Four tenants recently moved into a property of ours in Uxbridge. To keep these things efficient we email key documents (and keep receipts for them). But there is what amounts to a small mountain of paperwork for them to get through:
- Tenancy Agreement and Prescribed Information
- Deposit Scheme Terms and Conditions and Tenants guidelines
- Energy Performance Certificate
- Government How to Rent Guide (Feb updated edition mind you)
- Inventory
- Gas Safety Record
- How to Check out Guide, Electrical Items Safety Instructions and the list goes on…
Those W H Smiths Packs…
Long gone are the days when a landlord could skip down to W H Smiths and buy an off the shelf tenancy agreement and just use that. We choose which agreement we are going to use as a base depending on the deposit protection scheme and then personalise the agreement from there, changing the requirements specific to the property, tenant and the landlord.
The paperwork gets done right or we risk a claim on our professional indemnity insurance and worse still potentially a dent in our reputation.
October 2015 Changes in the Law
The changes in October 2015 following the Deregulation Act, Assured Shorthold Tenancy Notices and Prescribed Requirements (England) Regulations 2015 and Smoke ad Carbon Monoxide (England) Regulations all add layers of complexity for the self managing landlord.
Without proof of correctly served documents you won’t be able to use a Section 21 notice. Lots of information on this site about this.
Right To Rent
This is a very deliberate move by government to enforce standards in the private rental sector. Combine this with the changes in Buy To Let taxation and stamp duty the barriers to entry are increasing and a greater level of professionalism is being sought.
Even if we don’t manage a property we can help you with advice or a rent collection service or a let only service where we serve the correct paperwork and find a good tenant for you.
This should remove a lot of headaches further down the line!
