Landlord Rules and Law

Renting a property isn't as simple as just finding a tenant and collecting the rent each month, there are many rules and regulations you have to abide by as a landlord. So we've broken them down for you

Gas Safety

Mandatory certificate and valid for 1 year.

EICR

Mandatory certificate and valid for 5 years.

EPC

Mandatory certificate and valid for 10 years.

Gas Safety

Mandatory certificate and valid for 1 year.

EICR

Mandatory certificate and valid for 5 years.

EPC

Mandatory certificate and valid for 10 years.

What are the Landlord Rules and Regulations I need to know about?

Now that you’re a landlord, you will be aware that you have undertaken a certain number of rights and responsibilities that you need to be aware of.

Some of the rules and regulations which guide and govern being a landlord are law – so it’s important that you learn about them, take note of them and more importantly, act on them. As a landlord, you need to ensure your tenancy is compliant or face large fines or prosecution.

Here we are going to give you a quick summary of each of these legal requirements, but you can click through to read about them in more detail.

Gas Safety

A Gas Safety Certificate, or a Gas Safety Record, is a check of all the appliances, gas pipework and installations in your property with a document to prove it.

You must, by law, have this check carried out every single year by a qualified engineer on the Gas Safe Register.

This is a legal requirement and if you don’t have the check carried out and the correct documentation, which you should keep and make available to your tenant, you could face penalties, fines, and legal proceedings. You can find out more about the Gas Safety Certificate, including why you need it and how the checks are carried out in our Complete Guide.

Here at Mashroom our Gas Safety Certificate, which ensures all our engineers are fully compliant for just £79.

Electrical Inspection Condition Report (EICR)

An EICR is an Electrical Inspection Condition Report. It’s another one of the essential inspections and documents you need to have as a landlord.

A qualified electrician will carry out an in-depth inspection of all the electrical systems in your rental property and check the way everything has been installed.

Following the inspection, you will receive a grade depending on the workability of your system and the grades will tell you whether you need to fix something immediately, or that it could become dangerous or that everything is ok and working as it should be. You can read more about EICRs in our full guide.

Legally you need to have this inspection carried out every five years. It’s another legal requirement and with serious consequences if you don’t have the checks and correct documentation in place. Our EICR is just £225 no matter the size or location of your property.

Electrical Inspection Condition Report (EICR)

EPC

An EPC is an Energy Performance Certificate. It’s a legal requirement for landlords to obtain an EPC before marketing a property. Landlords must make a copy of the EPC document which accompanies the inspection available to show potential tenants.

Landlords need to arrange and pay for an EPC to be carried out by a licensed Domestic Energy Assessor (DEA) every 10 years, by law. The report will rate your home on a scale from A-E, with A being at the better end of the scale in terms of how energy efficient your home is.

The government is aiming to get homes in the private rental sector up to an energy rating of C by 2025. So, if you are carrying out any renovations between now and then you should look at things you can do now to improve the rating. Find out more about EPCs in our complete guide to EPCs.

At Mashroom you can get your your EPC for just £69.

Right to Rent

This is an essential pre-tenancy check which forms part of the legislation which helps protect you as a landlord. The Right to Rent check stops potential tenants without lawful immigration status renting a private rental property.

These checks should be carried out on anyone over the age of 18 who will be living in your property, regardless of whether they are the main person on the agreement.

The checks are designed to be easy for landlords and tenants. The legislation states that the landlord (or their agent) must carry out the check, but no one expects you to have an in-depth knowledge of immigration legislation.

On 6th April 2022 changes to the Right to Rent rules came into force. The way holders of the Biometric Residence Card (BRC), Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) and Frontier Worker Permit (FWP) prove that they have a right to reside has changed.

So, from now on, potential tenants this applies to will only be allowed to use the Home Office online service and are longer able to present a physical document as proof.