What certificates must a landlord provide a tenant with please. ?
Jim G
What certificates must a landlord provide a tenant with please. ?
Jim G
Energy performance Deposit protection
Theo
gas safety, is the primary one I am aware of...
I suggest joining the National Landlords Association. They can provide you with enough information to make you reconsider property letting.
...is the correct answer Obviously (1) and (3) are only applicable if the property actually has gas, and a deposit was taken
David
I use a letting agent and he sees to all that sort of thing, the cost is well worth the lack of hassle. A friend rented his house to someone and had no end of trouble, the tenant even tried to get him to co-operate in some kind of benefits fraud.
Phian
I think you need an electrical one renewed every ten years. the gas has to be renewed annually.
Jonathan
No you don't. There isnt any legislation that says there should be electrical certification. The only thing an electrical installation must be is 'safe' There is no definition of 'safe'.
Alan.
Some aren't compulsory but might be worth getting. Some friends who rent out 2 houses had all of the carpets and soft furnishings professionally cleaned and obtained proof of that after a landlord friend of theirs was sued by an athsmatic tenant - CYA!
If you're new to letting,
A viable alternative, for sure. We had a large local well-known company act for us as letting agent, and it didn't work out. But there is no 'one size fits all'.
While there is a requirement that the electrical installation be "safe" there is no actual legislation requiring testing or certification that I am aware of.
Obviously one could argue that a PIR or similar would be one way of demonstrating that the system was ok on a given date, but its not mandatory a landlord have one done.
Good grief - do you know what the outcome of that was? Did it go to court?
David
Well YMMV but personally I think agents are hugely expensive for what they do; plus, as the whole area is unregulated your chances of finding a bad one are extremely high. By far the single biggest feature of successful landlording is in selection and vetting of decent tenants, which I do personally, and I really get very little hassle from my tenants (he says, having just been called out to look at a boiler - see other thread! - but that's the first time in ages).
The other occasion when I'd go with using an agent would be when you live a long way from the let property.
And truth be told, for a first-time landlord it's probably worth using a
*good* agent (and ARLA affiliated) as there's a fair amount to take on board at the outset.David
I would be financially delighted if it was a requirement:-)
I'd say if you're new, don't use an agent. Agents don't generally look after your basic interests, and do routinely rip landlords off. DIYing it will be a steep learning curve, but at least you'll learn.
NT
I'd say if you're new, don't use an agent. Agents don't generally look after your basic interests, and do routinely rip landlords off. DIYing it will be a steep learning curve, but at least you'll learn.
What kind of prices do these agents charge and what do you get for your money?
Sorry, I can't remember - it was about 10 - 12 years ago.
Well broadly you can split their offering into "Letting only" (where they will advertise for and find a tenant, then prepare all the paperwork; but from then on the landlord's on his own); and "Letting and Management", where, once the property is let the agent remains the point of contact for the tenant and deals with any issues arising, subject to an agreed cost above which the agent seeks approval.
I'm not very up on costs but typically I'd guess "Letting only" would probably lose you your first months' rent, and "letting plus management" you'd get an initial startup fee of a couple of hundred, and then an ongoing commission of 10% of the rent + VAT?
They also charge the tenants substantial admin fees which I find particularly nefarious; also they clobber you (and the tenant) for renewal fees every 6 or 12 months, but don't tell you that it's actually completely unneccessary to do so, as the original Assured Shorthold Tenancy contract remains in force indefinitely. What else... oh, unless they are members of an umbrella organisation like ARLA (they don't need to be, and the vast majority aren't) then if they are holding the tenant's deposit and/or rent money of yours which they've collected and haven't forwarded) and then go bust or AWOL, then you (and not the tenant) lose it. I'm not an agent fan, you'll gather!
David
And tenants! Charging for renewing a tenancy when it need not be renewed - frequent question over on MSE forums about tenants being harrassed into paying sometimes as much as £100.
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