Our 10-point pre-tenancy landlord checklist

Letting your property out, especially as a first time Landlord, can be an overwhelming experience, especially with the plethora of legal requirements that Landlords must adhere to. The good news is that we are here to help! We’ve tried to make the process a bit easier by putting together a pre-tenancy Landlord Checklist.

Whilst it’s impossible to cover all requirements in one checklist, this should hopefully help you on your way to a successful tenancy.

1. EPC (Energy Performance Certificate)

You must hold a valid EPC, and the property much achieve an ‘E’ grade or above.

2. Gas Safety Certificate (GSC)

If your property has a gas supply, you must hold a valid and satisfactory Gas Safety Certificate, and this must be renewed annually.

3. Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR)

An EICR assesses the safety of the current electrical installation within a property and describes it’s condition. The assessment will cover the consumer unit, sockets, switches, lighting etc. The report is valid for 5 years, and must be satisfactory.

4. Legionnaires Disease

You must be able to show that you’ve taken due diligence to protect your property from Legionnaires Disease, the best way to do this is by arranging for a Legionnaires Risk Assessment (LRA) to be carried out.

5. Clean

Before letting your property, it is advised that you arrange a professional clean and provide proof of this by way of a copy of an invoice / receipt.

6. PAT testing

If you are letting your property with portable appliances (i.e. white goods) it is advised that you arrange for these appliances to be PAT tested.

7. Remove personal items  

Before the inventory is carried out, make sure all items that are not included with the tenancy are removed from the property (make sure to check garages, sheds, cupboards and lofts).

8. Landlord and Building Insurance

It’s important that you have the necessary insurance policies in place.

9. Taxation

Any profits from letting a property are subject to UK income tax, whether the Landlord/s live in the UK or not, and must be reported in a Self-Assessment Tax Return.

10. Keys

Make sure the keys are in order! In most cases, you will need to prepare three sets of keys, two sets for Tenants and one set for your agent / yourself.

11. Smoke and CO alarms

It is a legal requirement for rental properties to have a working smoke alarm on all habitable floors of the property, and a working CO alarm in any room that has a solid fuel burner (i.e. fire place, or boiler).

12. Organise a ‘Welcome Pack’

It’s always a good idea to organise a ‘Welcome Pack’ for incoming tenants. This can include things like; instruction manuals, useful information on the property i.e. location of stopcock and a list of useful contacts i.e. your agent and the local council.

It can be overwhelming trying to make sure you’ve got everything in place before your tenants move in. Finding an experienced, local agent to manage the property is a great way to alleviate some of this stress.