Buildings Insurance – We have a bespoke policy backed by a major insurer to suit your requirements. FREE no obligation quotation is available on request.
Contents Insurance– As above FREE quotation is available upon request.
Landlord contents insurance can cover the cost of replacing items that are stolen, or damaged by something like fire or flood. It doesn’t cover gradual ‘wear and tear’ of items over time, or any items that belong to the tenants.
Consent to Let your property must be given by your Mortgage Provider
We recommend that you seek independent financial advice and observe the guidance on the following link:
www.gov.uk/guidance/income-tax-when-you-rent-out-a-property-working-out-your-rental-income#overview
https://touch.nihe.gov.uk/furnishings – please check the information from the Housing executive .
From a landlord’s perspective, meeting the fire safety regulations mostly requires you to check for the appropriate display labels that manufacturers are legally required to supply. The only items that may not have them are mattresses, bed-bases, pillows, cushions and covers. So do check for these labels when you buy furniture and furnishings.
It’s also important to check when you make periodical inspections that your tenant hasn’t taken these labels off for any reason or replaced items without you knowing. Record any changes on the inventory in writing and take photos as well.
One of the reasons an inventory is so especially important in this case is it provides an independent record of what you actually put in the property. So if a fire were to break out because of something a tenant had added that wasn’t safe from a fire perspective, you could prove that it wasn’t your fault.
In relation to portable electrical appliances, there is no legal obligation in the case of rented residential accommodation to carry out a portable appliance test (PAT test). The Government have recently confirmed that this is the case. It is left to landlord’s discretion. The exception to this would be where you have an employee working or living in rented accommodation (e.g. in a care home type situation). However, the Electrical Safety Council’s Guidance recommends portable appliance testing to satisfy the obligation to ensure that any portable electrical appliances which the landlord provides under the tenancy are safe at the point of letting, and at periodic intervals after that.
The Guidance recommends that when providing portable appliances for tenants, the landlord should check that every appliance has a CE mark. It also recommends that you should only provide appliances with additional safety marks e.g. the British Standard Guidance mark or the BEAB approved mark.
Tenants should be provided with instruction manuals and be told to read and follow them
If you do not undertake PAT tests, the Guidance recommends that portable electrical appliances should be checked by the landlord before letting the property to ensure that there are no cuts/abrasions to the cable, the plug is satisfactory, there are no loose parts or screws, that there are no signs of burning and there is no damage. You are recommended to regularly check them after that.
The Landlord warrants that the property is made available in a good and lettable condition and that the property, beds, sofa and all other soft furnishings all comply with the current fire safety regulations. The landlord agrees to make the Agent aware of any ongoing maintenance problems. Subject to a retained minimum expenditure limit, as set with each Landlord on any single item or repair, and any other requirements or limits specified by the Landlord, the Agent will administer any miscellaneous maintenance work that needs to be carried out on the property. It is agreed that in an emergency or for reason of contractual necessity where reasonable endeavours have been made to contact the Landlord, the Agent may exceed his limits specified. The Agent endeavours to select competent tradesmen at a reasonable price but is unable to personally guarantee the standard of workmanship or any liability arising thereof, although the Landlord retains the right to pursue any claim against appointed tradesmen for substandard work.
By law, it is necessary to carry out an annual inspection of the central heating and any gas appliances. The Agent will appoint a suitably qualified contractor to carry these out on the Landlord’s behalf and administer the necessary inspection and maintenance records.
There is a legal duty for landlords to assess and control the risk of exposure to legionella bacteria, but Health and Safety law does not require landlords to produce or obtain, nor does HSE recognise, a ‘Legionnaires testing certificate’.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/legionnaires/legionella-landlords-responsibilities.htm
When letting property and collecting rents for landlords overseas the Agent is obliged by the Taxes Management Act (TMA) 1970 (or under similar powers of any tax legislation) to deduct monies to cover any tax liability. In this situation the Agent also requests that the Landlord appoints an accountant or reserves the Agent the right to employ a suitably qualified accountant in order to manage correspondence with the Inland Revenue. In many cases Landlord’s tax liability is minimal when all allowable costs are deducted. Many overseas residents qualify for exemption from deduction of income tax at source.
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