Landlord Obligations and Regulations The Law For Landlords and Property Investors
Online, March 1, 2011 (Newswire.com) - As a landlord there are a number of legal obligations you MUST (and should) abide by. These are all necessary obligations; failing to comply with these could result in prosecution.
Gas safety appliances
The Gas Safety Regulations 1998 place a statutory duty on all landlords of residential property to ensure that all gas appliances, pipe work and flues are maintained in a safe condition.
Fire Safety, Housing Act 2004
Fire Safety in Rental Property, This area of law is covered by both the Housing Act 2004 and the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
Fire Extinguishers
There is no legal requirement to provide fire extinguishers or fire blankets in single occupation tenanted properties, but again, this may be a wise precaution, at least in the kitchen area.
Fire Alarms
The building regulations require that all properties built after June 1992 must have a mains operated inter-connected smoke alarms fitted on every level of the property. Although older properties do not have to comply, it is advised for landlords to provide at least battery operated smoke alarms in the property.
The Furniture and Furnishings Regulation 1993
All furniture a landlord provides must be fire resistant. Furniture must meet the fire resistance requirements in the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988.
Obtaining consent to let a property
Before letting a property, landlords must obtain permission and/or inform the following:mortgage lender
The landlord's insurance company who must confirm that cover will be maintained if the property is let.
Tenancy Deposit Protection
The landlord must sign up to a Tenancy Deposit Protection (TDP) scheme in order to provide their tenant with protection. Over the years a lot of tenants have complained that they have unfairly lost their initial deposit; consequently the government introduced this legislation to help apply some moderation to the disputes. For more in-depth details about this 'landlord obligation', please go to my Tenancy Deposit Protection Easy Guide article.
Taxation of Income from Land (Non-Residents) Regulations 1995
Any landlord who is considered non-resident for taxation purposes is liable to pay tax on their rental income from letting property.
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
Landlords must provide an Energy Performance Certificate to all new and prospective tenants.
The certificate will give each building a SAP (Standard Assessment Procedure - out of 100 possible) rating, and this will equate to an energy rating from A to G, similar to those seen on white goods. For those who don't speak geek, in English it means, it will show the energy efficiency levels of a property.
