If you have a residential mortgage on your property, then you will require consent to let your property from your mortgage lender. If it is a leasehold property, your lease may require you to obtain consent from the freeholder prior to letting your property.

Standard home insurance could be invalidated when you let your property. We can obtain quotations for specialist comprehensive insurance for let properties, including rent and legal insurance.

It is important that we are given clear instructions regarding the length of time that the property will be available to let. Tenancy agreements can be signed on behalf of the landlord, but we must have a contact address and telephone number in order that the document may be forwarded for the landlord's records.

The Non-Resident Landlords (NRL) Scheme requires letting agents to deduct basic rate tax from any rent they collect for non-resident landlords. If non-resident landlords don't have UK letting agents acting for them, and the rent is more than £100 a week, their tenants must deduct the tax. When working out the amount of tax, the letting agent or tenant can take off deductible expenses.

Letting agents and/or tenants do not have to deduct tax if HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) tells them not to. HMRC will tell an agent/tenant not to deduct tax if non- resident landlords have successfully applied for approval to receive rents with no tax deducted. However, even though, the rent may be paid with no tax deducted, it remains liable to UK tax, so non-resident landlords must include it in any tax return HMRC sends them.

Non-resident landlords who are eligible can apply to the HMRC at any time for approval to receive their UK rental income with no tax deducted. This includes applying before they have left the UK or before the let has started.

What is a gas safety check?

Gas safety checks. To ensure your tenants’ safety, all gas appliances and flues need to undergo an annual gas safety check - and always by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Once this has been done, you’ll be given a Landlord Gas Safety Record or Gas Safety certificate with details of all the checks that were carried out.

Gas Safety is the landlord’s responsibility, so you cannot simply give up if the tenant refuses access. You must give your tenant 24 hours’ notice and they must agree to the inspection before you can enter the property. If the tenant refuses entry, you must keep trying.

Landlords of privately rented accommodation must: Which rented properties do the Electrical Safety Regulations apply to? The regulations came into force on 1 June 2020, they apply to new tenancies from 1 July 2020 and existing tenancies from 1 April 2021. The relevant date for determining when the new requirements apply is the date on which the tenancy is granted. A new tenancy is one that was granted on or after 1 June 2020. You must:

• Ensure national standards for electrical safety are met.
• Ensure the electrical installations in their rented properties are inspected and tested by a qualified and competent person at least every 5 years.
• Obtain a report from the person conducting the inspection and test which gives the results and sets a date for the next inspection and test.
• Supply a copy of this report to the existing tenant within 28 days of the inspection and test.
• Supply a copy of this report to a new tenant before they occupy the premises.
• Supply a copy of this report to any prospective tenant within 28 days of receiving a request for the report.
• Supply the local authority with a copy of this report within 7 days of receiving a request for a copy.
• Retain a copy of the report to give to the inspector and tester who will undertake the next inspection and test.
• Where the report shows that remedial or further investigative work is necessary, complete this work within 28 days or any shorter period if specified as necessary in the report.
• Supply written confirmation of the completion of the remedial works from the electrician to the tenant and the local authority within 28 days of completion of the works.

These are legal requirements and the maximum penalty for noncompliance with the regulations is a fine. The government is also consulting on how best to enforce the strengthened safety regime along with whether landlords who do not comply should face tough penalties of up to £30,000.

For all rented property it is a statutory duty of the landlord to maintain the structure, keep main services serving the property in good repair and keep it fit for human habitation. There are also general product safety regulations that require the property and items in the property to be safe.

The product safety regulations state that any item supplied to a consumer in the course of a commercial activity must be safe, and this is deemed to include the supply of rented property.

The following checks and precautions should be observed:

• Discard any damaged items that may be dangerous.
• Provide instruction manuals where appropriate.
• Check for obvious danger signs (broken glass, sharp edges, worn leads etc.)
• All repairs or building work carried out on the property should be done in accordance with current building regulations (e.g. (no.) use of toughened safety glass in low-level glazing)
• Smoke detectors, any supplied fire extinguishers and related safety equipment should be kept in good working order.

The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) (Amendment) Regulations 1 993.These regulations, amended in 1993, have set new levels of fire resistance for domestic upholstered furniture and furnishings. It is an offence to'supply' in the course of business any furniture which does not comply with the regulations. This includes the furniture inside residential property to be let.

The regulations apply to: sofas, futons, beds, bed-headboards, nursery furniture, garden furniture suitable for use in a dwelling, scatter cushions and pillows and stretch or loose covers for furniture. The regulations do not apply to: curtains, carpets, pillowcases, bedclothes (including duvets and loose mattress covers).

Any furniture manufactured after March 1990 is likely to comply but if the appropriate labels are not on the furniture or compliance is in doubt then checks should be made with the manufacturer.

Failure to comply with the regulations is an offence carrying a penalty of £5,000 or six months imprisonment or a greater penalty if a fire results and furniture is found not to comply.