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PRIVATE LANDLORDS BEWARE!
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All private landlords renting residential property are now affected by two recent pieces of government legislation. The result of ignoring this legislation could create huge long term problems and also result in fines being imposed by Trading Standards. Detailed below is an outline of how this affects the private landlord along with the steps that can be taken now to avoid the pitfalls: |
Tenants Deposit Protection Scheme: With effect from the 6th April 2007 all landlords who take a deposit from a tenant in respect of a letting under an Assured Shorthold Tenancy must hold this deposit in an approved tenancy deposit scheme and the tenant must be told which scheme the deposit is held in.
Failure to comply with this basic requirement means that landlords will not be able to issue a section 21 notice. The section 21 notice is the statutory “Notice to Quit”, which put into context means that you will be unable to evict a troublesome tenant. In addition to this compensation may be payable to the tenant of up to three times the deposit amount.
At Richardson all of the deposits we retain are registered with “The Dispute Service Ltd” who is an independent company who meet all of the government requirements in this respect. If you rent out property to private tenants please speak to us immediately and find out how we can offer a low hassle solution to this potentially damaging problem.
Energy Performance Certificate: From 1st October 2008 all lettings to a new tenant must be accompanied by an Energy Performance Certificate for the subject property. The landlord must ensure the Certificate is available for inspection by the tenant prior to entering the rental contract.
Failure to provide the tenant with an Energy Performance Certificate will result in Trading Standards issuing a £200 fine per dwelling. In addition to this fine the landlord will still be required to commission a valid certificate.
A certificate for the property is valid for 10 years and can be reused as many times as required during this period. Typically the cost of a certificate will be £60-£100 plus VAT and at Richardson we can put you in to direct contact with an approved surveyor qualified to undertake this service for you.
Property Health Check: If the points detailed above or any other aspect of renting a property causes you any concern please speak to Mark Thomas at Richardson and we will undertake a full “Property Health Check” on your behalf. We will review all aspects of the property and if necessary advise on and undertake rent reviews, carry out a periodic inspection visit and produce a condition report. In addition to this we will advise on current safety requirements for gas and electrical installations.
This is a one-off, no commitment, service which will leave you free to continue the active day-to-day management of your property safe in the knowledge that it is fully compliant with all the current legal requirements and let at a competitive rent.
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