What are my obligations as a landlord?

As a landlord you do have a lot of obligations that you need to comply with.

Firstly, you need to make sure that if you have a mortgage on your property that you are entitled to rent it out under the terms of that mortgage. Your mortgage company could call in the mortgage if you are renting out a property without their permission.

Secondly, you need to carry out immigration checks on your tenants to make sure they are entitled to be in the property and entitled to be in the country. You should make sure that your property is in a fit state of repair and has your gas safety inspections and energy performance certificates. Including carbon monoxide testing and smoke detectors. Ultimately it is making sure that the property is free from defects, complying with all obligations in terms of legal requirements and what is in the written tenancy agreement that you provide your tenants. At the same time you need to give your tenants the How to Rent Guides all bond investment information.

If you do not comply with your obligations, there may be criminal sanctions that could be held against you but ultimately it may mean that you cannot remove your tenants from the property until you do comply and your tenants could seek compensation from you for failure to comply with the bond investment requirements.

Here is a video recorded by our Dispute Resolution Solicitor, Emma Cornell:

Here at Taylor Bracewell our Dispute Resolution team are experts in dealing with tenants and landlords. If you have any issues or queries you wish to speak to one of our experts about, don’t hesitate to contact them on 01302 341 414 or by filling out our online enquiry form!

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