Frequently Asked Questions

We believe that it is vital that both Landlords and Tenants are aware of their legal rights and obligations. Below are some essential questions and answers.

As a Landlord do I have to perform an annual electrical safety check on my rented property?

The Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994 governs the safety requirements of electrical appliances. As a result Landlords and managing agents have a duty of care to ensure that the electrical appliances that they provide are safe to use. This regulation relates to both new and second hand goods; however, there is no mandatory checking period.

If a fault occurs at a later date and tenants are injured and you are taken to court you will need to provide evidence that you took reasonable steps to ensure that the appliances were safe to use. It is strongly recommended that any second hand appliances that you have are professionally tested and that all your appliances have the relevant CE symbol on them. It would be advisable that you carry out checks on all your appliances and maintain records of when you carried out these checks, you will also need to provide all the instruction booklets for all the appliances and if you are in doubt over the condition of any appliance then get it checked by a qualified electrician.

Should an incident occur and you are found to be guilty you can be charged both with a criminal offence and with Civil offence. The criminal offence carries a maximum fine of £5,000 and/or imprisonment.

I have a fixed 12month contract which is due to come to term in two months time.

Do I still have to provide notice to our Landlord?

At the end of a fixed term in an Assured Shorthold Tenancy, the tenancy will automatically become a periodic tenancy unless either you or your landlord has served notice or agreed to renew your tenancy. It is therefore advisable that you serve your landlord a month's written notice and the likewise for your landlord he/she should serve you the minimum of two months notice which should not expire any sooner than end of the fixed term.

In some cases your landlord may have served a section 21 at the start of the tenancy stating that at the end of the 12month period they want to take possession of the flat, in such circumstances you will not need to serve notice.

Can I use my deposit as my last months rent?

Deposit monies are given to landlords as a security against damage caused by the tenants during the tenancy and the settlement of any outstanding bills left by tenants. Therefore the deposit can not be used as the last months rent, some tenants find this unfair when they have dealt with unscrupulous landlords who withhold deposits. This problem has been tackled by new legislation written into the Housing Act 2004; Tenancy Deposit Scheme will be implemented to safeguard tenants' deposits. This new legislation was due to take affect in October 2006 however the date has been postponed and a new date should hopefully be announced this July. For more information on how this scheme will work please see our Legal Hot Points column.

My Landlord is withholding my deposit, what can I do?

When a tenancy ends it is normal practice for the landlord to carry out a check out of an inventory or at least an inspection of the property. Once this has occurred then the landlord can make any necessary deductions for damage to the flat or furniture or for any outstanding utility bills or rent arrears. However, the landlord can not make any deductions for normal wear and tear; he/she can not withhold your deposit without providing you a written notice of why and what for. Should you disagree with the reasons or the landlord is not providing you with a reason you should contact the tenancy deposit protection scheme that your deposit is protected with.

What is the Landlord responsible for?

Repairing obligations to the structure and exterior of the property; heating and hot water installations, sinks and other sanitary installations.

Ensuring that all gas and electrical appliances are safe.

Ensuring that the furniture and furnishings within the property meet the fire safety standards.

What is the Tenant responsible for?

Paying the rent in the agreed manner and taking proper care of the property

Paying the utility bills for the property as agreed with the Landlord, such as gas

electricity and telephone.

Paying council tax, water and sewerage charges as agreed by the Landlord.

Does a Landlord have to provide a Gas Safety Certificate for each new Tenancy?

NO. The legislation in place relating to the installation and maintenance of gas appliances (Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998) demands that all Landlords must  ensure that any gas appliances within their rental property is inspected and passed annually by a CORGI qualified engineer. Failure to comply with the regulation carries a fine of up to £5,000 and/or imprisonment of six months (or more). The Landlord is  responsible for keeping a record of all the Safety checks and provide the Tenants with a copy.

A Tenant has informed his/her Landlord about a repair, however the Landlord has failed to carry out this obligation, what are the Tenants rights?

Depending on how the disrepair occurred in the first place then the tenants rights are as follows. The Landlord is not responsible for the repairs arising from the damage caused by the Tenant. If the damage was caused by the Tenant then the Tenant would  be responsible for paying and ensuring that the work is carried out. Apart from this  the tenant only has to do repairs if the terms in the Tenancy Agreement say so. If the  Tenant has tried on numerous occasion to get the Landlord to carry out his repairing obligations and has no success then he can either:

• sue the Landlord in court
• seek help from the local authorities as they have powers to ensure that the Landlord does the repairs
• or in some circumstances, if the right procedure is followed then the Tenant could do the works and take the cost out of the rental payments. Tenants need to know that with holding rent would be in breach of their tenancy terms and the Landlord could take action to repossess the property.