NHS Scotland guide to renting accommodation

Please find a useful guide below to finding suitable accommodation to rent.

NHS Scotland guide to renting accommodation

If you are working at the Victoria Hospital, it makes sense to start your accommodation search in the local area so within Kirkcaldy town itself. However, if this is proving difficult, there are several towns close by to Victoria Hospital and there are a number of buses outside or close to the hospital. This will be very important for those working shifts. Towns around Kirkcaldy include: Kinghorn, Thornton, Cardenden, Easy Wemyss, Kinglassie, Glenrothes, Buckhaven and Kennoway.

Local Estate Agents

There are a number of Estate Agents that cover the Kirkcaldy area. Estate Agents are the same as Real Estate Agents, they have an arrangement with a landlords to list a property for which the landlord will pay them a management fee to market and manage the property. This can be rent collection, property maintenance, repairs etc. Note, that opening hours do vary so check ahead to avoid finding them closed.

Delmore Estate Agents

17 Whytescauseway, Kirkcaldy KY1 1XY
Tel: 01592 201500.

Email: Kirkcaldy@delmoreestateagents.co.uk or lettings@delmoreestateagents.co.uk

Website

Fife Letting Service

119 Victoria Road, Kirkcaldy KY1 1DS

Website

The Good Estate Agent

Chris Hollins – 01592 331620

Mobile 07456 406 20

Martin & Co.

93 St Clair Street, Kirkcaldy KY1 2BS. Tel: 01592 651495. Email: Kirkcaldy@martinco.com

32 Chalmers Street, Dunfermline, KY12 8DF Tel: 01383 737243 Email:Dunfermline@martinco.com

Website

Morton Napier Ltd

Please note this Agent has very strict vetting criteria and requires an applicant to have been with their employer for a minimum of 6 months.

1a Whytescauseway, Kirkcaldy, KY1 1XF
Tel: 01592 565111.
Email: lettings@mortonnapier.com

Website

Morgans

33 East Port, Dunfermline, KY12 7JE

Tel: 10383 620222

Website

McEwan Fraser Legal

Tel: Head Office: 01592 800695 . mail:email@mcewanfraserlegal.co.uk

Website

Remax

1 New Row, Dunfermline, KYU12 7EA,

Tel: 01383 842222

Website

Slater Hogg & Howison

27 Whytescauseway, Kirkcaldy KY1 1XY.
Tel: 01592 730067

Website

Streets Ahead Scotland

315 High Street, Kirkcaldy, KY1 1JN
Tel: 01592 800321

Website

Your Move

87 High Street, Kirkcaldy KY1 1LN
Telephone: 01592 205432.

Email: online form

11 New Row, Dunfermline, KY12 7EA
Telephone: 01383 739 729

Email: online form

Website

It's a good idea to call Estate Agents directly rather than rely on the websites listed here. This is because by the time the property has been put online and is being marketed viewings and appointments will have already been arranged. If you call the Agent directly, regularly you stand a much better chance of being one of the first ones to view. Often an Agent may say ‘ I have just got one coming onto the market,’ or ‘we have one we are about to go and view’ so to try and develop a relationship with the Estate Agent directly.

Other online accommodation resources

Spareroom.com
Gumtree.com
Lettingweb.com
Placebuzz.com
Zoopla.co.uk
Rightmove.com
Onthemarket.com
S1homes.com

There are a couple of housing associations that we are aware offer property. Please note, this process can be time consuming, registering does not guarantee you a property and the allocation of property can depend on a number of factors around a tenants needs and current status. This covers property known as Mid Market Rent (MMR) and is geared towards people earning lower amounts, ie under £40,000 per annum.

Cairn Housing Association

This Company provides social housing that is generally a bit cheaper than market price but the application is based entirely on needs and circumstances at the time. They do have a development at Links Street.
Tel: 0800 990 3405 Email: enquiries@cairnha.com

How to apply

Anyone looking to apply to Cairn for a home must fill in an application form for the area they are looking for. If that is the Kirkcaldy Area it has to be their application https://www.fifehousingregister.org.uk/

Kingdom Housing Association Ltd

Strictly speaking the MMR properties are let through a subsidiary company of Kingdom Housing called Kingdom Initiatives - but all the application/info is available through Kingdom Housing's information pages.

Contact Kingdom Housing Association

References

As a minimum, most Landlords will require satisfactory references from your employer and a previous or current landlord. We are able to provide a reference as by the time you are ready to move into your own accommodation you would already have been with NHS Fife for 3 months. A landlord may or may not also require a personal reference, and very occasionally a guarantor. Ultimately though the NHS is the biggest employer in the UK and is considered to be a very stable employers and Landlords know that any tenant employed by the NHS should be a long term prospective for them. In normal circumstances a credit check would be undertaken.

Rents

Rents are normally quoted calendar monthly, and payable monthly in advance. The tenant is usually also responsible for Council Tax, Water Rates, Gas, Electricity and Telephone costs. All rents are payable by bank standing order to the Landlord or Estate Agent’s bank account. Please note, in some circumstances whereby a potential tenant cannot provide satisfactory credit checks, or would not pass the credit vetting criteria required by that particular Agent there may be an option to provide 3 to 6 months rent in advance. (This of course would be considered risk free by the Landlord).

Deposit

A security deposit of a minimum of one month’s rental will normally be required. This deposit will be treated in accordance with the Tenancy Deposit Protection regulations, and you will be informed of which protection scheme is utilised. The deposit is held to cover damage, breakages, and any other liabilities under the terms of your tenancy agreement. Please note that under no circumstances can the deposit be used by the tenant to cover rent.

Furnishing your rental

Many of the houses and flats that do come up for rent will be unfurnished which will present a problem for those far from home. Luckily there are a number of shops locally where you can buy both new and used furniture. New furniture will provide peace of mind knowing that it will come with a manufacturers warranty. However the trade off is that it can be quite expensive, though most stores do offer credit options so that you can pay up larger items over time. There are also lots of reasonable second hand furniture shops in and around Kirkcaldy, many of which can offer delivery at an extra cost so this is worth bearing in mind to get started.