property in pounds sterling and confirmed in the signed tenancy agreement. The figures below that are set by statute are exact; rents are indicative until quoted.
Holding deposit
Capped by statute at one week's rent.
- Maximum one week's rent
- Refunded if we withdraw
- Kept only on permitted grounds
- Written reasons within 7 days
- Credited against first rent
Monthly rent
Quoted per property, in pounds sterling, per calendar month.
- Quoted before any commitment
- Fixed for the agreed term
- Payable monthly in advance
- No agency or admin fees
- Confirmed in the signed agreement
Tenancy deposit
Capped at five weeks' rent below £50,000 annual rent.
- Maximum five weeks' rent
- Protected in an approved scheme
- Prescribed information served
- Held against the inventory
- Returned less agreed deductions
Every engagement is quoted after a free consultation. No subscription.
How we work
A landlord that checks everyone identically
TERRABOX NETWORKS LTD was incorporated in England and Wales on 28 June 2013 under company number 08589233, with its registered office at 412 Katherine Road in London. The business is letting and operating our own and leased residential property, and we have had the same director throughout.
We let as the landlord, not as an agent, and that distinction is stated rather than glossed over: a letting agent must belong to a redress scheme and protect client money, and a landlord letting its own property is not in that regime, so we claim no protection we are not subject to. The obligation we do carry, and the one this business is organised around, is the right to rent check. In England a landlord must establish that every adult who will occupy a property as their main home has the right to rent, before occupation begins, and that means all adult occupiers rather than only the person whose name is on the agreement. A failure carries a civil penalty running to five figures per occupier, and letting to someone you know to be disqualified is a criminal offence. What makes it a discipline rather than a form is the other side of it: checking selectively, applying a tougher standard to someone because of a name, an accent or an appearance, is unlawful discrimination. The two risks have one answer. Check every adult, by whichever permitted route suits them, at the same stage, to the same standard, and keep the dated record.
Frequently asked
The questions we get most
You are not an agent. What does that change for me?
It changes which protections exist. A letting agent must be a member of a property redress scheme and must protect client money; a landlord letting its own property is not in that regime. We would rather state that plainly than let anyone assume protections that do not apply. What you get instead is dealing directly with the landlord, no agency fees, and the statutory protections that do apply to any tenancy, including deposit protection and the prohibition on letting fees.
Why check everyone, including people not named on the agreement?
Because the law requires it. The right to rent duty covers every adult aged 18 or over who will occupy the property as their only or main home, whether or not they are a named tenant. A check done only on the lead tenant leaves the landlord exposed to a civil penalty for each unchecked occupier. So the question is asked of everyone moving in, at the same point in the process.
I have a share code rather than documents. Is that a problem?
Not at all, and it is often simpler. A Home Office online check using a share code is a permitted route, as is examining original documents in person, as is identity document validation through a certified provider. We will not insist on one particular document when the law permits another. Doing so would be both unnecessary and, depending on who it was aimed at, discriminatory.
My permission to stay is time limited. Will you refuse me?
No. Time-limited permission is a right to rent, and refusing on that basis would be unlawful discrimination. What it means in practice is a follow-up check before the permission expires, which we diarise rather than leave to chance. The outcome of that check is a matter for your immigration status at the time, not something we decide.
What can you charge me, and what can you not?
A holding deposit capped at one week's rent, a tenancy deposit capped at five weeks' rent where the annual rent is under fifty thousand pounds, the rent itself, and the limited default payments the legislation permits. We cannot charge you for viewings, for referencing, for preparing an inventory or for drawing up the agreement. Those are prohibited payments. Anyone asking you for them is not entitled to.
What happens if a safety document is not ready on the day?
The start date moves and the keys stay with us. A gas safety record, an electrical condition report, the energy certificate, working alarms, the deposit protected with its prescribed information and the How to Rent guide all belong in your hands before you occupy, not afterwards. Handing over keys with any of those outstanding would suit our diary and nobody else's interests.
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