Of Guernsey’s 1,600 Open Market properties and 25,000 Local Market properties, some are available to let as well as buy. So you don’t have to commit to purchasing a property to live on this beautiful island!
The main difference between the two markets is that Open Market housing is available to anyone with the right to live in the UK or EU member states, whereas Local Market housing is only available for tenants who are locally qualified residents or non-local residents granted a Housing permit. Some of the jobs advertised locally will have a Housing permit available as part of their terms of employment.
For more information on Population Management Law, please click here.
Alternatively, visit Sir Charles Frossard House, La Charroterie, St Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 1FH, telephone 01481 717000 or fax 01481 713976.
Here at Cooper Brouard we offer two core services for landlords: Letting and Management.
Our letting service is designed to find you a responsible and reliable tenant. We are able to advertise locally — on our website, social media, and our showroom. We attend all viewings, in order to provide you with feedback and details of prospective tenants. Upon your approval we will check the suitability of potential tenants by taking up character and bank references and undertake identity checks.
Cooper Brouard prepares a lease and a contents inventory, including notes and photographs on the general condition and any obvious damage to individual items, where applicable.
Our management service saves you the time, effort and worry of managing your property while it is tenanted. As well as the above, we will visit the property to carry out regular inspections, deal with any queries the tenant may have, obtain quotes for any necessary repairs or maintenance for which the Landlord is responsible, and reconcile the accounts received for such work.
At the end of a tenancy we will notify tenants to organise final readings and top up oil etc. We can guide landlords as experienced professionals and, while we are not qualified to advise on legal matters, we are able to offer comment and opinion based on our knowledge and experience.
We would be delighted to view your property without obligation, to discuss its letting potential and provide you with a rental valuation. Our sales team are also available should you wish to purchase further properties to let and we are pleased to offer this advice free with our compliments.
We use professional photography, clear floorplans, and a faultless written style to produce our acclaimed property details. We then use a variety of the latest marketing techniques to ensure these details are available to prospective tenants without delay. Marketing channels include:
Accompanied viewings with potential tenants and swift feedback keep landlords continuously informed. We want to be sure that the tenants are suitable for your property and, while it is impossible to guarantee their reliability and trustworthiness, we do take care to first obtain bank and character references and verify identity.
If Letting and Managing your property, we will also check the tenants in and out. On our Letting only service Landlords are required to liaise directly with the tenant.
We prepare a full, detailed inventory of the contents, fixtures and fittings. The condition is carefully noted and photographs taken. A copy is given to tenants at the beginning of their tenancy, and they are advised that it will be used at the end of the term to confirm that the property is returned in the same condition, subject only to fair wear and tear. It is advisable not to leave items at the property that you would not want damaged, as this can happen unintentionally.
Amounts due for utilities used or consumed, including gas, oil, telephone, electricity, sewage, water and parochial rates. The exception would be when these are included in the service charge.
A security deposit equivalent to a minimum of 1½ month’s rent (or an amount agreed by both parties), which is retained until the termination of the tenancy and refunded unless there is reason to retain all or part of it.
Tenants are responsible for the general upkeep of gardens. However Landlords typically may prefer for a regular gardener of their own to undertake cutting of hedges etc.
We inform tenants (in the lease) that they should insure their own contents and recommend that their cover includes accidental damage to your property and content, although this is not compulsory.
If you have no objection to pets being kept on the premises, then the lease will include a “pet clause”, which provides a caveat that the carpets will be professionally cleaned upon termination of the tenancy. A receipted invoice is required as evidence that this has been done for the final inspection.
Landlords are responsible for all payments of tax on real property.
Which tenants will reimburse while the property is leased.
Any service/management/residential charges applicable to the property.
Landlords must also ensure the oil tank is topped up and boiler services are carried out prior commencement of the lease.
Gas appliances must be annually serviced by the Landlord and a mandatory gas compliance certificate produced in accordance with the health and safety (Gas) (Guernsey) ordinance, 2006.
Electrical appliances and supply must be safe. In the future inspectors may ask for confirmation of compliance though no timescale has yet been stated by law. It is in your interest to provide working instructions for appliances.
You need to continue to insure your property and contents, though contents cover may need to be reduced. If you decide to remain with your existing insurers, advise them that the property will be let, as this may affect the terms and conditions.
In the small print of most mortgage agreements there is an item that requires the borrower to tell the lender of any changes in the use of the property; failure to do so could abrogate the terms of the mortgage agreement. We advise you to inform the lender that you are proposing to let your property if you have a mortgage on it.
The tenant pays a security deposit on signing the lease, which, if we manage the property, is held in our designated clients account. If using our Letting service only, the Landlord must hold the deposit in a separate bank account. We arrange for the tenant to pay the rent monthly in advance by standing order to your bank account or, if we manage the property, the rent is paid into our designated clients account and we will pay you the balance of the rent monthly, less our charges and any costs for maintenance, rates, etc. Clearly detailed statements will be sent to you by email or post.
If we manage the property, we will carry out routine visits after the first three months and then six months thereafter throughout the tenancy. A report of our visits will be sent to you, ensuring you are kept up to date on the condition of the property and are made aware of any problems or faults that may have arisen.
All properties require repairs and maintenance – quite often at the most unexpected and inconvenient times! If we manage the property, we ask tenants to inform us immediately should any problems occur; they are given an emergency sheet with the telephone numbers of preferred and reputable tradesman to contact in the event of an emergency out of office hours.
You are kept informed of any problems and the next level of our involvement is for you to decide. You may have notified us of your preferred tradesman, or you may want us to obtain estimates – you tell us what you require.
We ask tenants to send us any mail which arrives for you at the property, which is then forwarded to you. We strongly recommend, however, that Landlords and outgoing tenants subscribe to postal redirection as it is not always possible to rely on the new occupier to forward mail and important documents could go astray.
The security deposit is returned to the tenants following a satisfactory final inspection of the property at the end of the tenancy. The inspection includes a thorough review of the property. We expect and require the property to be returned in a condition, subject to acceptable wear and tear, which is comparable to the condition the property was in when first occupied. In this matter we would ask you to accept our judgement as experienced agents.
There are risks involved with letting your property – tenants’ personal circumstances can change and rent can go unpaid or disputes occur. The property may suffer damage, or appliances break down. We are able to offer direction and preliminary advice on sorting such matters.
It is required by law for us to know if you are not resident in Guernsey for income tax purposes. If the Landlord does not reside in Guernsey, we, as managing agents, are legally bound by the Income Tax (Guernsey) Law 1975 to calculate and deduct tax from income arising or accruing to persons not residing in Guernsey. We advise you to obtain professional advice from a tax advisor prior to you letting your property.
Our fee for Letting a property is one payment of 10% of the first year’s rent payable upon the commencement of the tenancy.
Our combined fee for Letting and Managing a property is 15% of the first year’s rent. This will be deducted on a monthly basis and detailed on the statement. Should the same tenant remain in occupation for successive years, the management fee reduces to 10% of the annual rent on the same basis. Cooper Brouard does not manage the property when unoccupied.
We can assure prospective Landlords of a friendly and comprehensive service based on numerous years of experience. We trust this induction serves as a useful guide and we would welcome an opportunity to discuss your requirements, without obligation.
Want to find out more? Get in touch and see how we can help you.
