Have you got a property that you are struggling to sell? Why don’t you take advantage of a strong rental market and unlock a potentially good rental income?
Thousands of home owners across the UK have opted to rent their properties out instead of facing knock-down sales offers from would be purchasers. Becoming a private landlord is relatively simple and throughout our website you can find easy to use informative guides to renting your property privately.
Our top 10 tips for new landlords start with your Mortgage Lender (if you have one that is!)
- Consent to Let - you must (at all times) inform your Lender of your intention to let your property. This is commonly refereed to in the Industry as a Consent to Let Some Lenders are fine with this and some ask you to change the product that you are on to a Buy to Let mortgage.
- Landlord Insurance - you must have specialist landlords insurance on your property when you are renting it out. If you do not inform your current buildings insurer you may risk invalidating your policy.
- Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS). This is now a legal requirement and landlords face big financial penalties if caught out. For all tenancy agreements that started on or after April 6, 2007, landlords are required to protect their tenant’s deposit using one of the Governments authorized schemes. For more information, please visit www.direct.gov.uk.
- Gas Safety Regulations – It is a legal requirement for you to provide a copy to each of your tenants of a valid Landlords Gas Safety Certificate which has been carried out by a Corgi Registered Plumber and is usually valid for a period of 12 months.
- Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) – These will be effective come the 1st October 2008 and are a legal requirement. Landlords will be required to provide a copy of the certificate during the lettings process. Even though Landlords are not legally required to carry out any suggested recommendations in the EPC it is always worth considering that tenants may use this as a deciding factor when choosing a property to rent. The EPC is required by law when a building is constructed, sold or put up for rent and can only be produced by an accredited Energy Assessor.
- Tax Liability - It is wise to consider that as a Landlord, you are effectively running a business and will need to declare and income and expenses to the Tax Office – Any good accountant should be able to advise you on rental income tax.
- Keys – Make sure you have enough sets of keys cut for each of your tenants.
- Money – Do not release the keys to the tenants until you have your deposit and first month’s rent which is cleared in your bank account.
- Mail Redirection – ensure that you have all of your post re-directed.
- Become a Member of a Recognised Landlords Association as you may need assistance in the future. If you have any problems regarding your tenant, they are always on hand to be able to help. You should also visit our forums and post a question, I am sure one of our friendly and experienced landlords will be happy to help!
