Renting my house - beginner questions

Comms69

vertex wrote: »

Hi all, apologies for my tardy response (I thought I was subbed to this thread but I wasnt!).

Youll be pleased to hear that I wont be letting to my friend now. I have chosen to try and let it myself without using an agent.

A couple of questions:

1) I have the EPC certificate from when I bought the house 5 years ago. Will that do or do I need to get a new one? - Check the expiry date, I think they last 10 years?

2) Is it a legal requirement to get a full electrical test done? - only in Northern Ireland

3) The possible tenant wants to buy the fridge/freezer/microwave. Do I still need to get these PAT tested before he buys them? - No - I mean you couldn't before he buys them anyway. But you don't need to PAT test their purchases. And anyway all new purchases are considered PAT tested anyway.

4) I hear horror stories about landlords not able to evict their tenants if things go wrong. Why is that? - because they make silly mistakes If the landlord has done nothing wrong cant you just change the locks? -HAHAHAHAHAHA only if you want to lose the best part of £10,000. Im obviously over-simplifying things as I know you cant just 'turf people out', but Im curious to hear why they cant be easily evicted if - for example - they havnt paid their rent. - Depends on what you mean by 'easily'. It's an easy process, takes around 2-4 months. The reason is quite simply the law.

5) Is it worth getting landlord insurance? - Depends if you think spending a few hundred pounds on an asset worth a few hundred thousand is a good bargain

Thanks.

Illegal eviction is a criminal offence, which actually could land you in prison. In most cases it's a fine, or community order or whatnot.


But the civil penalties are in the region of £300 per day for lack of access, and that's before things like exemplary damages.

G_M

vertex wrote: »

A couple of questions:

1) I have the EPC certificate from when I bought the house 5 years ago. Will that do or do I need to get a new one?

2) Is it a legal requirement to get a full electrical test done?

3) The possible tenant wants to buy the fridge/freezer/microwave. Do I still need to get these PAT tested before he buys them?

4) I hear horror stories about landlords not able to evict their tenants if things go wrong. Why is that? If the landlord has done nothing wrong cant you just change the locks? Im obviously over-simplifying things as I know you cant just 'turf people out', but Im curious to hear why they cant be easily evicted if - for example - they havnt paid their rent.

5) Is it worth getting landlord insurance?

Thanks.

If you are serious about becoming a landlord, research the law and processes involved.


Post 14 above had links to all the information you need. Read it, and then read the links within the links.....


Asking a few questions here on matters which happen to occur to you is not enough - there are many matters that have not occurred to you yet, but which you need to know about!

Snakes_Belly

I rent out a couple of properties through agents. They check the credentials of the potential tenant, credit checks, employment affordability etc. They also go in every so often to check that the property is being looked after. Could you do that?

There are a lot of hoops that you have to jump through, gas checks, electricity checks, legionella assessment, carbon monoxide and fire alarms.

I think its best for both parties to deal with an agent as there is a buffer between you and the tenant.

I would open a separate bank account for the income and expenditure. You can claim for pre rental expenses which occur whilst setting the property up as well as expenses that occur during the tenancy.

Snakes_Belly

'Is it a legal requirement to get a full electrical test done?'

Grenfell fire started by a faulty fridge.

Snakes_Belly

Some agents will not take on a property that has not had an electrical check. You don't need a full check every year.

Computer_Beginner

OP - genuine question:
Why do you want to let out your old house?
Why not sell it and just own the house you intend to live in?

csgohan4

OP you need professional advice, I feel sorry for any tenants you have

00ec25

Snakes_Belly wrote: »

'Is it a legal requirement to get a full electrical test done?'

Grenfell fire started by a faulty fridge.

correct, but does not answer the question

Snakes_Belly

@OOec25 My agent only takes on properties that have had the electrical check. My understanding is that it is not mandatory like a gas check but strongly advisable. I wanted to draw the OP's attention to what can happen. It's not worth taking a risk with other peoples lives for the sake of the cost of an electrical check. Legionella is another matter.

Legionella is a difficult one because you can only assess at a point in time you have no control over the water temperature when the tenant has moved in. In the property that I have recently rented out there is no stored water so low risk. I fitted a new shower head and hose and left a bottle of shower head cleaner and an advice sheet.

With the first property the agent was very helpful and guided me through all the requirements. It's in their interests to get a good tenant.

Comms69

Snakes_Belly wrote: »

@OOec25 My agent only takes on properties that have had the electrical check. My understanding is that it is not mandatory like a gas check but strongly advisable. I wanted to draw the OP's attention to what can happen. It's not worth taking a risk with other peoples lives for the sake of the cost of an electrical check. Legionella is another matter.

Legionella is a difficult one because you can only assess at a point in time you have no control over the water temperature when the tenant has moved in. In the property that I have recently rented out there is no stored water so low risk. I fitted a new shower head and hose and left a bottle of shower head cleaner and an advice sheet.

With the first property the agent was very helpful and guided me through all the requirements. It's in their interests to get a good tenant.

I’m not critical of an agent that wants tenants to have a safe home; but remember who the boss is in this.