As a landlord you have a certain duty of care towards your tenant. As your letting or managing agent we have an obligation to ensure you are fully aware of all the regulations you must adhere to when renting your property.
EPCs
From the 1st of October 2008, Landlords in England & Wales must provide an Energy Performance Certificate to all new and prospective tenants.
The certificate must be produced by an accredited energy surveyor.
Although EPCs are valid for 10 years they can be renewed voluntarily at any time if improvements have been carried out.
To order an EPC for your property or to find out more please contact us.
Gas Safety
As a Landlord you are responsible for the safety of your tenant. You are required by law to ensure that all gas appliances, installations, flues and pipe-work in the property have been checked by a Gas Safe Registered Engineer and a Gas Safety Certificate (GSC) is issued every year. As your agent, it is essential that we are in possession of a copy of the valid gas safety certificate before we can release keys to a tenant for move-in.
We also recommend that properties with Oil or Solid Fuel heating are regularly serviced to ensure their safety.
To order your gas safety certificate or to find out more please contact us.
Electrical Safety
There is a statutory duty for landlords and agents to ensure that all electrical wiring and equipment present in a rental property is safe for use and maintained adequately.
The only way a landlord can check that the electrical installation (the fixed wiring) in the property is safe is by having a Periodic Inspection and Report (PIR) carried out. This report identifies any deficiencies against the safety standard for electrical installations. Any areas that require attention will be detailed in the report, together with a recommendation of remedial works required, if any, in order of priority. It is considered best practice to have a PIR carried out when a property is first prepared for letting and every five years thereafter.
To request an inspection or to find out more please contact us.
PAT Testing
We recommend that all portable appliances (any item with an accessible plug) to be tested prior to the commencement of the initial tenancy and a Portable Appliance Test (PAT) to be completed annually thereafter.
To request a PAT test or to find out more please contact us.
Legionella
Domestic hot and cold water systems can provide an environment where Legionella bacteria can grow. This can cause Legionnaires’ disease which is a potentially fatal form of pneumonia caused by inhalation of small droplets of contaminated water containing Legionella bacteria.
Landlords have a duty of care to the health and safety of their tenants and are required to take suitable precautions to prevent or control the risk of exposure to Legionella.
To order an LRA for your property or to find out more please contact us.
Smoke Alarms and Carbon Monoxide Alarms
As a consequence of new legislation, which came into force on the 1st October 2015, all private landlords in England are required to install smoke alarms on every floor of all rental property, and Carbon Monoxide (CO) alarms in any room containing a solid fuel burning appliance (e.g. a coal fire, wood burning stove), and test them at the start of every tenancy.
Deposit Protection
A typical deposit will be 6 weeks rent, in some instances 8 weeks.
The landlord must register the deposit with a tenancy deposit protection scheme within 30 days of receiving it. If your property is managed by John Goodwin we will protect the deposit on your behalf.
Right to Rent
All landlords in England must check the person's right to rent at the start of a tenancy.
Before the start of a new tenancy, checks must be made for all tenants aged 18 and over, even if:
- they’re not named on the tenancy agreement
- there’s no tenancy agreement
- the tenancy agreement isn’t in writing.
