landlord checklist - is your property rental ready?

If it seems to you that there’s an ever-growing list of things you need to do to get your property ready to rent, you’re right.

The past decade has seen an increase in regulation of landlords and rental property. There have also been changes to the law in other areas - such as data protection - that have affected landlords.

Confused about what it is you need to do?

We’ve put together this checklist for you to use as an easy reminder every time you let.

Safety checks

Gas safety certificate

A gas safety certificate is a legal requirement for every rental property, and needs to be renewed every year. It shows that your gas boiler, flues and appliances have been checked by a qualified Gas Safe engineer.

Fire safety

You need to make sure that your property has smoke alarms in communal spaces, including halls and landings.

You’re not legally required to install a carbon monoxide alarm unless you have a solid fuel burning appliance (such as a woodburner) but it’s good practice to do so and many landlords do.

If you let your property furnished, you’ll also need to check that fire safety labels on soft furnishings (such as beds and sofas) are intact each time you re-let.

Information about the property

EPC

An EPC or Energy Performance Certificate gives your property an energy efficiency rating, so your tenants will have a good idea how much their bills might be. It’s a legal requirement to show it every time you re-let (or sell) and lasts ten years. An EPC must be issued by a qualified assessor on the EPC register.

The How to Rent guide

You’ll need to give the tenant a copy of the government’s How to Rent guide, which gives them information about their legal obligations and yours. If you don’t, you won’t be able to evict a tenant on an assured shorthold tenancy using the Section 21 no-fault eviction process. Though Section 21 looks set to be abolished, it’s likely that the How to Rent guide will stay in some form.

Protection for you and your tenant

Inventory

An inventory makes it clear to both you and the tenant what condition the property was in at the start of the tenancy. It’s unlikely you’ll be able to make any deductions for damage without an inventory - the inventory is the first thing a tenancy deposit scheme adjudicator will look at if there is a dispute.

Deposit protection

You’ll need to protect your tenant’s deposit in one of the three available schemes within 30 days of them paying it and give your tenant a certificate showing which scheme you’ve used.

Tenant referencing

Tenant referencing isn’t a guarantee that you won’t get bad tenants, but it will go a long way to helping you avoid them. A credit check can tell you if they’ve had County Court Judgements against them, a check on bank statements can help you see if they can afford the rent and have income, and a landlord’s reference will help you find out about previous damage to properties or antisocial behaviour.

Landlord insurance

There is no legal requirement for you to have landlord insurance, but standard buildings and contents insurance is unlikely to be valid - even if you’re letting your property temporarily, or to family members. And lenders usually make it a requirement of buy-to-let mortgages. We don’t have to tell you that not having insurance on an asset worth hundreds of thousands isn’t a great idea..

Tenancy agreement

A tenancy agreement allows you to set the terms of the tenancy. Without one, you’ll still have a tenancy in legal terms - they just won’t be your terms.

The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations) that came into force in 2018 mean that landlords now need to take steps to keep tenants’ data safe. You’ll need to include a privacy notice with your tenancy agreement and make sure you only hold data that you have a legitimate reason to hold.

Is there anything else you usually do to prepare for new tenants? Tweet us @lyvlylandlords.

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