Advice for Landlords

If you are thinking of letting out your property then it's worth getting in touch with your solicitor or HSPC, as there are many potential pitfalls. Below are some essentials you may need help with.

Before any property can be advertised and made available for a tenant to move in, the following items must be attended to:

• ELECTRICAL INSPECTION CONDITION REPORT (EICR) – This will become a legal requirement from 1 December 2015 and will be required before we will market your property as being available for let.  The EICR should be renewed every 5 years.
• APPLIANCE TESTING – All appliances belonging to the Landlord will require testing on an annual basis.
• SMOKE ALARMS/HEAT DETECTORS/CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTORS – There must be a minimum of one functioning smoke alarm in the one room which is frequently used by the occupants for general daytime living purposes.  There must also be one functioning smoke alarm in every circulation space, such as hallways and landings together with one heat detector in every kitchen.  All alarms/detectors must be hardwired and interlinked with the exception of carbon monoxide detectors which can be battery operated.   Advice can be given on where all of the above should be installed.
• LANDLORDS GAS SAFETY CERTIFICATE – There must be a valid gas safety certificate in place covering all gas appliances.  This must be carried out by a gas engineer who is gas safe registered on an annual basis.
• LANDLORD REGISTRATION - Every landlord must register themselves, and any properties they own, with their local authority.
  www.landlordregistrationscotland.gov.uk
• ENERGY PERFORMANCE CERTIFICATE – Every property must have an energy performance certificate for marketing purposes.  All certificates are valid for 10 years and must be displayed in the property.
• LEGIONELLA RISK ASSESSMENT - The health and safety legislation has been in place for some time which requires landlords to assess the risk of legionnaires disease in their properties.