Advice For Tenants / Advice For Landlords

There are many reasons why letting your property is a good idea. You can lose more than £5,000 a year by keeping a home empty through rent loss, council tax payments, insurance, dilapidation and security measures. There is also the risk of vandalism and squatting.

Legal rights and obligations

If you are thinking of letting your home, it is vital that you are aware of your legal rights and obligations. When you let your property to a tenant, the tenancy is automatically an assured shorthold tenancy, unless you agree otherwise. The length of the tenancy agreement is up to you to agree with your tenant. You can agree that it should last for a set period, known as a "fixed term", or you can leave it open-ended.

There are five elements to a shorthold tenancy:

You have a guaranteed right to get your home back after six months if you need to

You can charge a "market rate" for rent; that is the going rate for a similar property in the area

You can get your home back if your tenant owes you at least two months rent

You can evict tenants who cause a nuisance to local people

You are entitled to end the tenancy without giving a reason at any time after six months, provided any fixed term you have agreed has ended. You must give your tenant at least two months' written notice if you want your property back. If your tenant refuses to leave, you cannot evict them yourself, but you can apply to the county court to do so.

Responsibilities

Landlords are generally responsible for the maintenance and major repairs to a property. This includes repairs to the structure and exterior of the property, heating and hot water installations, basins, sinks, baths and other sanitary installations. You must keep a record of the safety checks and, usually, you must issue it to the occupier within 28 days of each annual check. The occupier is responsible for maintaining gas appliances which they own.

By law, you must ensure that the electrical system and any electrical appliances supplied with the let such as cookers, kettles, toasters, washing machines and immersion heaters are safe to use. If you are supplying new appliances, you should also provide any accompanying instruction booklets.

If you supply furniture or furnishings with the let, you must ensure that they meet the fire resistance requirements, sometimes known as the "match test" in the Furniture and Furnishings Fire Safety Regulations 1988.

Multiple occupation

If you are planning to let your property out to more than three tenants from more than three families, you must have a Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) licence. If you are not sure whether you need an licence for your property, you should contact your local authority for advice.

The application for an HMO licence must be made by the owner, even if the property is leased to or managed by another person or organisation. If the day-to-day management of the property is carried out by someone other than you, the owner, they will be named on the licence as a joint licence holder.

If you are sure that letting you property is the right route for you to take, contact your local authority for a licence application form and information about the procedure and the standards you will need to meet.

Once you have everything ready to go, contact one of our letting agents and let us help you find your ideal tenant.