Over the past few years, the private rented housing sector has encountered several changes, adding to what seems to be an ever increasing legislative web surrounding the letting of residential property.
The Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 has brought about even more changes for the private rented sector.
Landlords, if they haven’t already done so, should certainly now consider how legislation introduced by the Act will affect their letting portfolio.
There are already a significant number of standards landlords must adhere to when letting their property.
Pre-letting requirements include the provision of an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) for the property, alongside registration of the landlord and their agent with the local authority, both of which require to be detailed on any advertisements.
With future proposals for a minimum EPC rating for let properties on the horizon, landlords may wish to consider possible improvements such as insulation, double glazing, new boilers etc on tenancy changeover in order to meet future efficiency standards.
Upon finding a suitable tenant for a property, some of the more recent additional requirements when letting property have included the introduction of tenancy deposit regulations.
Following growing concerns of unfairly withheld deposits, this requirement ensures that all deposit funds collected for tenancies are transferred over to an independent third party scheme.
Failure to comply can lead to a financial penalty on the landlord of up to three times the deposit sum collected from the tenant
Approved schemes require landlords and tenants to apply for the repayment of deposits held, specifying the amounts considered to be repaid, with any disputed claims being determined by an independent assessor.
It is, therefore, vital that detailed inventories are taken at the beginning and end of tenancies, this helping to reduce disputes in relation to the return of deposits.
The tenancy deposit regulations were thereafter followed by the introduction of the Tenant Information Pack.
This is a standardised document which aims to improve the accessibility of information available to tenants, with landlords having a legal duty to provide such packs to any new tenant.
In addition to the above regulations, the 2014 Act has added a few more factors to consider when letting property.
While landlords have a duty to ensure safety of electrical installations within rented property, there is no specific requirement to monitor on an ongoing basis.
The 2014 Act changes this and contains the introduction of a mandatory requirement for electrical testing in let properties.
Electrical safety inspections will require to be carried out by competent persons at intervals no less than every five years, with copy reports requiring to be issued to tenants.
In addition to the requirement to carry out electrical safety inspections, the Act further amends the Repairing Standard to include the requirement for rented properties to have satisfactory provision of carbon monoxide detectors.
The above noted factors are just an outline of the many regulations affecting the letting of residential property.
It is necessary for landlords to consider the steps they need to take to ensure compliance and avoid unnecessary penalties.
The letting of property in the private rented sector is one of my areas of expertise.
Working alongside my colleagues at Davidson & Robertson Rural we can offer a comprehensive letting service which ensures our clients comply with all associated regulations and statutory requirements which can seem increasingly complex.
* Kathleen Kirkpatrick is a land agent in the Forfar office of Davidson & Robertson Rural and specialises in rural property including residential management.