Legalities in England and Wales

Your responsibilities as a landlord and those of the tenant including the lowdown on Corgis, council tax, and HMOs.

Your Responsibilities
The students' responsibilities
HMOs
Repossession

This section provides a brief resume of your legal responsibilities as a landlord. Links to more detailed information and references for this page are detailed below

You are responsible for…

Keeping in repair the structure and exterior of the property, including drains, gutters, and external pipes.
Keeping in repair and proper working order the installations for the supply of water, gas, and electricity and for sanitation (including basins, sinks, baths and sanitary conveniences, and for heating rooms and heating water)
Providing a rent book if statute so requires (e.g. where the rent is paid weekly)
Providing the students with your full name and address.
Providing them with a copy of the valid current Gas Safety Certificate - www.corgi-gas.co.uk. Please note that electrical certificates are not required by law at this time (other than every five years for HMO properties), but are often required to be part of a University or council accreditation scheme and are recommended. NICEIC site (Electrical safety standard organisation) www.niceic.org.uk
Allowing the students to "peacefully enjoy" their accommodation. Unless there is an emergency.
You should give prior written warning of at least 24 hours (or in accordance with your tenancy agreement) to the tenant when you wish to enter the property to carry out legitimate maintenance checks and repairs.
If the tenant has paid a damage deposit, you are responsible for arranging for this to be protected with one of the government approved tenancy deposit protection schemes, and serving a notice giving prescribed information on the tenant within 14 days of the payment of the deposit. The current schemes are The Deposit Protection Service - www.depositprotection.com (the custodial scheme), and Tenancy Deposit Solutions - www.mydeposits.co.uk, and The Dispute Service - www.thedisputeservice.co.uk (the two ‘insurance based’ schemes). Note that if you fail to do this, any section 21 notices served on your tenants will be invalid until the deposit has been properly protected (when you will need to serve a fresh one) and tenants can go to court and claim either the return of the deposit or an order that it be protected with the custodial scheme, and also that you pay the tenant a ‘fine’ of three times the amount of the deposit within 14 days. You can find out more about the schemes and how they operate from their web-sites.

The students are responsible for…

Acting in a "Tenant-like manner". This means they should perform the smaller tasks around the house such as mending the electric light when it fuses, unblocking the sink when blocked with waste, clean the windows when necessary.
Not damaging the house, if they do then they and their guests are responsible for the repairs.
Refuse collection! They are responsible for putting out the wheelie bin out (in areas where schemes exist)- and to bring it back in again - it's illegal to leave it on the street.
Securing the property when they go away - i.e. they must lock all doors and windows!
Being reasonable about noise and parties
Reporting all repairs needed to you (preferably in writing). The landlord's responsibility to repair begins only when you are aware of the disrepair. You, as landlord, are responsible to take remedial action within a reasonable period of time (dependant upon the nature of the disrepair)

If you don't fulfil your obligations …

If you don't carry out repairs that are your responsibility the student will probably contact their student's union, accommodation department at the University or the Citizens Advice Bureau. They will have a number of legal options open to them .More info

Further information can be found on the www.landlordlaw.co.uk web-site.

If they don't fulfil their obligations…

If the students don't fulfil their obligations e.g. paying rent, maintaining standings Citizens advice Bureau or legal advice should be sought.More info

Further information can be found on the www.landlordlaw.co.uk web-site.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question 1: What can the landlord do if the tenant is not looking after the property properly?

Question 2: How can the landlord increase the rent?

Question 3: What should the landlord do if the tenant refuses to grant access for inspections?

Further information on these and other matters can be found on the Landlord-Law Online web-site at www.landlordlaw.co.uk.

Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs)

The Housing Act 2004, which was introduced in April 2006 in England and Wales, was created with the intention of providing a fairer and better housing market for those renting properties. The main elements of it include ;

a) Licensing of houses in multiple occupation

A house with three of more stories, occupied by 5 or more people who form 2 or more households (a household being defined as persons belonging to the same family) is classified as an HMO in England and Wales and subject to licensing. The licensing is intended to improve standards in properties where it was felt tenants where at highest risk. Any building, which is occupied by students but managed or controlled by a Higher Education Institution, is deemed not to be an HMO for licensing purposes. Local authorities have at their discretion, but subject to approval from national government, the power to designate other sizes of properties as HMO’s, which are subject to licensing.

More information can be found at www.odpm.gov.uk/

b) Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS)

This is a new system, replacing the "fitness standard for houses", and decides whether a house is healthy and safe. Local council staff will randomly inspect properties and assess the likelihood of injury or ill health calculated via 29 hazards.

More information can be found at www.odpm.gov.uk/

In Scotland the Licensing Order makes it mandatory from October 2000 for all HMOs to be licensed. To be classified as a licensable HMO the accommodation must be the only or principle residence of a specified number of people who are not members either of the same family or one or other of two families. The specified number started on 1st October 2000 at six or more and is reducing annually until it reaches its minimum level , ie three or more. Students in accommodation that is an HMO in term time are treated as being solely or principally resident there in order to calculate the number of occupiers of an HMO.

Deposits

You will normally be required to pay a deposit to the Landlord as security in case you damage the property or furnishings. It can also be used to cover unpaid bills, rent or missing items. Most landlords will ask for a sum equivalent to four weeks' or a calendar month's rent but the maximum a landlord can charge by law is a sixth of the annual rent payable in England and Wales and two months rent in Scotland. The deposit should be refunded normally within 28 days after you have vacated the property, provided there are no problems with the condition of the house. In order to ensure that you get your deposit back:

Ensure that you have a written statement from the landlord explaining what is covered by the deposit. If the landlord gives a verbal explanation, write to him/her to confirm the details.
Ensure that you have a receipt for monies paid.
Ensure that you have a full inventory of furniture. Get the landlord to sign it. You may wish to take photographs.
Take reasonable care of the house and furniture during the tenancy.
Towards the end of your tenancy write to the landlord inviting him/her to inspect the property.
Settle all the bills.
When you leave return all the keys to the landlord and make a written request for the return of your deposit.
Keep a copy of the letter.

Tenancy Deposit Scheme

From April 2007*, deposits paid by tenants who have assured shorthold tenancy agreements will be safeguarded by a government sponsored scheme, who will facilitate the resolution of any disputes that arise in connection with such deposits.

*Please note the starting date for the scheme is due to be announced by parliament in April 2007

There are two types of scheme.

Custodial Scheme

A tenant pays the deposit to the landlord who in turn places it into a designated scheme account. When the scheme administrator returns the deposit to either the tenant or the landlord it is done so with interest at a rate specified by the Government. If they are not in agreement, a final court order will have to be obtained specifying the proportion of the deposit to which each is entitled.
Insurance based schemes - a tenant pays the deposit to the landlord who only transfers it into a designated scheme if there is a dispute at the end of the agreement. When the landlord and tenant reach agreement or a court decides how much each party is entitled the administrator will distribute the deposit accordingly.
If a landlord fails to pay the deposit to the scheme then a scheme will have adequate insurance cover to compensate the tenant in the event they are owed monies

Within 14 days of receiving your deposit your landlord must give you the relevant information regarding the scheme safeguarding your deposit. You should always check that the scheme has received your deposit.

More information can be found at www.odpm.gov.uk

Retainers

These are paid to the landlord by prospective tenants. The retainer period forms part of the contract (typically July to August) when the student is unlikely to want to occupy and the landlord may wish to carry out certain maintenance works to the property. The normal retainer payment is 50% of the per calendar month rent.

Government links

Letting Agents - each town and city will have a selection of letting agents who will let and manage your property normally in exchange for a fixed fee and a percentage of the rent
The letting agency association web site - www.arla.co.uk

Repossession

If you are viewing this section then you no doubt have serious problems and the best advice would be to seek professional assistance. The law varies on the type of tenancy you have. If you are a student landlord you will no doubt have an Assured short hold tenancy (England) or Short Assured Tenancy (Scotland) agreement with your tenant. At the end of the period, the landlord has absolute right to repossession.

If the tenant refuses to leave or is refusing to pay rent, he or she can only be removed with a court order but certain procedures have to be followed. Please note that force or harassment is not an option and may lead to prosecution.