Frequently Asked Questions
Leaseholders
This is the most commonly asked question, so we’ll address it upfront in our FAQs list:
Firstly, Urban Evolution works strictly to current housing legislation, as well as to ARLA’s codes of conduct.
Should your tenants breach their agreement and we’re unable to restore the landlord-tenant relationship (for whatever reason), you may choose to serve notice to end the agreement. However, this can be a complicated process if:
Your tenants don’t agree with your reasons, or
They’re unable to leave
In this instance, you may need to consult a solicitor to handle an eviction.
NB: In our experience, tenant evictions are very rare. Due to our robust scrutiny and referencing prior to moving forward to contract, the risk is very low. For further reassurance, you may wish to speak to your Property Manager regarding the number of evictions currently in process; we’re glad to report that the answer is usually “zero”.
Income
The first statement and payment will be issued in April covering the Q1 period.
The rental payments will be paid quarterly in arrears, on the following basis:
Q1 – paid in April
Q2 – paid in July
Q3 – paid in October
Q4 – paid in January of the following year
Yes. You will receive a statement itemising all income received for the previous quarter together with any costs for the previous quarter, at the same time as receiving the payment.
Costs
Council Tax
When your property is occupied, it is the tenant’s responsibility to pay the council tax to the local council, except if an alternative agreement is in place (please see point 2 below). If your property is vacant, as the owner, you will be required to pay the council tax for the void period – from the first day of non-occupancy until the last day before a new tenant moves in.
Yes. The agreement currently in place with Vauxhall requires the property owner to pay the council tax with the council directly as soon as the council sends out an invoice to you. This is because Vauxhall is paying a higher amount of rent each month to cover the council tax amount.
If your unit is occupied by a student then they do not have to pay council tax (and neither do you). Urban Evolution will inform the local council of the student’s status giving them the appropriate student’s reference number.
Service Charge
The current service charge budget was prepared by Opto Living. Over the course of the year, Urban Evolution will be scrutinising every cost, tariff and contract to identify where savings can be made and costs reduced, which takes time and negotiations with suppliers are undertaken. A new budget will then be issued towards the end of this year (2021) relating to the following year (2022). If it is found that landlords have been charged too much against certain line items, or where Urban Evolution have managed to renegotiate contracts at a lower price, those over-budgeted amounts will be credited towards the future year’s budget. This will be presented to you closer to the time.
The service charge will be deducted from rental income payments for that period automatically. This will be shown in your quarterly statements.
To assist with the transition to Urban Evolution, any negative balances in the April statements will be rolled on to the Q2 statement. You will not, therefore, need to make a payment. Going forwards, from July 2021 onwards, yes – you will need to settle any negative balances. Just to be clear, if your unit is not tenanted you still have to pay service charges.
If you already have approval from HMRC to receive your income without the 20% tax deduction, you will need to inform HMRC that Urban Evolution is your new lettings agent. In turn, HMRC will then confirm to Urban Evolution that your rental payments can be paid with no tax deducted. You can do this by contacting HMRC with the below details:
Tel: +44 3000516644
Urban Evolution NRL No.: 904/NA062301
Urban Evolution Address: Helix Building, Third Floor Honey Comb &, Edmund St, Liverpool L3 9NG
If you have not previously applied to receive your income gross and would like to do so, you can apply using the following links:
NRL1 Application (for individuals):
http://search2.hmrc.gov.uk/kb5/hmrc/forms/view.page?record=Ed5BaOnynis&formId=738 (if you do not have a UK National Insurance number please use the ‘Apply using the postal form’ option)
NRL2 Application (for companies):
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/non-resident-landlord-application-to-receive-uk-rent al-income-without-deduction-of-uk-tax-companies-nrl2
NRL3 Application (for trusts and estates):
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/trusts-and-estates-apply-to-get-uk-rental-income-without-deduction-of-uk-tax-non-resident-trustees-nrl3
Please see the links below for further information: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/international/nr-landlords.html
Lettings & Occupancy
Rooms are let depending on the criteria of the tenant. This includes whether they want a studio or en-suite cluster room, the size and the price. It is always the tenant’s decision which room he wants to let.
This is ultimately driven by the market, however, Urban Evolution will market all rooms of the same type at the same rental rate. This can alter throughout the year depending on demand at that time, however, every effort will be taken to ensure the best possible rate is always achieved.
Yes. We will keep you updated when a tenancy starts, ends, or is renewed on your property.
Contacting Urban Evolution
Visit our contact page to find out the best way to contact us.
Tenants
Make an enquiry by clicking the “make an enquiry” buttons on the development or property pages alternatively you can call us on 0151 227 2223 and choosinfg the selection you requie. Our teams will be in touch within 48hrs.
A completed application form and holding fee need to be paid to secure/reserve the apartment for up to 4 weeks whilst referencing are underway. Referencing is completed by third party company, Rightmove and then passed back to us upon satisfactorily completion
We are a member of The Property Ombudsman ( TPO) one of the government-approved letting agency redress schemes
Your deposit will be protected within 30 days of your move-in with the Deposit Protection Scheme (DPS)
If there are no claims to be made, we aim to return your deposit within 10 days of your move out.
If there is a claim we will notify you, as well as the Deposit Protection Service.
The Deposit Protection Service will also contact you. The repayment process will then begin, this may involve dispute resolution via the Deposit Protection Service if necessary.
If you have a query regarding your deposit, please contact deposits@theurbanevolution.co.uk For further information regarding the dispute process please visit https://www.depositprotection.com/
It is the tenant’s responsibility to pay the council tax to the local Council, except if an alternative agreement is in place. To do so, you need to register your change of address with the council, this can be found on any local council Government website.
https://www.gov.uk/pay-council-tax
*Students are exempt from paying council tax but may still need to declare this to the council in certain circumstances.
