Get familiar with the laws and responsibilities before letting your property

Posted under Advice by Alan

First time buyers who intend renting their homes should get well acquainted with the laws and responsibilities to avoid pitfalls in letting at a later date.

Renting out your home due to relocation or buying another property for rental income, makes you a landlord with more responsibilities.

The first thing you must not forget is to notify your mortgage lender about your decision for renting. Failure to notify would amount to breach of contract. The lenders charge higher upfront fees and interest rates for buy-to-let mortgages.

It is very important to inform your insurance provider. Your policy would be invalidated if you do not keep them posted.

If you seek services of letting agent to ease yourself with work of getting references, drafting tenancy agreements etc, ensure that agent is member of the National Association of Estate Agents or Association of Residential Letting Agents and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors which are governed by strict code of conduct and lend more security to letting process.

Even if your property remained vacant for some period, you are responsible for upkeep of property such as DIY maintenance, painting and plumbing.

You are also responsible to put tenant’s deposit into any Government-authorised Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme. The deposit is held in to the scheme till end of the tenancy contract. If the landlord fails to notify within 14 days, the tenant can obtain a court order directly and make landlord repay the deposit.

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