Acts and Regulations 

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It is important to be aware of them to ensure that you are compliant and to avoid penalties. Acts and regulations such as the Housing Act 2004 cover a range of issues and introduced regulatory systems such as the Housing Health and Safety Rating System.

It also changed the definition of House in Multiple Occupation (HMO), with most student shared houses being included as HMOs for the first time. Also landlords of HMOs that are three storeys or more and are occupied by five people of more will need to apply for a licence.

In addition legislation such as Consumer Protection Acts place liability on landlords to ensure that their property complies with 29 categories of hazard under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System. Therefore to ensure that your property is fit for letting under these acts and regulations, you should follow a series of measures such as providing valid gas safety certificates and taken reasonable precautions to ensure that your premises are free from dangerous defects.

Section 4 of the Defective Premises Act 1972 places a duty on the landlord to take reasonable care in all circumstances that the tenants are safe from personal injury caused by such a defect.

Acts and regulations also impose duties and responsibilities on landlords to ensure that all electrical appliances installed are safe throughout the life of the tenancy. You'll need to inspect your appliances regularly and ensure that you keep records of all periodic inspections.

From October 2008 Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) will be required whenever a building is rented out. The certificate provides 'A' to 'G' ratings for the building, with 'A' being the most energy efficient and 'G' being the least. The average score for UK properties since EPC were introduced is 'D'. The EPC is part of a series of measures being introduced across Europe to reflect laws and regulations which help to cut buildings' carbon emissions and tackle climate change. 

You will therefore, as landlord, need to ensure that you have a valid certificate available to show to all prospective tenants, free of charge, at the earliest opportunity when any written information about the building is provided in response to a request for information received from the prospective tenant; or when a viewing is conducted; or if neither of those occur, before entering into a contract to let.

You can only get an EPC from an accredited energy assessor.

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