Landlord checks (EPC etc.) for new lettings

[sammy07]

hi there, my tenant of 3 years is moving out and am in process of reletting. lots of regulations have come in recently. just wanted to check what I need to do these days. need to do tenancy deposit scheme and also get an energy performance certificate. does anybody have any recommendations where to go for these and how much I would expect to pay. also if I get energy certificate would I be able to use this if I decide to sell the house later on. how long are there valid for? also with regards costs of drawing up contract and doing reference checks could these costs be passed onto the new tenant for moving in as could be quite costly if these are done every 6 months?

any advice/info welcome.

many thanks

guess I need a checklist of all the things I'm required to do as a landlord now.:)

[Blue]

in reply to recomendations. what part of the country are you in?

[tom999]

need to do tenancy deposit scheme and also get an energy performance certificate.Read up on the deposit schemes (http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TenancyDeposit/DG_066391) and choose a company. EPC's: get three quotes.


also if I get energy certificate would I be able to use this if I decide to sell the house later on. how long are there valid for?5 years.


also with regards costs of drawing up contract and doing reference checks could these costs be passed onto the new tenant for moving in as could be quite costly if these are done every 6 months?The costs could be passed on the tenant, but the cost would be minimal if you already have an AST. Also, a new AST does not have to be issued every 6 months for the same tenant's; the tenancy may just run on after the fixed period as a periodic tenancy.


guess I need a checklist of all the things I'm required to do as a landlord now.Yes, and you need to understand your obligations as a LL as well as the tenants'.

This may help in the initial stages of finding new tenant's: Tenant Checks & References (http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/tenant_screening.htm)

[Poppy35]

Energy Performance Certificates on a rental property are actually valid for 10 years not 5.

If you decide the sell the property you will need a HIP which includes the EPC - it wont make any difference financially or to the provider whether you have one already as it part and parcel of the HIP. This of course depends on whether Mr Cameron moves house in the near future :D

[Ericthelobster]

energy performance certificate. does anybody have any recommendations where to go for these and how much I would expect to payI have had mine done by a local bloke who advertises in the suppliers list on this forum (see http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/dir/energy-assessors.htm

Price depends on size of property; certainly worth shopping around as it can be quite variable. Getting an EPC done is one area where you can really just choose by price alone, in order to obtain a worthless bit of paper which has never yet sparked any interest whatsoever in any tenant or applicant I've ever had!

[tom999]

EPCs are valid for 10 years (for a residential rental property) and can be reused as required within this period. But, if a newer EPC is produced within this 10 year period, only the most recent one is valid.

Also, the EPC and recommendation report must be made available free of charge by a landlord to any prospective tenant at the earliest opportunity, e.g. when a viewing is conducted; and no later than before entering into a tenancy agreement.

Failure by a landlord to provide an EPC may result in a fixed penalty notice of £200 (by Trading Standards).


How long will a HIP be valid for?
An EPC is one of the compulsory documents which must be included in the HIP. If a seller decides to take their property off the market, they can put it back on the market with the same HIP as long as this happens within 12 months of the date when the property was first put up for sale. EPCs are valid for three years but searches and proof of title documents cannot be more than three months old when marketing starts.

[sammy07]

in exeter devon

[sjcollett]

Hi, you can buy these online at a fixed price of £59 with our site. We also offer the whole package for advertising, gas safe checks etc - it's like using a high street letting agency without the price tag. Don't want to spam so email me if you want further details: sam@virtualletz.com

[westminster]

guess I need a checklist of all the things I'm required to do as a landlord now.:)


You could consider joining one of the landlords' associations - RLA or NLA. They provide help in terms of advice and documentation.

e.g. Here's a page of forms/factsheets, including "10 legal musts for landlords"
http://www.rla.org.uk/landlord/documents/landlord_document_centre.shtml

http://www.landlords.org.uk/index.htm
http://www.rla.org.uk/

Alternatively, there is Landlord Law, which is run by a speclalist landlord & tenant solicitor.

http://www.landlordlaw.co.uk/

I'm not a member of any of them, so can't tell you strengths/weaknesses of each. I get the impression from discussions on here that it's more about finding the one which suits your needs best.

[Twohoots]

I'm not too impressed with the Energy Performance Certificate we received when we bought our house a few months ago.

It says against "cavity wall insulation" ...... "assumed" (which I believe was due to the age of house which was built in 1993.)

I spoke to some neighbours and they say they're sure they don't have c.w.i. and then I noticed another neighbour having it put in recently.::confused:

So I spoke to the housebuilders and was told it definitely didn't have it when it was built.

SO that means that the figures quoted on our EPC are incorrect. The rest of it just talks about energy saving lightbulbs and more modern storage heaters.
Are these certificates worth the paper they're written on?

[mind the gap]

I'm not too impressed with the Energy Performance Certificate we received when we bought our house a few months ago.

It says against "cavity wall insulation" ...... "assumed" (which I believe was due to the age of house which was built in 1993.)

I spoke to some neighbours and they say they're sure they don't have c.w.i. and then I noticed another neighbour having it put in recently.::confused:

So I spoke to the housebuilders and was told it definitely didn't have it when it was built.

SO that means that the figures quoted on our EPC are incorrect. The rest of it just talks about energy saving lightbulbs and more modern storage heaters.
Are these certificates worth the paper they're written on?
Calm down and stop being ridiculous. That's a bit like saying that school reports are all worthless because one teacher got one test result wrong in one subject!

Contact the DEA who did the assessment on site and ask him to re-calculate the energy efficiency rating and re-issue the certificate for free. (Your rating will go down).

Then look at the recommendations for improvements. They only suggest things which are cost effective within 5 years or so. It may be that apart from the cavity wall insulation, it is quite efficient anyway - hence the limited scope for improvement.

[jeffrey]

I'm not too impressed with the Energy Performance Certificate we received when we bought our house a few months ago...
Are these certificates worth the paper they're written on?
No, although mind the gap will tell you otherwise.

[mind the gap]

No, although mind the gap will tell you otherwise.

Er...like I did in #11 above, you mean?:rolleyes:

[jeffrey]

Er...like I did in #11 above, you mean?
Not 'will' as 'is going to'
but 'will' as in 'always maintains that'.

Be more pragmatic!

[mind the gap]

Not 'will' as 'is going to'
but 'will' as in 'always maintains that'.

Be more pragmatic!
No. You mean : 'Be less literal'.

[mind the gap]

However...in the context of a series of posts in which I had already said what you claimed I would, my interpretation of it does in fact suggest itself as being more likely than yours.:)

Pragmatics, old boy. Pragmatics.

[jeffrey]

No. You mean : 'Be less literal'.
I live inland. I'm much less littoral.

[jeffrey]

Pragmatics, old boy. Pragmatics.
See, you just can't have enough of those 1980s pop groups.

[mind the gap]

See, you just can't enough of those 1980s pop groups.

Would you like a verb?

You seem to be one short.

[jeffrey]

Would you like a verb?

You seem to be one short.
One short what? That's a little personal.

[mind the gap]

One short what? That's a little personal.

That's why I ended the sentence when I did. Didn't want to embarrass you even more!

[jeffrey]

Many find that they come to a premature.

[mind the gap]

Many find that they come to a premature.

:eek:Too much information, thank you, Jeffrey! See a specialist.

[wilfred]

:eek:Too much information, thank you, Jeffrey! See a specialist.

You called!

Have no fear wilfred is here, just name your problem. At your service 24/7, well, in between my power naps anyway, when I'm not zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, zonked out! You’ll have to wait awhile, until I find some more chocolate muffins to energise me.

[mind the gap]

You called!

Have no fear wilfred is here, just name your problem. At your service 24/7, well, in between my power naps anyway, when I'm not zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, zonked out! You’ll have to wait awhile, until I find some more chocolate muffins to energise me.

Er...it was jeffrey wot was complaining about being caught short, not me ;)