Generally, when the Government publish anything I sigh, reach for the thesaurus and get ready to stick pins in my legs to stop me from drifting off.
However they’ve produced two ‘How To’ guides that are actually pretty good. One is for tenants – ‘How to Rent‘ and and one for landlords ‘How to Let‘.
The How To Rent Guide
Now most people have heard of the How to Rent Guide or to give it it’s proper name ‘How to rent: the checklist for renting in England‘, which helps tenants understand their rights and what they can expect from their landlords and rental property.
It’s very top level but the only real criticism I have, is that it would be a more useful read when you start thinking about renting a property rather than just before moving in!
All landlord should be aware that since the Deregulation Act 2015, they’ve had to issue this guide and other specific documents to tenants at the start of their tenancy and at renewal, and that not doing so (or serving the wrong version) can be an expensive mistake!
How to Let Guide
Last week I was having a conversation with a friend who has been managing her own properties in Enfield for several years. She’d served notice on one of her tenants but the notice period was almost up and she hadn’t heard from him.
‘What do I do if he doesn’t leave?‘ she asked.
After about 20 minutes of carefully explaining the process from establishing whether the tenant has left or not to bailiffs arriving at the door, I thought I’d better double check……..
‘Did you give him all the deregulation documents when he moved in?‘
‘All the what?‘ she replied.
Oh dear! She’d given him some but not others (including the How To Rent Guide) and she had no proof that she’d given him any of them.
Now I know many of you will be thinking that she should have known what was required, but I suspect there are lots of landlords out there who are basically good people with nice properties who treat their tenants well and are just not up to date with all the regulations.
So the real point of this blog is to point landlords towards another useful Government publication – The How To Let Guide.
This guide was first published in June this year and again it’s pretty top level but it does contain the basics so is worth a quick read for all landlords, particularly new landlords and those just starting to think about renting out a property.
And if it gets updated regularly then it will be a big help for people like my friend who are trying to do the right thing but can’t keep up with changing regulations.
For further information and advice please contact the Belvoir Enfield office on 020 8364 5418
