Once you have accepted the offer and agreed the terms we will arrange the contracts for both parties. Also, we will arrange when your new tenants get the keys. If you are managing the property yourself then we will make sure that the tenants have all your contact details should any issues arise. If we are managing the property for you then we will give the tenants a dedicated Property Manager and their phone number along with our 24hr helpline number – taking the stress away from you.
Towards the end of the tenancy we will get in touch with you and see if you want to re-let your property. The likelihood is that we have someone in the wings waiting!
Landlords can expect a steady stream of regulation as the Government is focused on this sector of the property market. Amazingly, there are over 140 laws that affect landlords and to help you through the maze, here’s a handy guide to some of the latest ones.
As the market leader in London lettings we are fully up to date with all legislation and are used to dealing with everything on behalf of our landlords. All our staff are well informed about all the latest law and best practice. Please speak to any one of our offices if you have any queries.
Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors
Your property needs to be fitted with a smoke alarm on each floor and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a gas appliance. Both smoke and carbon monoxide alarms will need to be tested and working on the day of move-in and whenever your visit the property.
Legionella risk assessments
Landlords have a legal duty to ensure that the risk of exposure of tenants to legionella is properly assessed and controlled. Risks are higher in certain types of properties and mainly occur when they are vacant for a period of time. During the course of this year, we are working with landlords when new tenancies are set up and in many instances we would recommend a legionella risk assessment. We have negotiated a special rate for our landlords of £94.80 and any of our offices can advise you about this.
Right to rent
Under the Immigration Act 2014, all landlords have a responsibility to check that their tenant has a legal right to reside and work in the UK. As part of our detailed vetting of tenants, we carry out this check at the start of every tenancy to make sure that our landlords do not fall foul of this law.
Notice to end a tenancy
Landlords are restricted in ending tenancies in some circumstances where they either fail to protect the deposit properly or to supply information to the tenant at the start of a tenancy. This includes the Energy Performance Certicate, Gas Safety Certicate, details of the Deposit Protection, a signed Tenancy Agreement with prescribed information and, finally, the Government’s How to Rent checklist.
Ending tenancies by serving Section 21 Notices is an important part of a landlord’s toolkit in estate management, so we make sure that they do everything correctly at the start of every tenancy.
Retaliatory evictions
Recent legislation aims to encourage landlords to properly maintain properties and to prevent tenants from feeling unable to complain about problems for fear of eviction. The Deregulation Act 2015 came into force in October, giving tenants new rights. We encourage all landlords to keep their properties in a very good condition as it helps us to keep them fully occupied in the long term and maximise rental income.
Our strategy for landlords
When it comes to maintenance or property management we are based all over London and can help any of our landlords with everything from window dressing to a full makeover from our refurbishment team. They can be contacted on 020 8742 4117.
Electrical safety
All rented properties now require an Electric Installation Condition Report to be carried out every five years. You will need to provide a copy to your tenant within 30 days of the certificate being issued.
Energy efficiency
Any tenanted property must soon have a minimum Energy Performance Rating of E as measured on their Energy Performance Certi cate (EPC). From April this year tenants now have the right to request energy efficiency
improvements to their properties. The regulations will come into force for new lets and renewals of tenancies 1 April 2018 and for all existing tenancies from 1 April 2020. We have very few properties affected by this legislation and are working with any landlords needing help. As energy costs go ever higher, tenants are starting to take more notice of a property’s running costs, and heating and lighting are inevitably the main focus. In our efforts to maintain properties and keep them making a good rental return in the long term, energy efficiency is just one of the many areas that we are happy to look at for landlords in maintaining and improving their property. If we can help in any way, then please contact any of our offices.
Wear and tear allowances
The Government has introduced legislation to remove the 10% wear and tear tax break from landlords. It came into force April this year. The Government feels that landlords’ rights to claim this allowance without having to prove they have incurred the costs is not encouraging the maintenance and repair of rented property. Landlords can still deduct actual costs from their rental income and this makes ongoing investment in maintaining and refurbishing property tax efficient. Our Property Management teams and Refurbishment and Design department are happy to help. You can contact any of our offices or speak directly to our Refurbishment and Design Team on 020 8742 4117.
All prices include VAT
