Safety Checks Landlords Should Carry Out

Landlords must ensure their rental property is in great condition, and these safety checks are paramount.

We’re pleased to say we help many landlords in North London, and we know the concerns many of you have. Generating income regularly will always be a critical factor for landlords to consider, but we also know that complying with rules and regulations is essential. There have been regulatory updates in recent times, and we’ve worked hard to ensure North London landlords are fully informed of any updates.

If you’re a North London landlord, we are always happy to offer guidance, but here is a letting safety checklist you should consider. The three main areas to focus on are:

• Fire Safety
• Electrical Safety
• Gas safety

As a landlord, you are also required to provide an Energy Performance Certificate, an EPC, when letting property.

Fire Safety

There are several requirements regarding fire safety for landlords to consider. You must ensure that there is a smoke alarm on each floor of your rental property. If there is a solid fuel-burning appliance, such as a wood-burning stove or a coal fire, in your rental property, there must be a carbon monoxide alarm in every room that contains the appliance.

You must ensure that escape routes are accessible, and it is recommended you inform tenants of these routes. If you greet the tenant personally, you should walk them through the escape routes in person, so you are confident they’ll know where to go to if an issue arises.

If you provide furniture and furnishings, which includes carpets and curtains, you must ensure these are “fire safe”. A quick way to do this is to check the label of these items, which will state if the item complies with fire regulations.

If you provide a house in multiple occupations, an HMO, you must install fire alarms and extinguishers.

If any building work has been undertaken at your rental property, the building control process should ensure all relevant fire safety regulations are complied with.

Electrical Safety

Landlords are required to ensure all electrical systems, with light fittings and sockets being prime examples, are safe in their rental property. If the landlord supplies electrical appliances for the tenancy, such as lamps or cookers, the landlord is responsible for ensuring these devices are safe.

Landlords should undertake an inspection of the electrical system between tenancies and arrange for a Portable Appliance Test (PAT) to be conducted on all movable electrical products each year. The landlord should ensure the property has a satisfactory residual current device or RCD, and ideally, this should be located in the fuse box. This is a vital device as it allows electrical current to be automatically turned off if someone was to touch an active part of the circuit accidentally.

A professional inspection should be undertaken every five years, which is a legal requirement already for HMOs.

No matter the electrical work being carried out, it is best for landlords to only use registered electricians for the work being carried out.

Gas safety

Gas safety regulations for landlords include:

• An annual test for all gas appliances and flues, including boilers, gas cookers and hobs
• Have a copy of the gas safety check record and provide it to new tenants when they enter the property or to existing tenants within 28 days of the test being undertaken
• Landlords should only use Gas Safe registered engineers for tests, and the installation of gas equipment.

If you are a North London landlord looking for support and guidance, contact Ariston, and we’ll be more than happy to assist you.