Landlord

Advice for Landlords

Why Choose Fry and Kent?

Whether you have one rental property or a whole portfolio, Fry and Kent offer a range of property management services. Our knowledgeable staff make it their job to manage your property efficiently and professionally.

We have a dedicated, centrally located Landlord Centre which acts as a one-stop shop to help landlords and tenant alike.

There has been lots of new legislation about renting property over the past few years and we are able to offer peace of mind to landlords because our staff are able to ensure that you are in full compliance with all legislation.

We provide a first class service – but at very competitive prices.

Our range of services includes:

• A reliable and efficient maintenance and repair service through in-house or approved contractors.
• An innovative website with a Landlord Zone
• Downloadable statements
• Professional Memberships with strict Codes of Conduct and a redress scheme
• Honest & Professional advice backed by years of experience

Why not call us today and find out more about how Fry and Kent can help you?

The legal stuff

Overseas Landlord Tax

The Non-Resident Landlords (NRL) Scheme requires letting agents to deduct basic rate tax from any rent they collect for non-resident landlords. If non-resident landlords don't have UK letting agents acting for them and the rent is more than £100 a week, their tenants must deduct the tax. When working out the amount to tax the letting agent or tenant can take off deductible expenses.

Letting agents and/or tenants don't have to deduct tax if HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) tells them not to. HMRC will tell an agent/tenant not to deduct tax if non- resident landlords have successfully applied for approval to receive rents with no tax deducted. However even though the rent may be paid with no tax deducted, it remains liable to UK tax. So non-resident landlords must include it in any tax return HMRC sends them.

Non-resident landlords who are eligible can apply to the HMRC at any time for approval to receive their UK rental income with no tax deducted. This includes applying before they have left the UK or before the letting has started.

Fry and Kent can help your with the forms. For further details click here.

Electrical Safety Regulations

In recent years new regulations have been introduced to improve safety in rented residential accommodation. All landlords who own property which is let should be aware of the implications of the legislation. The information below is designed to give a summary of regulations which currently exist relating to electrical appliances and their impact on both private and commercial landlords.

Electrical Safety
Electrical safety regulations require that any electrical appliances supplied by landlords must be safe and, where their safe use requires it, appropriate instruction booklets must also be provided.

Unlike the gas safety regulations, there is no statutory annual testing interval but in order to meet the requirements it is still important that the appropriate checks and safeguards are carried out.

The regulations require:

• General Safety: All electrical equipment supplied must be safe. This will require that the electrical appliances, including leads and any adaptors, are checked by a competent and suitably qualified engineer. Unsafe items should be removed.
• Labelling: All electrical equipment manufactured after the 1st January 1997 must be marked with the appropriate CE symbol.
• Instructions: Manufacturer's instructions should be provided wherever for each appliance supplied. This will help to ensure that the tenant uses the equipment safely.

Why is it Important:
These are legal requirements and the maximum penalty for non-compliance with the regulations is a fine of £5,000 and/or six months imprisonment.

Electrical Safety Testing
It is important that both the fixed electrical installation (i.e. the mains wiring) and any supplied appliances and other equipment are safe. Both are easily tested by a qualified engineer.

• Appliances: It is recommended that electrical appliances are tested prior to the initial letting of a properly and annually thereafter. If an individual appliance is used particularly frequently or in a harsh environment (e.g. wet conditions) then more frequent testing may be required.
• Fixed Installations: It is also important that the fixed wiring circuits are checked for safety. The Institute of Electrical Engineers (IEE) recommends that this is carried out at least every ten years in a domestic environment.
• Records: You should keep a record of all appliances tested and checks carried out.

You can also carry out your own simple checks. Here are some important points you should watch for:

• Leads: Watch out for frayed or worn leads. These may be dangerous and should be replaced immediately by a competent person.
• Plugs: By law, electrical appliances must not be supplied without a correctly fused plug fitted to it.

Appliances covered by Regulations
The regulations cover all mains voltage electrical goods designed with a working voltage of between 50 and 1000 volts a.c. including:

• cookers
• kettles
• toasters
• electric blankets
• washing machines
• immersion heaters

General product safety

For all rented property it is a statutory duty of the landlord to maintain the structure, keep main services serving the property in good repair and keep it shall be fit for human habitation. There are also general product safety regulations that require the property and items in the property to be safe.
The product safety regulations state that any item supplied to a consumer in the course of a commercial activity must be safe and this is deemed to include the supply of rented property.

The following checks and precautions should be observed:

• Discard any damaged items that may be dangerous.
• Provide instruction manuals where appropriate.
• Check for obvious danger signs - broken glass, sharp edges, worn leads etc.
• All repairs or building work carried out on the property should be done in accordance with current building regulations (e.g. use of toughened safety glass in low level glazing)
• Smoke detectors, any supplied fire extinguishers and related safety equipment should be kept in good working order.

For further details click here

Gas Safety Certificates

A Gas safety certificate is a certificate that is required by law to be held for all rental accommodation in the UK where there are any gas appliances present. The requirement is enshrined in the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. Gas safety certificates are made out by technicians registered with the Gas Safe Register scheme which took over form the previous Corgi scheme in 2009. For further details click here.

Other legal and Safety Requirements

The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) (Amendment) Regulations 1993
These regulations were amended in 1993 and have set new levels of fire resistance for domestic upholstered furniture and furnishings. It is an offence to 'supply' in the course of business any furniture which does not comply with the regulations. This includes the furniture inside residential property to be let.

The regulations apply to: sofas, futons, beds, bed-headboards, nursery furniture, garden furniture suitable for use in a dwelling, scatter cushions and pillows and stretch or loose covers for furniture. The regulations do not apply to: curtains, carpets, pillowcases, bedclothes (including duvets and loose mattress covers).

Any furniture manufactured after March 1990 is likely to comply but if the appropriate labels are not on the furniture or compliance is in doubt then checks should be made with the manufacturer.

Failure to comply with the regulations is an offence carrying a penalty of £5,000 or six months imprisonment or a greater penalty if a fire results and furniture is found not to comply.

Consent To Let
If you have a mortgage on your property then you are likely to need to get consent to let your property from your mortgage lender. If it is a leasehold property then your lease may require you to obtain consent from the owner of the freehold prior to you sub-letting it.

Insurance
Standard home owner insurance could be invalidated when you let your property. We can obtain quotations for specialist comprehensive insurance cover for let property, including rent and legal insurance.

Tenancy Agreement
It is a requirement for landlords to sign their own tenancy agreement. Therefore it is important that we are given clear instructions regarding the length of time the property will be available and that we have a contact address and telephone and fax number in order that the document may be forwarded for signature prior to any tenancy.