Residential Landlords - Were You Ready For The 1st October 2015

Various important pieces of legislation affecting residential landlords came quietly into force on the 1 October 2015. The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 require private rented sector landlords to have at least 1 smoke alarm installed on every storey of their rental property which is used as living accommodation and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room used as living accommodation where solid fuel is used. After that the landlord must make sure the alarms are in working order at the start of each new tenancy. Note that there is no grace period allowed for landlords. They are expected to be compliant from 1 October 2015. For each new tenancy beginning on or after 1 October 2015 landlords have to check that the required alarms are in working order on the first day of the tenancy which is the date stipulated in the tenancy agreement even if the tenant actually moves into the property at a later date. Alarms can be hardwired or battery powered and the Regulations do not stipulate where the alarms are to be placed provided at least one smoke alarm is situated on every storey. Landlords should be able to prove that the required alarms have been tested and one way to do that is to ask the tenant to sign the inventory on the first day of the tenancy confirming that the alarms have been tested and that the tenant is satisfied they are in working order. If the landlord does not install the required alarms the local housing authority can issue a notice requiring the situation to be remedied within 28 days and if the landlord fails to comply with that notice the local housing authority can levy a civil penalty charge on the landlord of up to £5000. The other major change is to Section 21 Notices which are used to end an Assured Shorthold Tenancy. For the first time, the form of notice is prescribed and therefore that form and only that form can be used to end any tenancy which comes into existence on or after 1 October 2015. The new Regulations also provide that in such a case a Section 21 Notice cannot be served unless a landlord has provided to the tenant an energy performance certificate, a copy of a gas safety certificate and the Department for Communities and Local Government's booklet 'How to Rent: A Checklist for Renting in England'. These new rules do not, at least until October 2018, apply to a fixed term Assured Shorthold Tenancy which started prior to 1 October 2015 even if after that date the fixed term AST becomes a statutory periodic tenancy. The other change brought in by the Regulations is that no Section 21 Notice can be used where the tenant has resided in the property for less than 4 months. For further information about any of these requirements or indeed about any aspect of your relationship with your residential tenants, please contact Nick Lambert on 0114 266 6660 or email [email protected]