By law, a Landlord has to ensure that any gas appliances, within a rental property, are tested on an annual basis and a Gas Safety Certificate issued. This Certificate, issued by a qualified Gas Safe engineer, must be in place before a Tenancy commences.

As part of our Full Management Service, GD Estates will arrange and co-ordinate the required inspections with a GasSafe registered gas installer, ensuring that the required safety certificates are held for inspection, with copies being provided to the Tenants. We will maintain complete records of all inspections undertaken ensuring that annual inspections are completed as required. In addition, if you would like your system serviced, to coincide with the safety certificate inspection, this can also be arranged.

It is a legal requirement that an Energy Performance report is now completed, that provides details on the energy efficiency of your property. Please note a rental property must be a minimum of an E rating or above. If your property is a listed building or falls below an E rating, there are steps that can be taken to register the property on the exemption register although there are criteria that must be satisfied to do this.

It is now the law that there must be a smoke alarm on every level of a property along with a carbon monoxide detector where there is an open fire or wood burner and an additional carbon monoxide alarm near the boiler.

We have a duty of care to advise our Landlords of a possible need for a Legionella risk assessment to be carried out at their property, which, although not mandatory, is recommended by the Health & Safety Executive website.

The Approved Code of Conduct recommends that landlords are responsible for carrying out a risk assessment in respect of the above. Failure to carry out a Legionella risk assessment means that a Landlord may not be complying with the law and are therefore exposed to potential risk and prosecution, no matter how unlikely. It is our responsibility as an agent to bring this to the Landlord’s attention and you, as Landlord, can therefore decide what action you wish to take.

With effect from 1st June 2020, new governmental guidelines came into force in relation to the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020.

Landlords must ensure that the electrical safety standards are met when the property is occupied during a tenancy. Every fixed electrical installation at the property must also be inspected and tested at least every five years by a qualified electrician.

As part of our Full Management Service we will contact you when your property requires a renewal of the electrical safety certificate. We can also arrange a new electrical safety check for a Find a Tenant Landlord (at an additional cost), if required. We will always use one of our approved electrical contractors for these works.