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Lettings Regulations for Landlords
A Landlord has a legal
duty of care to ensure a property is safe for it's tenants.
They are responsible for ensuring their property complies with the
latest regulations and legislation.
If you are using our
Tenant Finder or Tenant Finder Plus Services then you will need to
make sure you are compliant with all the latest regulations. We will
of course be able to advise you. If you employ our Full Management
Service, although you remain responsible, we will arrange these
checks etc. for you on an annual basis and advise you of any
upcoming changes to existing regulations, or proposed new ones.
Below is a list of some
of the most common regulations and legislation associated with
letting a property. The dates and details are believed to be correct
as of 15/1/08 but may have changed since. This summary is intended
to assist landlords to understand the effect of the Regulations. It
is not an authoritative interpretation - this is a matter for the
courts. For more detail, you should refer to the text of the
Regulations themselves.
Please click on the
links below:
Energy Performance Certificate -
applicable from 1st October 2008
Tenancy Deposit Scheme
Gas Safety
Electrical
Appliances & Equipment Safety
Furniture and
Furnishings Safety
Smoke Alarms
Repairs and Maintenance
Keeping a Record
From October 1st 2008
landlords will be required by law to provide prospective tenants
with an Energy Performance Certificate for their property.
The EPC's will have to
be provided free of charge when any written information is provided
about the property. The EPC's will be valid for 10 years and
therefore, a new one is not required for each let.
The requirement is being
introduced to comply with the EU’s Energy Performance of Buildings
Directive (EPBD) which applies to all property, including rented
property.
If landlords wish to
improve the energy performance of their properties they can claim
some allowances:
The NAEA website
states "At present any landlord carrying out certain works to
improve the Energy Efficiency of his property is able to claim a
Landlord's Energy Saving Allowance. This is up to £1500 which
for most landlords will equate to a saving of £600. When
originally introduced it was a personal allowance but has now
been extended to a per property allowance.Certain Grants may
also be available and for landlords whose tenants are in receipt
of certain benefits discounts on insulation may be available."
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From 6 April 2007,
all landlords and letting agents taking deposits for Assured
Shorthold Tenancies (AST's) in England and Wales will be required to
join a Government-accredited tenancy deposit protection scheme. This
will safeguard all the deposits landlords and agents take. There is
a free scheme available for Landlords and Letting Agents - The
Deposit Protection Scheme (DPS).
The DPS is completely
free of charge and open to all landlords and letting agents. The
scheme also benefits from an independent dispute resolution service.
Martin Property
Management will be participating in this scheme.
Please
click
here
for a link to the DPS website.
You will see that all
Landlords are eligible to join for free. If, however, you would
prefer not to have the hassle of sending each deposit to the scheme
then we can take care of that for you. All our services include
transferring the deposit to the scheme and giving the prescribed
information to the tenants.
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Under the Gas Safety
(Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 all gas fittings, appliances and
flues in rented accommodation must be checked for safety within 12 months of
being installed, and thereafter at least every 12 months by a competent
engineer (i.e. a CORGI registered gas installer). Note: The Gas
Safety Check must be completed prior to any tenancy. A copy of the
certificate must be given to the tenant
before they can move in, or to each existing tenant within 28
days of completion of the check.
A Landlord should also ensure
that all appliances are serviced in accordance with the manufacturers
instructions. If they are not available then it is recommended that they are
serviced annually. You should not
assume that an annual service inspection meets the safety check requirement,
or that a safety check will, on its own, be sufficient to provide effective
maintenance.Ask the advice of a CORGI-registered gas installer where
necessary.
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There are several regulations
relating to electrical installations, equipment and appliance safety, and
these affect landlords and their agents in that they are 'supplying in the
course of business'. They include the Electrical Equipment (Safety)
Regulations 1994, the Plugs and Sockets Regulations 1994, the 2005 Building
Regulation - 'Part P, and British Standard BS1363 relating to plugs and
sockets. Although with tenanted property there is currently no specific
legal requirement for a qualified electrician to carry out an inspection and
issue a safety certificate (as exists in the case of gas appliances), it is
now widely accepted in the letting industry that the only safe way to ensure
safety, and to avoid the risk of being accused of neglecting your 'duty of
care', or even of manslaughter is to arrange such an inspection and
certificate. It is also recommended that all portable appliances be tested
(PAT). We can recommend companies to carry out the above inspections.
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The Furniture and Furnishings
(Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 (amended 1989, 1993 and 1996), and other
regulations provide that specified items supplied in the course of letting
property must meet minimum fire resistance standards. The regulations apply
to all upholstered furniture, beds, headboards and mattresses, sofa beds,
futons and other convertibles, nursery furniture, garden furniture suitable
for use in a dwelling, scatter cushions, pillows and non-original covers for
furniture. They do not apply to antique furniture or furniture made before
1950, bed covers including duvets, loose covers for mattresses, pillowcases,
curtains, carpets or sleeping bags. Items which comply will have a suitable
permanent label attached. Non-compliant items or items without labels must
be removed before a tenancy commences.
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All properties built since June
1992 must have been fitted with mains powered smoke detector alarms from
new. Although there is no legislation requiring smoke alarms to be fitted in
other ordinary tenanted properties, it is generally considered that the
common law 'duty of care' means that Landlords and their Agents could be
liable should a fire cause injury or damage in a tenanted property where
smoke alarms are not fitted. We therefore strongly recommend that the
Landlord fit at least one alarm on each floor (in the hall and landing
areas) and that they are tested and if necessary batteries replaced before a
tenancy begins. The tenant is responsible for checking operation and battery
condition during the tenancy.
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It is the landlord’s obligation
to maintain and repair the property in line with current legislation
particularly in relation to section 11 of the Landlords and Tenant Act 1985
as well as in line with current safety regulations regarding furniture,
electrical items and gas.
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Full records must be kept for at
least 2 years of the inspections of each appliance and flue, of any defects
found and of any remedial action taken.
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