Two useful guides aimed at helping tenants and landlords avoid the pitfalls of renting are published this week by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the property and construction organisation.

Both RICS leaflets give a step-by-step guide to understanding the basic legal and practical issues involved in renting a flat or house. Written from either a tenant’s (What every tenant should know) or landlord’s (What every landlord should know) perspective, they offer a checklist of what to consider and who to go to for professional advice.

The leaflets are timed to coincide with the time of year when the UK’s 2 million students are starting to look for accommodation for the autumn term. For many of them it will be the first time they have ever rented a property and some practical and common sense advice will be invaluable.

Meanwhile more and more people are entering the buy-to-let market as an alternative to other investments, unaware of the time consuming and complex issues they need to consider.

RICS housing spokesman, Jeremy Leaf says: “The market has been crying out for the information these leaflets provide. Many people try to set themselves up as landlords without having a clue about their legal obligations to their tenants, and how they should manage their property. This leaves them very exposed.”

“Equally, tenants may take on a property without properly thinking through what their total monthly bills will be or how to protect themselves against unscrupulous landlords. There has been a lot of publicity recently about landlords refusing to refund deposits when a tenant departs – our guide takes tenants through some simple do’s and don’ts which will help guard against unpleasant surprises.”

Subjects covered in the leaflets include:

The RICS guides are available free of charge from RICS Contact Centre e: contactrics@rics.org, telephone: 0870 333 1600. Similar information can also be found on the RICS website www.rics.org/public/ .

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