Tiverton Road 3, Birmingham

If they manage your property you will need to let them know about any maintenance issues, they have a team of trusted tradesmen and contractors who will resolve any issues you may have.

For properties which they manage, They'll be asking you to set up direct debits to pay your rent which will either be monthly in advance or quarterly. They'll email you with a link to a website where you'll need to enter your bank details to set up the direct debit. You can forward this link to your parents if they will be paying your rent for you. You'll need to make sure that you've got enough money in your account each month for the direct debit to work, if there's not you may be charged a late payment fee by them and your bank.

Their properties are available with bills not included in the rent. This means that you have to pay extra for utilities.

At the end of your tenancy they ask you to leave the property clean and tidy. They'll also ask you to provide them with proof that you've paid all of your utilities (gas, electricity, water) and that you've dealt with the council tax at the property. (So make sure you hold on to all your bills!) Your tenancy agreement explains in detail why you may have charges deducted from your deposits. However, the main reasons tenants are charged are: -Not paying rent on time - you will accrue interest charges on any outstanding amounts. -Using Blu-Tack or similar on walls - if they have to re-paint a wall, the charge is normally £40 per wall. -Not cleaning the property well enough at the end of the tenancy.

Once you have signed your tenancy agreement you are bound to it for the full term. If you don’t want to live in the property any more you will still have to pay rent until you find someone to take over your liabilities. This is called a Novation. There is a charge for them to organise your Novation. If you signed your tenancy agreement before Monday 20th May 2019, the charge is £150. If you signed your tenancy agreement on or after Monday 20th May 2019, the charge is £125 per tenant changing + £10 per tenant on the tenancy agreement over one. If you would like them to advertise your room, there will be an additional charge of 50% of one month's rent, at minimum £250.

When you sign your contract you will pay your ‘non refundable retainer’; this is held by the landlord or his agent until you move into the property when it becomes your ‘deposit’. Once the funds become a deposit your landlord has 28 days in which to protect it with a government authorised scheme and provide the details to you. Your landlord is not obliged to tell you which scheme they will use until that time; the scheme fees paid by the landlord fluctuate so landlords’ will use the most appropriate of the three schemes at that time.

They cannot do dual occupancy in their properties.

For a lot of their properties you'll be asked to collect your keys from their office after midday on the 1st day of your tenancy. You can pick your keys up at any point after that date during their office hours. Remember, everyone in your house will need to have completed all of their paperwork first, paid their rent and you'll need to bring your ID with you so they know they are giving the right keys to the right people!

For some properties your landlord will provide keys directly to you. They will email you a month before your move in date to confirm where you should collect your keys.

There aren't exactly 4 weeks in a month so they calculate monthly rent in the following way: divide your weekly rent by seven (number of days in the week), then multiply by 365 (number of days in the year); finally multiple this by twelve (the number of months in the year).

The equation is: (weekly rent / 7) x 365 / 12 = monthly rent.

Please note that for leap years you need to adjust the equation to 366 to take the extra day into account.

While their standard process is to ask tenants to provide a UK-based guarantor, who passes a credit check, they know that sometimes this may not be possible. For instance, if you are an International student.

There are two options available if you don't have a UK guarantor: you can pay your rent upfront, or apply to the company Housing Hand to act as your guarantor.

Housing Hand charges a one-off fee of £299 for this service, which will mean that they act as your UK guarantor for 12 months - the usual length of your tenancy. The fee is exclusive to pmg, so make sure you mention them to pay this fee.