Landlord Safety Guidelines
As a landlord, you will have responsibility for maintaining the property in a good condition, as well as taking measures to ensure the safety of the occupants from household accidents arising out of gas, electrical or fire mishaps.
Repairs
Landlords are responsible for the maintenance of the structure of their property. This includes repairs to the roof, chimneys, walls, guttering and drains as and when needed. Landlords are also duty bound to maintain the equipment involved in supplying water, gas and electricity in safe working order.
Landlords should draw up an action plan or schedule for maintenance and safety checks for the property. In general, landlords have the following set of duties, irrespective of the type of property they own:
* Annual inspection and maintenance of all gas appliances and flues by CORGI registered engineers.
* Maintenance of safety check certification and records, for at least 2 years, with copies to tenants.
* Where a managing agent is hired, the contract must be explicit as to who will be responsible for having the gas safety checks conducted.
* Appliances must be checked for safety within the preceding 12-month period before re-letting.
* Check appliances - gas or otherwise - the safety of which may be suspect, and provide a copy of the safety check record to the new tenant/s on entry.
* Arrange an inspection of the gas pipework and appliances when there’s a change of tenant even if the certification is still current.
* Convince tenants about the importance of allowing you access to the property for periodic maintenance, repairs, safety checks and the early reporting of faulty appliances.
* Document any incidents of refusal to allow access (for the above purposes) by the tenant to record that you have taken all reasonable steps to keep the property and fixtures in good condition.
* Ensure that all appliances meet the safety standards especially those provided in bedrooms and bathrooms where appliances must be of the room-sealed type.
Gas safety
Landlords or their agents will have to arrange for annual checks for gas safety to be carried out by a registered CORGI installer. Tenants should scrutinise the CORGI identification card of the person who arrives at the premises before allowing him or her to carry out any work relating to gas supply in the property.
Also make sure that any second hand gas appliances are thoroughly checked and certified before they are commissioned, and provide a set of emergency instructions and ready access to the gas meter and the gas cut-off valve to your tenants, together with copies of the appliance operating instructions.
Electrical Safety
The Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994 and the Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994 require landlords to ensure that all electrical equipment provided in tenanted residential properties must be safe. It is advisable to buy equipment made by reputable manufacturers and to have all electrical equipment and wiring checked by a qualified electrician at reasonable intervals of time. The equipment should be labelled to indicate the date and name of the checking firm.
Fire Safety
Property let out to students either under joint or individual contracts is likely to be categorised under the House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) class. HMO properties must conform to certain norms as per the Housing Act 2004, and should have:
* Adequate fire precautions and means of escape from fire – self closing fire doors with smoke seals and thumb turn locks on doors
* Automatic fire alarm and detection system
* Electrical installations certified for safety by an approved agency
* Emergency lighting system
* Fire fighting equipment such as fire blankets and extinguishers
It can easily be argued that these precautions, whilst not mandated by statute, should be applied to any let property, HMO or otherwise. In all cases, any furnishings provided must adhere to current fire retardent standards.
Conclusion
With the significant potential returns of landlordship go significant responsibilities. As a rule of thumb, landlords should apply the same safety metrics they use in their own homes when preparing a property for tenancy. There are significant statutory requirements for the safety testing and certification of gas supply and appliances. Moreover, due attention is needed in the areas of electrical and fire safety, with the fitting of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors
being of particular importance.
