Letting property demands a knowledge of your obligations regarding a whole host of rules and regulations. This section is designed to make the process easier.
Some of these regulations are compulsory, with specific legislation and statutory codes to be complied with by landlords, for example the Gas Safety Regulations.
In other cases, rules on compliance are less clear cut, for example, electrical checks. Here, no specific legislation applies to enforce regular checks, though in practice landlords are under an obligation to make sure systems are safe.
Obligations are different between residential and commercial tenancies. In the case of residential tenancies the landlord generally carries a greater burden of responsibility for the safety of tenants.
Commercial tenancies often place the responsibility for safety firmly onto the tenant/s, especially in the case of FRI leases, where in effect the tenant "owns" the property for the duration of the lease, unless the landlord has undertaken specific management responsibilities.
In any case, commercial tenants, if they are employers, carry their own responsibilities under the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, for their employees - see Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and The Management of Health and Safety at Work and Fire Precautions (Workplace) (Amendment) Regulations 2003
