A new guide aimed at landlords will help them make their properties safe, secure and legal, says the organisation behind it.
The Residential Landlords’ Association has launched its new toolkit called ‘Safe and Secure’.
This involves a website which is home to an interactive image of a property which can be clicked to provide information on how landlords can meet the required legal standards.
The easy to understand advice covers issues such as electrical, gas and fire safety, how to prevent mould and damp, and how to improve the property’s energy efficiency.
There’s also help and advice on how a landlord can prevent falls and trips around the rental property by the tenant.
Landlord’s guide on costs for meeting legal requirement
In addition, the toolkit also provides the likely cost that comes with fitting safety features such as carbon monoxide detectors and fire alarms as well as window safety locks.
The toolkit launch comes after a recent English Housing Survey revealed that 16% of private rental homes in the UK have at least one hazard – this means the property would fail minimum safety standards.
The RLA’s chairman, Alan Ward, said: “The first duty of any landlord to a tenant is to provide a safe, secure and legal home.
“The vast majority of rental homes meet legal standards and we must support landlords address hazards when they arise.”
He added: “There is a large number of legal requirements expected of rental properties and the problem is not a lack of law but for enforcing the requirements and ensuring that landlords understand the complexities of renting property out.”
Mr Ward said the website was created to provide a simple and easy way for landlords to ensure that their rental properties meet the legal standards expected of them.
A definitive guide to lettings launched
Meanwhile, another guide for landlords has also been launched and those behind it say it is the ‘definitive guide’ for the UK’s lettings sector.
It’s been launched by letting agency Finders Keepers who say that landlords are increasingly regulated and the guide is necessary.
Entitled ‘landlord intelligence’ it is, the firm says, a guide to becoming a successful landlord. In it, there is advice on a landlord’s duty of care towards the tenant, tenant responsibilities, and how to negotiate rent increases and deal with taxes and insurance.
Landlord’s guide will counter misinformation
The managing director of Finders Keepers, Dan Channer, said the guide had been launched as a reliable reference to counter the misinformation found on the Internet.
He added: “We wanted a handbook for landlords that offers the latest information that is truthful and reliable.
“We’ve used our 40 years of experience to provide advice to landlords, no matter if they are seasoned pros or investing in buy to let for the first time.”
