Regulations 

 

Making the property safe for tenants

Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (as amended)

Decent Homes Standard

Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS)

Gas Safety (installation and use) Regulations 1998

Electrical Safety and Electrical Goods

Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs)

Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 (as amended)

Houses in Multiple Occupations (HMOs)

 

Making the property safe for tenants

By law landlords must ensure that their property is safe for letting. It looks complicated but Omega Lettings will be able to provide full details of the relevant regulations. We will be able to explain the regulations and help you determine any action that needs to be taken to make your property safe for tenants. Safety legislation is regularly updated, so Landlords should check they obtain the latest regulations details. The following regulations apply.

 

Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (as amended)

All properties procured and managed by Omega Lettings must comply with all of the duties, covenants and responsibilities as set out in Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (as amended). These responsibilities must be adhered to throughout the term of the management agreement. This includes (but is not limited to) putting and keeping in repair the structure and exterior of the property, putting and keeping repair and proper working order the installations within the property for supply of water, gas, electricity, for sanitation and heating as well as communal areas and installations associated with the units (and buildings).

 

Decent Homes Standard

The Decent Homes Standard is a measure of general housing conditions introduced by the Government in 2000. It is Omega Lettings policy that at a bare minimum all properties procured must meet and maintain throughout the tenancy the Decent Homes Standard. A decent home is one that meets all of the following four criteria;

• It meets the current statutory minimum standard for housing. The property must be free of all Category 1 hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (see below HHSRS).

• It is in a reasonable state of repair. It would fail this if; (i) one or more key building components are old and because of their condition need replacing or major repair; (ii) two or more other building components are old and because of their condition need replacing or major repair.

• It has reasonably modern facilities and services. It would fail here if it lacks three or more of the following facilities; (i) a kitchen which is 20 years old or less; (ii) a kitchen with adequate space and layout; (iii) a bathroom which is 30 years old or less; (iv) an appropriately located bathroom and WC; (v) adequate external noise insulation; (vi) adequate size and layout of common entrance areas for blocks of flat.

• It provides a reasonable degree of thermal comfort. The property must have both efficient heating and effective insulation.

 

Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS)

The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) is the key method used to assess housing conditions. The Housing Act 2004 Part 1 establishes the HHSRS as the current statutory assessment criterion for housing and it is based on the principle that:

 

"Any residential premises should provide a safe and healthy environment for any potential occupier or visitor."

 

The system applies to all dwellings including owner occupied, privately rented, temporary accommodation, Council and Housing Association dwellings. The HHSRS is not a standard, that the property must meet, as was the case with the previous fitness standard, but it is a system to assess the likely risk of harm that could occur from any ‘deficiency' associated with a dwelling. The key criteria they must decide for each hazard under the HHSRS is what is:

• the likelihood of an occurrence e.g. falling down stairs, electrocution etc that could result in harm to a member of the vulnerable group, and

• the range of potential outcomes from such an occurrence e.g. death, severe injury etc.

 

Gas Safety (installation and use) Regulations 1998

The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 make it mandatory that gas appliances must be maintained in a safe condition at all times. It is required by the Regulations to ensure that all gas appliances are maintained in good order and that an annual safety check is carried out by a tradesperson who is registered with CORGI (Council for Registered Gas Installers).

 

The Regulations state that the Landlords must:

• Have gas appliances checked for safety by a CORGI registered gas installer within 12 months of their installation and then ensure further checks at least once every twelve months after that.

• Ensure a gas safety check has been carried out on pipe work, each appliance and flue every 12 months, except where the appliance was installed less than 12 months ago. The CORGI registered installer must take remedial action if an appliance fails a safety check.

• Give a copy of the safety check record to any new tenant before they move in or to an existing tenant(s) within 28 days of the check.

• Keep a record of the safety check made on each appliance for two years.

• Ensure that gas appliances, fittings, and flues are maintained in a safe condition.

 

Omega Lettings employ qualified contractors who can carry out CORGI Certificates - Please call us on 020 8988 2838 if you require a relevant certificate for your property.

 

All our contractors carry their own insurance and Omega Lettings Ltd are not liable for any incidents that may occur following the issue of a certificate on your property.

 

Electrical Safety and Electrical Goods

A number of regulations exist concerning the Electrical Health and Safety covering electrical installations and appliances; (a) Landlord and Tenant Act 1985; (b) Consumer Protection Act 1987; (c) Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994; (d) Building Regulations 2000.

 

This legislation places obligations on landlords to ensure that the electrical installation and all electrical appliances are ‘safe' with little risk of injury or death to humans, or risk of damage to property. This applies to when the tenancy begins and throughout the life of the tenancy. This includes all mains voltage household electric goods supplied by the landlord such as cookers, kettles, toasters, electric blankets, washing machines etc. Any equipment supplied should be marked with the appropriate CE symbol.

 

It is Omega Lettings' policy that an NICEIC or NAPIT electrical safety certificate is issued before a lease or management agreement is signed with the Landlord. It is also Omega Lettings' policy that the issued certificates should be "clean" hence there should be no outstanding works or recommendations.

 

Omega Lettings employ qualified contractors who can carry out NICEIC Certificates - Please call us on 020 8988 2838 if you require a relevant certificate for your property.

 

All our contractors carry their own insurance and Omega Lettings Ltd are not liable for any incidents that may occur following the issue of a certificate on your property.

 

Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs)

From 1st October 2008, all rental properties with a new tenancy in England and Wales are required to have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). If you don't have one after that date and start a new tenancy after that date you could be fined £200 for non compliance. The EPC will remain valid for 10 years.

 

Omega Lettings employ qualified contractors who can carry out EPCs - Please call us on 020 8988 2838 if you require a relevant certificate for your property.

 

All our contractors carry their own insurance and Omega Lettings Ltd are not liable for any incidents that may occur following the issue of a certificate on your property.

 

Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 (as amended)

The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 apply to domestic items which contain upholstery, including beds, headboards, mattresses, sofa-beds, nursery furniture, garden furniture which can be used indoors, furniture in new caravans, scatter cushions, seat pads, pillows and loose and stretch covers for furniture.

The requirements of the regulations are that:

• All new furniture (except mattresses, bedbases, pillows, scatter cushions, seat pads and loose and stretch covers for furniture) must carry a display label at the point of sale. This is the retailer's responsibility
  
  
• All new furniture (except mattresses and bed bases) and loose and stretch covers are required to carry a permanent label providing information about their fire retarding properties. Such a label will indicate compliance.
  
  
•  All furniture (new and second hand) must meet the Fire Resistance Requirements:

               - furniture to pass a cigarette-resistance test
               - cover fabric, whether for use in permanent or loose covers, to pass a match-resistance test
               - filling materials for all furniture to pass ignitability tests.

 

Houses in Multiple Occupations (HMOs)

An HMO (defined in ss.254 to 259 of the Housing Act 2004) is a building, or part of a building, such as a flat, that:

• Is occupied by more than one household and where the occupants share, lack or must leave the front door to use an amenity, such as a bathroom, toilet or cooking facilities.
  
  
• Is occupied by more than one household in a converted building where not all the flats are self-contained.
  
  
• Is a converted block of self-contained flats, but does not meet as a minimum standard the requirements of the 1991 Building Regulations, and less than two thirds of flats are owner occupied.