The Letting Process

1. Compliance with Health & Safety Regulations

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.

• the dwelling is capable of providing adequate heating, which ideally means controllable central heating and insulation, with eqipment and the fabric of the building in good repair
• electricity and gas supplies, and the sanitation (drains, basins, sinks, baths and WCs) are in working order
• there are no fall or trip hazards
• water heating equipment is in working order
• the property is free from damp

• Gas and Electrical Safety

  The Gas Safety Register has replaced CORGI as the register of approved gas engineers in the UK.

  The Landlord has duties under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 to arrange maintenance by a Gas Safe Registered engineer for all pipe work, appliances and flues, which you own and have provided for your tenants use. You must also arrange for an annual gas safety check to be carried out every 12 months by a Gas Safe Registered engineer. You must keep a record of the safety check for 2 years and issue a copy to each existing tenant within 28 days of the check being completed and issue a copy to any new tenants before they move in.

  For further information, please visit www.gassaferegister.co.uk

  By law, the landlord 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 the landlord supplies new appliances, he or she should also provide any accompanying instruction booklets.




• Fire Safety

  The 2004 Housing Act requires the landlord to do several things about fire safety:

  • there has to be an adequate means of escape
  • depending on the size of the property, there may have to be smoke alarms and fire extinguishing equipment
  • make sure any furniture and furnishings they provide meet the fire resistance regulations

  If the property you are letting is divided into a number of separate accommodation units (such as bedsits or flats) the property is probably "a House in Multiple Occupation" (an HMO). The Council has further requirements of the owner or manager of an HMO. These are legally enforceable and cover standards of fire safety and general management and upkeep of the HMO's common parts of services. If you are contemplating letting out the property as an HMO - either bedsits or flats you should seek advice from the HMO Team in the Local Authority.



• Energy Performance Certificate

  Since 1 October 2008 a landlord needs to provide an Energy Performance Certificate whenever a home is let to a new tenant.

  The certificate is only required for a property which is self-contained. It is not required when a tenant rents a room and shares facilities, where a tenant has a separate contract with the landlord.

  The EPC and recommendation report must be made available free of charge by a landlord to a prospective tenant.

  EPCs are valid for 10 ten years and can be reused as many times as required within that period. If a newer EPC is produced within the ten year period, only the most recent one is valid.

  The only person who is able to produce an Energy Performance Certificate is an accredited energy assessor.

  Below is a list of approved accredited schemes for:
  
  Energy Performance Certificates for existing dwellings
  NES - www.nher.co.uk
  BRE - www.bre.co.uk/accreditation
  Elmhurst – www.elmhurstenergy.co.uk
  Northgate - www.northgate-ispublicservices.com
  Stroma - www.stroma.com
  RICS - www.rics.org/hips
  ECMK Ltd - www.ecmk.co.uk
  Quidos - www.quidos.co.uk
  Heating and Ventilation Certificated Associates - www.hicertification.co.uk
  

2. Valuation

If you choose not to use an Estate Agent who will usually value your property for free, you have to do your own research by looking for similar properties on the internet, reviewing local newspapers and looking at letting agents windows.

View London Property staff are on hand to offer assistance.

3. Marketing

The service we are offering allows estate agents to advertise alongside private sellers and Landlords.

By offering a sale and letting service we are increasing the amount of exposure for our customers.

View London Property will erect a For Sale / For Let board within 24 hours of your property being listed on our website. A board displayed outside a property is known to account for 1 in 3 property sales.

View London Property advertises on posters, in local newspapers & property publications and distributes door to door flyers.

4. Viewings

First impressions count and it is important to ensure that the property is presented in its best light before all viewings take place.

There's no need to mention any negative aspects, instead make a list of all the positive things which you can mention as you are going round the house, but don't overdo the hard sell.

Try and be as informative as you can, remember you know your property and the surrounding area better than anyone.

Try and be as helpful as you can by responding to any questions. Tenants can rarely be persuaded to rent a property, they will have fixed ideas about what they are looking for.

On average, a viewing should take approximately 10 minutes.

One of the benefits of letting your own property is that you meet all potential tenants. As well and using references to check a tenant's credability you should also rely on your gut instincts.

5. References

• Previous Landlord reference
• Employment reference
• Status Enquiry
  A status enquiry is a request for a bank's opinion as to a particular customer's ability to meet a given financial transaction or commitment. A bank's reply to a status enquiry will typically be in the form of an opinion. It will be based on what the account-holding branch knows about the customer in question, drawing on its own records. A reply is not, and is not intended to be, a definitive pronouncement on a customer's financial well-being. This is because the customer may have other accounts, assets or liabilities which the account-holding branch does not know about.
• Credit Check
  This tenant screening report provides a risk profile score based on an analysis of historical tenant data including CCJs, credit history, where and who the tenant has been living with, and their overall traceability. The score returned is placed in context of risk categories ranging from higher to lower risk, each risk category identifies the probability of failure e.g. of defaulting on rental payments. Please note that the Bronze tenant check report only provides a risk score, it does not return any details found from searches of CCJs, Insolvency Bankruptcy and Electoral Register.
  www.credit-check-services.co.uk
  www.rla.org.uk

6. Tenancy Agreement

An assured shorthold tenancy gives the tenant a legal right to live in accommodation for a period of time. The tenancy might be set for a period (known as a fixed-term phase of the tenancy) such as six months. Or it might roll on a week-to-week or month-to-month basis (this is known as the periodic phase of the tenancy). It is usual practice for the Landlord to prepare two duplicate copies of the agreement ready for signing. These are called the original and counterpart. When completing the form all details, signatures and dates must be completed on both documents in ink. When completed, the Landlord should keep the original and give the counterpart to the tenant.

7. Inventory

An inventory of the contents and condition of the property should be produced prior to commencement of the tenancy. This should be signed and dated by the landlord and tenant and each should keep a copy.

8. Tenancy Deposit Schemes

There are two types of tenancy deposit protection scheme available for landlords and letting agents insurance-based schemes and custodial schemes. All schemes provide a free dispute resolution service.

The schemes allow tenants to get all or part of their deposit back when they are entitled to it and encourage tenants and landlords to make a clear agreement from the start on the condition of the property.

• allow tenants to get all or part of their deposit back when they are entitled to it
• make any disputes easier to resolve
• encourage tenants and landlords to make a clear agreement from the start on the condition of the property

• Insurance based schemes

  • the tenant pays the deposit to the landlord
  • the landlord retains the deposit and pays a premium to the insurer - the key difference to the custodial scheme

  Within 14 days of receiving a deposit The landlord or agent must give the tenant the details about how their deposit is protected including:

  • the contact details of the tenancy deposit scheme selected
  • the landlord or agent's contact details
  • how to apply for the release of the deposit
  • information explaining the purpose of the deposit
  • what to do if there is a dispute about the deposit

  At the end of the tenancy:

  • if an agreement is reached about how the deposit should be divided, the landlord or agent returns all or some of the deposit
  • if there is a dispute, the landlord must hand over the disputed amount to the scheme for safekeeping until the dispute is resolved
  • if for any reason the landlord fails to comply, the insurance arrangements will ensure the return of the deposit to the tenant if they are entitled to it



• Custodial Scheme

  • the tenant pays the deposit to the landlord or agent
  • the landlord or agent then pays the deposit into the scheme

  Within 14 days of receiving a deposit The landlord or agent must give the tenant the details about how their deposit is protected including:

  • the contact details of the tenancy deposit scheme selected
  • the landlord or agent's contact details
  • how to apply for the release of the deposit
  • information explaining the purpose of the deposit
  • what to do if there is a dispute about the deposit

  At the end of the tenancy:

  • if an agreement is reached about how the deposit should be divided, the scheme will return the deposit, divided in the way agreed by both parties
  • if there is a dispute, the scheme will hold the deposit until the dispute resolution service or courts decide what is fair
  • if for any reason the landlord fails to comply, the insurance arrangements will ensure the return of the deposit to the tenant if they are entitled to it

  The interest accrued by deposits in the scheme will be used to pay for the running of the scheme and any surplus will be used to offer interest to the tenant, or landlord if the tenant isn't entitled to it.

9. Tax Implications

If you let out property, you'll have to keep records of your income and expenses for at least six years - whatever type of letting it is. HM Revenue & Customs can ask to see supporting information for your figures at any point during this time.

If your total income from UK property is £15,000 or more in a tax year you must declare it on the full Self Assessment tax return. If it's under £15,000 you may be able to complete a shorter four-page return. If your taxable income from property is under £2,500 your Tax Office may be able to collect any tax you owe through PAYE (Pay As You Earn) if you already pay tax this way.