Taking the responsibility of being a landlord is no simple task, and with laws getting stricter and checks getting more frequent it is easy to get lost in what seems to be a black hole of regulations.
We have come up with a simple guide that goes into detail on the legal checks required by landlords to make your lives easier.
- Gas safety: Qualified personnel must carry out annual checks on every gas appliance in the property. They will determine whether the property passes the gas safety regulations or if they fail. If they do fail then landlords must make the appropriate changes until the gas safety passes.
- EPCs need to be purchased for a property before it is let. The minimum rating for a property is E, anything below goes against regulations for a property that can be let. This needs to be carried out every 10 years.
- Alarms: Smoke alarms must be installed on every floor being used as living accommodation. Carbon monoxide detectors are required where there are fuel-burning appliances such as a fireplace.
- To reduce the risk of fire, all furniture must meet safety standards and have clearly displayed the appropriate fire risk labels.
- Safe electrical appliances. Every 5 years (or more frequently) landlords must produce a report (EICR) on the condition of all the electrical appliances within the property. This should be done by a professional electrician or approved contractor.
- Water System: Must be working properly to prevent tenants from running the risk of legionella. This occurs when there is bacteria in water tanks, leading to water contamination.
Landlords must ensure the tenant moving in to the property has the right to live in the UK otherwise there can be an unlimited fine and can face up to 5 years in Prison.
Client deposits also require the upmost care. As of the agreement if the deposit must be returned to the tenant it must be kept secured and ensured that is is returned to the client. Fenix property services will take the stress out of this process and will handle the deposit keeping it with one of out trusted Deposit protection agency to ensure the money is returned to the client.
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