Providing a safe and healthy living environment…

One of your main obligations is to provide a safe and healthy living environment for your Tenants. This means making sure that the property is free from hazards such as damp, mould, and structural issues. You are also required to ensure that gas, electricity and plumbing systems are safe and regularly maintained. Maintaining the required safety certificates is managed for you, by us, if we are your managing agent.

Protecting the Tenant’s deposit…

When a Tenant moves into your property, you are required by law to protect their deposit in a government-approved scheme. This ensures that the deposit is safeguarded and can be returned to them trouble-free at the end of their tenancy, provided of course that all of the obligations of the tenancy agreement have been met. As managing agent, we take and protect the deposit for you in a suitable government-approved scheme in accordance with the required timeframe.

Providing adequate notice before entering the property…

Even though you are the Landlord, you cannot simply enter your rental property whenever you like. You are required to provide your Tenants with adequate notice before doing so. This is generally at least 24 hours and notice should be given in writing and state the reason for the visit. We carry out periodic inspections of properties we manage on your behalf, handling arrangements with the tenant in good time and should you need to enter the property yourself – we will always be happy to handle arrangements for you.

Carrying out repairs and maintenance…

It is your responsibility to carry out necessary repairs and maintenance to the property. This includes attending to any issues with the property’s structure, as well as ensuring that any appliances or fixtures provided by you, are in good working order. If we are acting as your managing agent, we will take care of all of this, consulting with you of course before agreeing to any expenditure with contractors.

Ensuring Tenancy Agreements are compliant…

When you enter into a tenancy agreement with a Tenant, it is your duty to make sure it complies with UK law. This includes ensuring that the terms of the agreement are fair and reasonable, and that you do not include any prohibited clauses. All of this is taken care of for you, by us when we let your property.

Respecting Tenants’ rights to Quiet Enjoyment…

Your Tenants have a right to quiet enjoyment of the property, which means that you cannot interfere with their use and enjoyment by, for example, entering without notice, or carrying out noisy repairs at unsociable hours. Again, if we manage the property on your behalf, you are unlikely ever to have any need to trouble them at all.

Ensuring Tenants’ Privacy…

Your Tenants have a right to privacy in the property. So, again, you cannot enter without notice, except in an emergency. You should also make sure that any personal information you hold about your Tenants is kept secure and confidential. As managing agents, we would normally hold all Tenant information, and make any necessary arrangements to visit the property with proper notice.

Complying with Anti-Discrimination laws…

It’s against the law to discriminate against tenants on the basis of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability. You are obliged to treat all Tenants fairly and equally, and may not discriminate in any way. You can be assured that in any dealings we conduct as your agent, this obligation is met with as a matter of course.

Providing Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs)…

You are required to provide Tenants with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), which gives information about the property’s energy efficiency. It must be provided free of charge. We can arrange an EPC certificate for you if you do not have one, and provide this to prospective Tenants when they view your property and also within the documentation pack on commencement of the tenancy.

Ensuring the property is insured…

Finally, it is important to ensure that your rental property is adequately insured. Depending on your property and how you let it, it could include buildings, contents and liability insurance. It is your responsibility to ensure that your Tenants are aware of any relevant insurance policies you have in place, and we will advise them for you if we let your property.

These are just a few of the obligations that are imposed against you as a Landlord – although the list can appear to be quite exhaustive, here at Meliora, it’s our duty to ensure that you are fully compliant!

MELIORA – Always Better!