Landlords' Frequently Asked Questions

How do I let my property through RentFair?

It's easy. You will need to sign up as a member, if you have not already joined. Click on “add new property” in the menu bar and follow the step by step instructions to enter all the details of your property, the rent you require and any requirements you may have as to prospective tenants. Once entered, your property will be saved securely on our database so that you won't need to re-enter the details when you come to re-let it. Your advertisement will be listed online immediately.

In addition to being listed on this site, all properties (except room ads) will also be advertised on partner sites, including Fish4Homes.co.uk, Nestoria and Zoomf.com. Fish4 has been established by four of the UK's biggest regional newspaper groups. It regularly runs adverts in the local press across the country and the site attracts more than a million visitors each month. HotProperty is currently the UK's number 1 independent property website, also with around one million visitors each month. Zoomf.com is a search engine specialising in London property. From time to time, we may also advertise your property in the press..

To increase the chances of letting your property and of attracting good tenants, you can upload your own photographs and, if you have one, a floorplan. We strongly recommend that you include more than one photo and a floorplan of your property. Pictures and floorplans help tenants make up their minds more quickly and cut down on wasted viewings. You can opt to order professional photographs, floorplans and virtual tours from us at the time you submit your advertisement. You can also order credit checks on prospective tenants at the same time as listing your property.

If you have any problems entering the details of your property please email us.

Which Properties can be advertised?

For the moment, RentFair is restricted to properties in the Greater London area (within any London Borough). There is no restriction on the type of property (house, flat, maisonette, room) as long as it meets all legal requirements for residential occupation.

What is a Classified Advert? What is a Full Service Advert?

You can choose to list your property on RentFair either as a classified ad or as a Full Service Ad. With a classified ad, your property remains on our listings for 6 weeks, or until you mark it as let. Full service ads also remain on the site for 6 weeks but this period can be extended free of charge if your property is not let within that period (just email us).

Tenants will be able to contact you using the telephone number and email you have supplied or by messaging you through RentFair. If you would prefer your email and phone number not to be displayed, please change the setting in your Account Details page.

With a RentFair Full Service Ad, in addition to advertising your property on our listings, we will also:

• arrange credit checks for prospective tenants (with UK addresses)
• take referee details from prospective tenants
• collect a holding deposit from tenants wishing to rent your property so that, when we send you their details, you know they are serious
• prepare a tenancy agreement for your property once it is let

Adverts for rooms can only be listed as classified ads.

What about references?

If you select our full service option, you may specify that you require references from anyone wishing to rent your property. RentFair will collect from all prospective tenants the details of two people willing to provide references for them. The referee details will be sent to you as soon as we have collected a holding deposit from the tenants. It will be your own responsibility to take up the references if you choose to do so.

What about credit checks?

If you select our full service option, you may specify that you require a credit check on any prospective tenant. There is a fee of £8 per occupant payable for this at the time you advertise the property. The fee is based on the maximum occupancy of your property and is payable once only during the lifetime of the advertisement, regardless of how many credit checks are undertaken. No refunds are given but equally we do not ask for further payment if we undertake credit checks on multiple applicants. Please note that it is not possible to carry out credit checks on members without a UK address.

For data protection reasons, we are unable to provide you with exact details of credit checks but will inform you whether a prospective tenant has passed or failed our test. A fail means that one or more of the following apply: (a) the address details provided by the prospective tenant do not match those on his or her credit record, (b) the prospective tenant is bankrupt or (c) the prospective tenant has one or more registered CCJs. All other prospective tenants with a UK address will pass the test.

With Full Service Ads, how long do I have to take up references and accept the tenant's offer?

You have 5 days (including weekends and bank holidays) from the time you are notified by RentFair of the details of a prospective tenant to take up references and decide whether to rent the property to them. The tenant will be asked to pay a holding deposit so that you know they are serious and that deposit will be held by RentFair. If the tenant withdraws their offer during that period, the holding deposit will be paid to you after deduction by RentFair of an administration charge.

During the 5 days you must either accept or reject the tenant's offer to rent your property. If you reject the offer, the holding deposit is refunded to the tenant. If you fail to respond during that period, the offer is treated as rejected. The property will be listed as "under offer" during this period, which will prevent any other users of the site making offers to rent it.

If you accept the offer, the tenant's holding deposit will be retained by RentFair as commission and you will be required to deduct an equal amount from the first month's rent.

How much does it cost?

For an explanation of our charges (where applicable) click here

How do I know I can rely on the tenancy agreement?

RentFair is run by legal people with more than ten years’ experience in letting property. The agreement used by Rentfair has also been approved by RentFair’s external solicitors specifically for our use on this site. In line with the concept of Rentfair, the tenancy agreement is designed to be fair to both landlord and tenant. Details of the property, the agreed price, deposit and term will be inserted automatically. Provided the simple instructions are followed, a legally binding tenancy agreement will be created. All you need to do is print it out and sign it.

What if I want to relet my property?

Simply go to the “My Rentals” section of the site and click on the “relet” or “relist” option alongside the property you wish to re-advertise. Update your property details as necessary, order any additional media you require, and the property will be reposted to our listings pages. There will normally be no need to re-order a floorplan unless your property has been altered since you last advertised it.

I have let my property. How do I remove it from your listings?

Simply go to the “My Rentals” section of the site and click on the “mark property as let" option, This will ensure that the property details (including photos and any floorplans) remain in your My Rentals listings but are no longer displayed to other users of the site. When you come to relet your property, just click on the "relet” or “relist” option alongside the property you wish to re-advertise and it will be added to our listings and re-advertised on our partner sites.

Privacy and Security

RentFair takes your confidentiality and security seriously. We are registered under the Data Protection Act and we will never sell your personal data to third parties without your express written consent. We recommend that you read our Privacy Policy and full Terms and Conditions for full details of how your data is handled.

What are you waiting for? Advertise your property on RentFair now!

Partner Site: rentletlondon.co.uk