We have been extremely surprised to discover that two landlords we have spoken to recently, who manage their own properties, do not have a current gas certification in place.

We must emphasize to all landlords that under the Gas Safety Regulations 1998, it is a legal requirement for every property with a gas supply to have an annual safety check carried out by a registered Gas Safe Engineer.  The law applies to all forms of supply of gas from mains to propane and calor gas and incorporates not only all appliances but also all pipe work, flues and storage of gas. 

The certificates must be kept for two years and a copy given to the tenant within 28 days of the check being carried out. 

The maximum penalty for non-compliance is six months imprisonment and/or £5000 fine.  Obviously tenant’s lives may be put a risk and if someone dies as a result of regulations not being adhered to, a more serious charge may be bought.

From 6 April 2012, the law is changing again regarding EPCs.  As you are aware, it is a legal requirement for all sales and rented properties to have an EPC carried out before they can be placed on the market. 

The revised legislation states that an EPC must be obtained within 7 days of the start of the marketing.  There is an additional period of up to 28 days after the surveyor has been instructed if there is a reasonable cause for the delay,  but NO viewings can be carried out until an EPC is issued. 

Any marketing material, such as particulars and information on websites, must include the EPC, the only marketing exception being window displays.

The good news is that the law has reverted back to the EPC lasting for ten years; all current EPCs will remain valid until their specified expiry date and you do not need to have a new one carried out unless you have building works or improvements to the property.

The format for the new EPC will be revised and will include information for landlords as to whether their property is eligible for energy improvements under the Green Deal grant scheme.   The aim of the new legislation is to make all property owners responsible for ensuring that their properties are as energy efficient as possible and there is talk that from 2018, any property below a band E will not be legally allowed to be rented out.  Again we will obviously keep you informed.

We were recently asked by a prospective landlord why he might need a letting agent to manage his property and it is a question that I think  others may also like answered.

Many landlords very successfully set up and manage their own tenancies.  For some, however, using a reputable letting agent is very reassuring, knowing that all the legal aspects are attended to and that their property is being regularly monitored. We offer two services with about a 50:50 split between landlords who require a tenant find only service to those who prefer the full management. 

There are three basic reasons why landlords may wish to use a letting agent to manage the property. The first is distance.  Some feel they live too far away to manage the tenancy regularly.  Others actually live too close and we are often asked to manage annexes to give some distance between the landlord and tenant.  The next reason is time.  Nowadays many landlords are extremely busy and whilst, when a tenancy is running smoothly the workload can be minimal, when issues need attending to, some landlords are too busy to deal with them efficiency or quickly. The final reason is nerves with many landlords, especially if renting out their property for the first time, anxious about complying with all the changing legal requirements and the aspect of finding a good tenant. 

There are three general areas of management: rent collection, dealing with repairs and issues as they arise and finally inspections.  Each are equally important. By using an agent, you know that each of these are being dealt with professionally and regularly.  Rents are usually paid by standing order but there are some tenants who still pay by cheque or cash.  Collecting rents is easy unless there is an issue with the tenant’s income or benefit and the rent payment comes in late. It can then become quite time consuming chasing the tenant.  Again, arranging qualified and approved contractors is not difficult but ensuring that repairs are carried out quickly and to an acceptable standard or organizing several contractors to provide quotes for work can take numerous calls between the engineers and tenants agreeing convenient times to access the property.  Lastly, many landlords find carrying out inspections difficult and telling a tenant that they are not keeping the property to an acceptable level can be quite awkward.  We are shocked how many times we speak to landlords who manage their own properties, and do not carry out regular inspections; some have not seen around their rental house for years.

With the legislation and laws altering so frequently, it can be hard for a landlord to keep abreast of the changing regulations they have to comply with.  Whether it is safety issues or marketing laws like EPCs, the benefit of using an agent is that they will always keep a landlord informed and ensure that they are always complying with their legal duty of care.

The time that using an agency really comes into its own, however is when a situation occurs out of the ordinary during a let or if the tenancy starts to go wrong.  We have been contacted on numerous occasions and asked to assist landlords when they get into difficulty.  Moreover we find that when tenancies have gone wrong it is usually through a lack of regular management or regular communication with their tenant. Keeping a good working relationship between landlord/agent and the tenant is paramount and by using an agent landlords are able to keep a professional distance and can take comfort in knowing that all the hard work is being undertaken for them.