Landlord rental compliance & regulation
Understand the legislation that applies to you as a landlord
It is a legal requirement to thoroughly check a tenant’s right to rent a property in the UK.
All prospective tenants over 18 years of age must be checked.
Before submitting the offer to the owner, we will check your eligibility to stay and rent in the UK.
At the move in, we will ask you to present in a person with your passport to prove your identity.
The dedicated welcome home property manager will attend the move in with the tenant asking the proof of identity and briefing the new tenant about all facilities of the flat.
Standard checks are performed to confirm the identity and authenticity of any funds involved in a transaction.
AML is a legal requirement for all estate agents, with HMRC targeting any criminal activity in the property sector. Every time you market a property with an estate agent you’ll need to provide a valid photo ID and a recent utility bill.
We will perform these same checks on your prospective tenants.
Welcome at Home is HMRC Anti-money laundering registered and regulated.
From 1st April 2018 properties let on a new tenancy or a fixed term renewal must have a minimum energy efficiency rating of band E or above.
It is a legal requirement to have a valid EPC when marketing your property
and a copy must be made available to prospective tenants free of charge. From the moment of the instruction, Welcome Home immediately ensures
that the certificate is valid by checking the EPC register, if it is not, we will immediately notify you with the relative cost to be immediately compliant with the law for 10 years.
It is a legal requirement to have a valid EPC when marketing your property
and a copy must be made available to prospective tenants free of charge. From the moment of the instruction, Welcome Home immediately ensures
that the certificate is valid by checking the EPC register, if it is not, we will immediately notify you with the relative cost to be immediately compliant with the law for 10 years.
Local authority licensing & Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs)
In the past it was possible to rent a large apartment or house by rooms, convert the living room into a room, obtaining the maximum possible rent.
This led owners and operators in the sector to profit by dividing large rooms into small ones, converting living rooms into rooms, renting the apartment without limits of people.
After various inconveniences and unpleasant events, the British government has introduced a new legislation thus regulating the HMO House in Multiple Occupation sector.
In 2006 it introduced compulsory licensing where it originally applied to properties of three or more floors with five or more people making up two or more separate families living there.
Over the years, the license has been increasingly defined and reduced by imposing an HMO license on any apartment that is rented to more than three people not united by family ties, for example 3 friends.
The license criteria at the base is having an apartment in accordance with the law with all the necessary requirements for protection against fire, escape routes and minimum living spaces.
It is a good idea to check the obligations and costs of this license with the municipality where the house resides.
For years, Welcome Home has been assisting its customers in this regulatory process to obtain the license by adjusting their property and optimizing the yield to the maximum according to current standards.
In the past it was possible to rent a large apartment or house by rooms, convert the living room into a room, obtaining the maximum possible rent.
This led owners and operators in the sector to profit by dividing large rooms into small ones, converting living rooms into rooms, renting the apartment without limits of people.
After various inconveniences and unpleasant events, the British government has introduced a new legislation thus regulating the HMO House in Multiple Occupation sector.
In 2006 it introduced compulsory licensing where it originally applied to properties of three or more floors with five or more people making up two or more separate families living there.
Over the years, the license has been increasingly defined and reduced by imposing an HMO license on any apartment that is rented to more than three people not united by family ties, for example 3 friends.
The license criteria at the base is having an apartment in accordance with the law with all the necessary requirements for protection against fire, escape routes and minimum living spaces.
It is a good idea to check the obligations and costs of this license with the municipality where the house resides.
For years, Welcome Home has been assisting its customers in this regulatory process to obtain the license by adjusting their property and optimizing the yield to the maximum according to current standards.
A compulsory test proving that gas appliances and supply points in the property are safe.
Any gas central heating system or appliance will need to be certified as safe to use under The Gas Safety Regulations 1998.
Inspections must be done prior to a tenant moving in and annually thereafter
In order to increase the service life of the boiler, it is good practice to also carry out boiler cleaning or “boiler service”.
Welcome Home can arrange for the inspection to be carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer who will issue a Gas Safety Certificate. It is also a legal requirement that a copy of the certificate be given to the tenant within 30 days.
Once instructed Welcome Home immediately ascertains the validity of the gas certificate and if it has expired, through a certified Gas Safe plumber, renews the certificate in order to be compliant.
An Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) assesses the safety of the existing electrical installation within a property and describes its condition. The assessment will cover consumer units (fuse boards), protective bonding, lighting, switches, sockets etc.
The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 came into force on 1 June 2020 and form part of the Department’s wider work to improve safety in all residential premises and particularly in the private rented sector. All rental properties need an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) with a rating of ‘satisfactory’. If the outcome is ‘unsatisfactory’ then remedial works must be completed within 28 days, or sooner if required. A ‘satisfactory’ EICR is valid for up to five years.
One of the daily duties of Welcome Home is to bring it up to the standards of all properties with the current law. All our properties in the portfolio are under Electrical Installation Condition Report ‘satisfactory’
The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 came into force on 1 June 2020 and form part of the Department’s wider work to improve safety in all residential premises and particularly in the private rented sector. All rental properties need an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) with a rating of ‘satisfactory’. If the outcome is ‘unsatisfactory’ then remedial works must be completed within 28 days, or sooner if required. A ‘satisfactory’ EICR is valid for up to five years.
One of the daily duties of Welcome Home is to bring it up to the standards of all properties with the current law. All our properties in the portfolio are under Electrical Installation Condition Report ‘satisfactory’
Fire safety regulation and hazards, what to do to be compliant in England.
Smoke alarms
Any property built after 1992 should be fitted with mains operated smoke detectors and alarms on each floor as required under building regulations. It is now also a legal requirement to install a smoke alarm on every floor of a rental property. These must be tested as in good working order at the start of every tenancy – a professional inventory check-in report should record if smoke alarms were present and in working order at the start of the tenancy.
Carbon monoxide alarms
Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colourless, odourless and tasteless poisonous gas. The best practice is to install a carbon monoxide alarm but these must be installed in any room with a solid fuel installation e.g. a wood-burning stove. They should also be tested to ensure they are in good working order at the start of every tenancy – the check-in report should record this safety check.
Furniture & furnishings
Furniture manufactured today must have a safety label stating it meets the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988. It is a good idea to check that sofas, beds, bedheads, cushions, pillows and furniture covers still have the relevant fire safety tag attached. Furniture manufactured prior to 1950 is exempt but it is best practice to remove vintage, antique or sentimental items from a property.
House in multiple occupation HMO – further strict fire regulation
Conduct a fire risk assessment, identify the fire hazards, identify people at risk, record, plan, inform, instruct and train the tenants. Provide fire alarms, extinguishers, monoxide carbons detectors, fire blanket and all necessary reported from the risk assessment.
For years, Welcome Home has been informing the owners of all these scrupulous regulations and works close by them to make this rental process as safe and peaceful as possible. Thanks to Welcome Home your home will always have a loyal eye that monitors the legislation and the tenancy.
Smoke alarms
Any property built after 1992 should be fitted with mains operated smoke detectors and alarms on each floor as required under building regulations. It is now also a legal requirement to install a smoke alarm on every floor of a rental property. These must be tested as in good working order at the start of every tenancy – a professional inventory check-in report should record if smoke alarms were present and in working order at the start of the tenancy.
Carbon monoxide alarms
Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colourless, odourless and tasteless poisonous gas. The best practice is to install a carbon monoxide alarm but these must be installed in any room with a solid fuel installation e.g. a wood-burning stove. They should also be tested to ensure they are in good working order at the start of every tenancy – the check-in report should record this safety check.
Furniture & furnishings
Furniture manufactured today must have a safety label stating it meets the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988. It is a good idea to check that sofas, beds, bedheads, cushions, pillows and furniture covers still have the relevant fire safety tag attached. Furniture manufactured prior to 1950 is exempt but it is best practice to remove vintage, antique or sentimental items from a property.
House in multiple occupation HMO – further strict fire regulation
Conduct a fire risk assessment, identify the fire hazards, identify people at risk, record, plan, inform, instruct and train the tenants. Provide fire alarms, extinguishers, monoxide carbons detectors, fire blanket and all necessary reported from the risk assessment.
For years, Welcome Home has been informing the owners of all these scrupulous regulations and works close by them to make this rental process as safe and peaceful as possible. Thanks to Welcome Home your home will always have a loyal eye that monitors the legislation and the tenancy.
A form of pneumonia that is caused by inhalation of droplets of water containing the Legionella bacteria.
Legionnaires’ disease is normally acquired via the respiratory route by inhalation, aspiration or microaspiration of aerosols containing Legionella, or particles derived by drying. Under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1989 landlords who provide residential accommodation have a legal duty to consider, assess and control the risks of exposure to Legionella to their tenants. All water systems require an assessment of the risk and landlords can carry out this assessment themselves if they are competent or employ somebody who is. In most residential settings a simple assessment may show that the risks are low and no further action may be necessary.
Legionnaires’ disease is normally acquired via the respiratory route by inhalation, aspiration or microaspiration of aerosols containing Legionella, or particles derived by drying. Under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1989 landlords who provide residential accommodation have a legal duty to consider, assess and control the risks of exposure to Legionella to their tenants. All water systems require an assessment of the risk and landlords can carry out this assessment themselves if they are competent or employ somebody who is. In most residential settings a simple assessment may show that the risks are low and no further action may be necessary.
Rental properties must be clean when a tenant moves in
and a check-in records the state of the property at the time. This makes both the move-in and move-out process run smoothly and minimises disagreements and delays when claiming for cleaning or damages at the end of a tenancy. We advise a professional clean before the move-in date and an independent inventory at check-in to record the exact condition of all spaces inside and outside the property.
and a check-in records the state of the property at the time. This makes both the move-in and move-out process run smoothly and minimises disagreements and delays when claiming for cleaning or damages at the end of a tenancy. We advise a professional clean before the move-in date and an independent inventory at check-in to record the exact condition of all spaces inside and outside the property.
Your landlord must put your deposit in a government-approved tenancy deposit scheme
At the end of the tenancy the tenant is required to request the return of the deposit. Within 10 days of this request the landlord must return any amount from the deposit which the landlord is not intending to withhold. The landlord must also inform the tenant of any proposed deductions.
Remember that wear and tear will occur especially if a tenant has been in occupation for a number of years. A landlord is entitled to charge deductions for dilapidations and damages but cannot claim for betterment. Landlords cannot use the tenant’s deposit as a redecorating budget to improve the property condition, only to restore it to the same condition as the start of the tenancy, save for fair wear and tear. Discussing deposit deductions can be the most difficult part of being a landlord.
We will help you to deduct a fair deduction minimizing stressful dispute and costs. Welcome Home is a member of ‘DPS, deposit protection scheme’ body scheme for keeping your deposit in safe and regulated hands.
At the end of the tenancy the tenant is required to request the return of the deposit. Within 10 days of this request the landlord must return any amount from the deposit which the landlord is not intending to withhold. The landlord must also inform the tenant of any proposed deductions.
Remember that wear and tear will occur especially if a tenant has been in occupation for a number of years. A landlord is entitled to charge deductions for dilapidations and damages but cannot claim for betterment. Landlords cannot use the tenant’s deposit as a redecorating budget to improve the property condition, only to restore it to the same condition as the start of the tenancy, save for fair wear and tear. Discussing deposit deductions can be the most difficult part of being a landlord.
We will help you to deduct a fair deduction minimizing stressful dispute and costs. Welcome Home is a member of ‘DPS, deposit protection scheme’ body scheme for keeping your deposit in safe and regulated hands.
You're in safe hands
We are a member of the key governing bodies, abiding by the strictest codes of practice.
