Mind the Flat rents properties directly from landlords, according to a model which is also known as ‘rent to rent’, making us property managers and not estate agents.

We take care of all property maintenance and certification concerns, as well as sourcing responsible and fully checked tenants. In the unlikely event that there is ever any kind of issue, Mind the Flat is responsible for finding solutions and will take charge without work or stress needed from you.

Just a few of the key differences are:

• We will never charge agency fees and there are no costs associated with our service
• We act as a proxy tenant as we pay you the rent, allowing us to guarantee monthly rent on time, so you are never affected by tenant voids or issues
• We manage all maintenance logistics, saving you time and stress
• We manage all tenant issues and services
• We are exclusively responsible for marketing, finding vetted, responsible tenants, and fulfilling our guarantee rent scheme, no matter what
• We do not profit off charging our landlords fees

Mind the Flat effectively acts as your tenant, paying rent directly to landlords from our own business. We then manage all property letting matters from maintenance, tenant occupancy, certification etc.

This way, you receive guaranteed rental income from us on time every month without fail, while also avoiding any work, time, or stress from you. Furthermore, because of our rent guarantee scheme, you will never have to worry about any income voids or occupancy issues, as well as tenant issues, maintenance updates, or property certification.

Mind the Flat does not charge anything to landlords for the agency services we provide and thus does not make money from charging for the service we provide to landlords.

We sustain our business on a slight differential between the rent we pay to you and the rent we collect from tenants. However, the rate we pay landlords always remains at market rate or better, as we charge our tenants a little extra for our services and care and high-specification all-inclusive rooms for rent.

Some standard maintenance costs pertaining to property ownership are passed on to landlords, which are outlined in detail in property management questions.

Mind the Flat specialises in properties that can be rented as shared accommodation, I.e. a flat share or house share, and has over 10 years of experience in HMO property management – this means any property that has rental facilities for 3 tenants or more, AKA a ‘house of multiple occupancy’.

Essentially, if your property has 3 bedrooms or more, it has the potential to qualify as a HMO property and thus allows you to capitalise on rental income. We then will make an offer to work for you and will organise all certification, rectification, maintenance, legal work and tenant matters so that you are free from work, while maximising your income.

We value our properties according to many different factors, including: location, condition, size, amenities and features. We also like to offer our tenants living options in some of the best areas in London, so are keen to get to know your property, and will consider external features such as distance to the nearest tube or train station.

We are committed to paying market rate or higher for a fixed-term tenancy in your property, meaning your property will be valued and provide guaranteed rent at competitive rates permanently for 3-to-5 years.

Firstly, we will organise a convenient time for you to visit your property, and also allow you to meet our expert staff, ask any questions about the service, and be assured of our capable, expert team.

We will evaluate the property, and then make our offer. You can expect to receive an offer ...

As soon as the contract is signed, you will start earning your guaranteed rental income and will receive your first direct debit, regardless of occupancy.

After making our offer, we will dress the property and improve conditions of the home if needed, with no agency fees charged, ready for the first tenants.

We make offers on properties all year-round. We have no restrictions on season for rentals or lettings as we have tenants looking for properties all the time. For this reason, our guaranteed rent scheme will always apply and we are happy to sign properties even in stereotypically quieter periods, meaning you can earn rent from us all year round and avoid any sort of income voids.

As we become your proxy tenant, we will pay you rent whether or not the property is occupied. For the entire duration of the 3-to-5-year contract, you will receive monthly rent paid on time by us, regardless of the property’s occupation.

This means you will start earning rent in a monthly direct debit from the very first month you join us.

We believe this to be a purely hypothetical topic, but we are happy to provide an answer so you can remain reassured and completely informed.

In the event of Mind the Flat going out of business, the rent the tenants have been paying will revert to you directly. Deposits paid by the tenants are kept with the Deposit Protection Service, and so will remain there for any risk of damages or unpaid rent.

As the owner or landlord of the property, you will still be responsible financially for the maintenance of the flat.

However, as the property managers and guardians, we will be responsible for the management all of the work associated with no fees charged for our service and assistance.

We are absolutely happy for you to specify use of a particular contractor or tradesman, if there is someone in particular that you trust or have a previous relationship with. All we require is that they are legally certified and fully insured.

In this case, we will liaise with you to get their information and then will be happy to take charge of all logistics as normal.

Through 24/7 access to our online landlord’s portal and maintenance platform, as well as our own administration team, you will be notified of any updates or required work to your property. We will provide you with details of the issue and a quote for any work needed, so you get complete information and input on maintenance matters.

We will then take care of all the logistics and communication, and merely update you on progress, before passing on the expense to the landlord.

This remains true in the event of any damage that the tenant is not responsible for. If the tenant is found responsible, Mind the Flat will cover the costs of the damage ourselves. For more details, please see the Tenant Management and Logistics Section.

As a rule, our landlords’ properties are often left better-off at the end of the contract due to our service. As we perform quarterly inspections, constant check-ups on touch-up and cosmetic work, property dressing and decorating, and offer our own great cleaning team, the properties are kept in great condition and are updated throughout the contract period.

Aside from that, wear and tear that is standard to the passing of time and normal use of a shared accommodation property is dealt with.

All tenants must comply with our checks and standards which include:

• References from their current landlord, or previous landlords
• References from their employer, confirming their position and that it will continue
• An affordability calculation, requiring annual earnings to be equal to or more than 2.5 the annual rent
• Identity checks and residence rights checks

As we are happy to rent our rooms as student accommodation, or to freelance workers, we have further checks that any student or freelance tenant must comply with:

• A UK or EU based guarantor with annual earnings equal to or more than 3 times your annual rent, who is also a homeowner
• Copies of trading accounts and a reference from an accountant

We also reserve the right to exercise our own judgement even if a tenant complies with the requirements on paper. If there is an indication that the tenant is not responsible or trustworthy, we will rely on our own personal standards to ensure that we work with suitable tenants exclusively.

If damage occurs to the property that is deemed to be the fault of our tenants, then Mind the Flat will cover the cost ourselves directly, and the landlord will not be responsible for any cost associated.

If the problem is found to be beyond the responsibility of our tenants, we will be in touch to discuss options and will organise all logistics of repair and rectification without fee.

If a tenant no longer wishes to occupy the room, breaks their contract, or doesn’t pay rent, it remains our responsibility to pay rent to the landlords on time, as always, whatever the circumstances.

Regardless of occupancy, Mind the Flat will pay their landlords.

All tenant management remains our responsibility.

Whether it’s help with something within the property, a query, a change of plan, or a lost key, tenants will never need to contact you and Mind the Flat is available to assist them at all times. Problems which carry a cost that the tenant is responsible for (e.g. lost keys) will be dealt with directly between Mind the Flat and the tenant, so you do not have to worry.

Landlords will never need to spend time, energy, or concern on tenant issues.