renting my home, what do i need to do?

longwalks1

Am thinking of renting out my maisonette and renting another place in a different area as I've outgrown my current street/town. What do I need to do to rent it out? So far all I've got is:

Find letting agent and advertise
Decide on services wanted from agent

Do I need any certs for gas or electric etc?

Thanks in advance

19lottie82

Do you own the property outright? If not, First port of call is to get consent to let from your lender, or switch to a BTL mortgage.

You will need to brush up of the legalities of becoming a landlord and your various options.

It can be a lot of hassle and you are not guaranteed to turn a profit. Why do you want to rent it out and not sell?

Werdnal

Basics:

Is it mortgaged? - you need consent to let. You apply, they may agree, they may add extra costs and clauses, they may refuse!

Your insurance will need to change to LL policy

Is it leasehold? - you need to check you can let it and might need to apply for permission.

You understand you will need to complete annual HMRC tax return to declare your rental income.

Then you need to read, learn and inwardly digest this post and all the links it contains:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=41160642&postcount=12

If you are using an agent, find a good one as agents can be as ignorant of all the rules and regs as you are - no minimum qualifications or experience required!

You also need a good contingency of cash to cover your own living expenses and all the repairs, maintenance, costs, voids etc of the letting property. Letting is by no means guaranteed money - how will you pay your own rent and the mortgage if something goes wrong and rent stops? It can take several months and a court case to evict a non-paying tenant!