Covid-19 company policy

3Keys Property take the safety of our staff and clients extremely seriously; as a result of the Covid-19 national pandemic we have changed the way we conduct our day to day activities.

The following policies are to be used as a guide and are subject to change following either government guidelines or changes within the company as we navigate through these exceptional times.

OFFICE POLICY

We are open for business, however, the well-being and safety of our staff and clients is of the utmost importance, we have therefore introduced the following protocol with immediate effect until further notice:

Our offices remain open for business but behind locked doors. All of our departments are still fully operational but you must contact them via telephone or email only.
Our phone lines and email accounts remain open to anyone who requires assistance for any reason including lettings or sales progression, booking an appointment or a general enquiry.
If you require branch access for example to collect keys or for a pre booked appointment, please call us on 01302 867888 prior to visiting and you will be greeted at the door.
If another client is already present and if you are not able to keep at least 2 meters apart please wait outside until they have left the office. If you are with people that do not need to enter the office please ask them to wait outside.
We have a barrier & floor marking to keep you at a safe distance on entering the office and hand sanitiser is provided at the entrance as a further safeguard for you to use.
Our offices are well ventilated and cleaned at various times throughout the day.
Our opening hours are currently being reviewed on a weekly basis and are subject to change at this time, opening hours are displayed in the office window and on the website.

PROPERTY INSPECTION VISITS POLICY

All routine property inspection visits on managed properties are postponed until further notice. If as a Landlord or Tenant you have a particular concern regarding your property – please contact the office to discuss this with us on 01302 867888 or send us a message.

MAINTENANCE / REPAIRS POLICY

The latest government guidance advises ‘Tradespeople can visit people’s homes to carry out any work or maintenance provided it is carried out in accordance with guidance for professionals working in people’s home’

What this means: If you are not shielding or self-isolating, you can allow landlords or contractors access to your home in order to carry out a range of works including (but not limited to) annual gas safety checks; essential and non-essential repairs and maintenance; planned maintenance activity inside and outside the home.

Tenants / occupiers & contractors should ensure a two-metre distance is maintained (insofar as possible) and hygiene procedures are followed. Please be mindful that some landlords will have a backlog of repairs that they will need to address following lockdown, and many suppliers / supplies are currently limited, as such it may take longer than normal to carry out work.

IMPORTANT – TENANTS

If you are self-isolating or shielding, no work should be carried out in your home unless it is to remedy a direct risk that affects your safety or the safety of your household i.e. issues which will affect your ability to live safely in your home. In such cases, prior arrangements should be made to avoid any face to face contact, to ensure social distancing guidance is followed and that appropriate steps can be taken to maintain good hand hygiene, for example, when answering the door.

IMPORTANT – LANDLORDS

You should take all reasonable steps to carry out annual gas safety checks and other safety checks at this time, as failure to do so could put tenants at risk of serious illness or fatalities from gas explosions or carbon monoxide poisoning, particularly as people are spending all or most of their time at home.

MARKET APPRAISALS POLICY

Landlords / Vendors: We will take plenty of information from you at the point of booking the visit in order to learn as much about your property as possible; this will allow us to conduct research and analysis before we arrive at your home & will cut down the time taken on the appraisal. We will send across a digital copy of our company services where possible which you will be able to read and have ready any questions for the staff member completing the appraisal which will again speed up the process. Any questions can of course be asked over the telephone 01302 867888 or by e-mail both before and after the appraisal.

IN-PERSON MARKET APPRAISALS

At the appraisal our staff member will keep a minimum of 2 metres distance from you at all times and will wear a face mask and gloves as a further safeguard. All staff are washing their hands at regular intervals throughout the day and are all provided with hand sanitiser. Our staff do not travel on public transport either as part of their working week or in their spare time; personal vehicles used are of course cleaned on a regular basis. We politely ask that you air the property before we arrive and open up any areas of the property to avoid any touch contact where possible.

DESKTOP MARKET APPRAISALS (INCLUDING DRIVE-BY & VIRTUAL)

Drive by & virtual inspections combined with photos or video of the internal aspects of the property is a great method of appraisal; normally a video and photographs are taken by yourselves and then sent across to the relevant office staff member – they will review the content and call you to discuss the value of your property.
Particularly useful if you have members of your household at high risk or if any of your household are showing symptoms of the virus. Zoom / Facetime are ideal for this type of appraisal.

VIEWINGS POLICY FOR VENDOR, LANDLORD AND AGENT

Government guidelines confirm that we should only put prospective buyers or tenants forward to view when they are in a position to proceed; therefore, we will always establish the financial circumstances of any prospective buyer or tenant before a viewing takes place.

Appointments will be carried out with every effort made to adhere to the current government guidelines specifically around social distancing.

We will ask any prospective buyer or tenant:

If they are showing any symptoms or have been in contact with anyone that has within the last 14 days
Or if they or anyone in their household has been self-isolating within the last 14 days

If they answer yes to either question we will decline to arrange the viewing.

If they answer no, we will arrange the viewing however Buyers/Tenants will be advised that if this changes before the appointment takes place they must tell us and they will not be able to attend the appointment.

Viewers that are able to attend will be advised of the following points in order to ensure the safety and wellbeing of everyone in attendance:

Viewers will be advised to keep a minimum of 2 metres away from the agent or owner/landlord wherever possible.
Viewers will be advised to wear their own PPE in the form of a face covering and gloves are also recommended.
Viewers will asked not to touch surfaces including doorknobs and the viewings rep will carry wipes and disinfectant as a precaution. Owners conducting viewings are advised to make sure the property is clean and disinfect any surface that is touched afterwards.
Viewers will be advised that they should have hand sanitiser and this should be used before entry to the property.
Only two people from the same household will be able to attend viewings; we will ask viewers not to bring along children, other members of their family or friends.
Viewings are to be conducted in as short a time as possible (15 minutes max is recommended).

IMPORTANT – LANDLORDS / VENDORS

If you are conducting your own viewing please try and replicate this policy wherever possible and do not hesitate to ask that the viewing be cancelled or re-arranged if the policy cannot be adhered with.
If you show any symptoms of the virus before the viewing takes place please contact your local office to cancel your viewing for the time being.

By agreeing to an appointment, you agree to adhere to these guidelines to the best of your ability and we confirm we will also do our upmost to do the same and will inform all parties of these guidelines prior to the appointment taking place. If there is anything we can do to accommodate particular requirements then we are happy to discuss but the safety of all parties concerned will be our priority and we reserve the right to decide not to carry out an appointment if we are not totally satisfied this can be done.

VIEWINGS POLICY FOR BUYERS AND TENANTS

Government guidelines confirm that we should only put prospective buyers or tenants forward to view when they are in a position to proceed. Please do not be offended if we ask more questions than usual about your personal circumstances.

In addition to the above, we will ask you:

If they you are showing any symptoms or have been in contact with anyone that has within the last 14 days
Or if you or anyone in your household has been self-isolating within the last 14 days

If you answer yes to either question we will decline to arrange the viewing.
If you answer no, we will arrange the viewing however you will be advised that if this changes before the appointment takes place you must tell us and will not be able to attend the appointment.

Viewers that are able to attend will be advised of the following points in order to ensure the safety and wellbeing of everyone in attendance:

You will be advised to keep a minimum of 2 metres away from the agent or owner/landlord wherever possible.
You will be advised to wear your own PPE in the form of a face covering and gloves are also recommended.
You will not be allowed to touch surfaces including doorknobs and the viewings rep will carry wipes and disinfectant as a precaution.
You will be advised that they should have hand sanitiser and this should be used before entry to the property.
Only two people from the same household will be able to attend viewings. Please do not bring children and other members your family / friends.
Viewings are to be conducted in as short a time as possible (15 minutes max is recommended).

RENTAL PAYMENTS POLICY

The latest government guidance states ‘Tenants should continue to pay rent and abide by all other terms of their tenancy agreement to the best of their ability’. Rental payments should already be set up on a standing order, our bank details for your reference are:

3Keys Property
HSBC
40-19-20
72825562

IMPORTANT: Quote the first line of your rental property address as a reference to enable our staff to allocate funds.

We are operating a ‘cashless’ office, please do not attend the office to make a payment, all rents should be paid via bank transfer only.

If you are struggling to pay your rent as a result of COVID-19 please contact the office at your earliest opportunity to discuss this.

We hope you find the information outlined here-in useful; if you require further guidance or clarification on any of the points please do not hesitate to ask. Our office phones are currently being diverted to a mobile and we are getting messages to the relevant staff member as quickly as administratively possible, please call 01302 867888 and leave a message, alternatively email the relevant staff member directly.