Literal Interpretations….

There are a couple of things in the recent regulations and guidance that, if taken literally, will cause problems; till we get a court ruling we have little choice but to take them literally.

• Rent must not be received until the agreement has been “entered into”; that is defined as all parties having signed the agreement. But you mustn’t let the landlord sign the agreement until you are certain you have vacant possession (if previous tenants don’t move out and landlord has signed the landlord is obliged to find new tenants alternative accommodation). This will usually mean you mustn’t accept rent until the day the tenants move in.
• The Information Sheet must be served to the tenant as either paper copy or a PDF attachment; you cannot send as a link. Docusign and RSign only send a link for signature so you have not served until the signed & finished document from Docusign/RSign is delivered as a PDF attachment. If the tenants don’t sign the document hasn’t been served.
  This is in contrast to other mechanisms where you are only concerned with “serving” and need not worry about “receipt” let alone them having actually “read” it.
  RMail becomes the simpler option (see previous post).