Landlord Questions and Answers

Yes. You will need to inform your mortgage lender as they will need to grant permission and may impose special conditions.

See our Landlord Fees page for a full breakdown.

he landlord is responsible for paying these during the void periods (when the property is empty) and the tenant is responsible for the duration of their tenancy unless bills are included as part of the rent.

If you choose a Letting Agent to manage your property the agent will organise the tenant to pay the rent to the Agent’s Client Account, this will then be documented and rent along with a statement of account will be sent to the landlord.

Yes, a maximum of five weeks rent can be taken as a security deposit from the Tenant, and this is taken before a Tenant moves into the property. The deposit is required to be registered with a government approved scheme such as the DPS and prescribed information is required to be served to the tenant. The deposit can either be sent directly to the scheme and held by the scheme for greater protection either by the agent or landlord, or if approved, the agent or landlord can hold the deposit under their chosen scheme. The deposit is in place in case there is a need to make a claim at the end of the tenancy.

An approved and regulated agent will have Client Money Protection scheme and be a member of such bodies as ARLA Propertymark.

An inventory is a detailed list of the property condition and contents, even though the property is unfurnished the inventory will detail its cleanliness, condition of walls, doors, windows, flooring, garden/outside space, kitchen units, worktops, and appliances, bathroom suite. It is important to have this information as so to be able to compare the start of the tenancy with the end of the tenancy, should there be any deductions to propose from a deposit then you have factual proof, and should there be the need for a deposit dispute you have factual evidence to strengthen your claim.

Yes, this is a legal requirement, an EPC is the Energy Performance Certificate detailing the property energy efficiency rating from an A (most efficient) to G (least efficient) and for renting out a property it is a legal requirement to provide a property with a minimum rating of E (this is expected to rise to C once the Government have concluded their review). An EPC once carried out lasts for 10 years and any breaches of the legislation could result in a fine of up to £4,000.00

If your property has a Gas Supply then ‘yes’, by law you are required to have an annual Gas Safety Check carried out by a Gas Safe Registered engineer every twelve months to make sure all gas appliances, flues, and pipes are in safe working condition meeting the regulations set out.

Yes. this is a legal requirement. An EICR is an Electrical Installation Condition Report and is legally required to be in place before a tenancy commences. An EICR once carried out lasts for 5 years unless stated otherwise (for a lesser not a longer period).

Yes. It is a legal requirement to provide a working smoke alarm on each floor of a property. Mains wired alarms are recommended as they tend to last for longer (10 years) and give more protection to tenant and landlord.

If your property has a Gas Supply or an open working fire or log burner, then ‘yes’ you are required by law to have carbon monoxide alarms in place. The location and number of alarms required depend on the set-up of the property. Please enquire for more information.

The Right to Rent Scheme is in place to make sure that people renting property in the UK have the legal right to do so. It is important to have the correct documentation in place and to have completed the correct checks to prevent the risk of a fine.