Advice for landlords

Get accredited as a landlord

In North East Lincolnshire, the local Landlord Accreditation Scheme is delivered by DASH. DASH has specialised in landlord accreditation for over 17 years.

Find out more

If you are a landlord, the government recommends joining an Accreditation Scheme. Accreditation offers a range of benefits, including showing your tenants that you meet recognised professional standards. More information can be found in the government’s How to let information.

The scheme is operated by a Local Authority service within Derby City Council and is designed to support and promote high property standards and effective management practices within the private rented sector. You can find a list of DASH’s partner organisations on the DASH website.

The DASH Accreditation package includes a nationally recognised training qualification as well as a Virtual Inspection, both covered by the accreditation fee.

Landlords often use the Virtual Inspection as a helpful “sense check” to ensure their properties meet required letting standards before any Local Authority visit. This can reduce the risk of issues arising that might lead to enforcement action, such as notices, financial penalties, or, in some cases, legal proceedings.

The DASH Landlord Accreditation Scheme Manual outlines how the scheme operates and what requirements are made of landlords in terms of standards and conduct.

The first 50 landlords to apply will not be charged for application to the DASH Landlord Accreditation Scheme. After this, the following fees will apply upon application & then again upon renewal:

Number of properties	Cost
1 – 5 properties	£110+VAT per landlord
6 – 10 properties	£185+VAT per landlord
11 – 29 properties	£435+VAT per landlord
30 – 39 properties	£575+VAT per landlord
40+ properties	Please email [email protected] for a quote

Once granted, accreditation lasts for a period of up to 3 years from the date of the initial application. After this time, landlords will need to renew their membership should they wish to remain accredited.

In order to become a DASH accredited landlord, you will need to complete the following steps within 4 weeks:

Read the DASH Scheme Manual then complete the online application form.
Pay the membership fee (if applicable) & be confirmed as a suitable landlord
Complete the DASH Landlord Development Course (Foundation)
Pass a property health check (this is likely to be a Virtual Inspection)
Commit to the code of conduct as laid out in the Scheme manual, and the terms and conditions
Create a DASH account and get your DASH number, then add your property list. Without all this information your application will be rejected as incomplete.

Apply now

Starting a tenancy

Government redress scheme, getting your property ready to rent, what tenancy to use, assured shorthold tenancies, right to rent, rules on pets and information you must provide to your tenant.

If you are letting your property through a letting agent, you must check that the agent is registered with an approved GOV.UK – Government Redress Scheme.

You must ensure the property meets current standards. The property should be safe and secure, free from disrepair or damage, heated and dry. All repairs to the property should be carried out before the tenant moves in. If you have a mortgage on the property, you must obtain permission from your lender before letting the property. Further advice can be found on the GOV.UK website.

Once a tenant is found you must compile an inventory of the content and condition of the property. The tenant will need to confirm they agree with the content of the inventory. Both parties will need to keep a copy as it may be necessary to refer to these documents, if there are any disagreements during the tenancy.

Assured Shorthold tenancies are the most common type of rental agreement. It provides a landlord with rights and responsibilities. It will hopefully create a positive relationship between you and your tenant. Check out the GOV.UK – Model Agreement for a Shorthold Assured Tenancy for a copy of a tenancy and advice on what term you may wish to set your tenancy.

Landlords and letting agents must check that any prospective tenant as the right to rent a property, before letting to them. Landlords and letting agents can face a civil penalty if found guilty of illegally renting a property, with fines up to £3,000. Advice on how to check if a tenant or lodger can rent your residential property can be found on the website: GOV.UK – Landlords right to rent checks guide.

The suggested model agreement prohibits the tenant from keeping pets in the property, without the landlords consent. However, you must not be unreasonable. You cannot exercise a blanket ban on pets or should not turn down a request without good reason. For example; a landlord may consider a large dog would be reasonably like to damage the property, whereas a smaller pet may not. If you consent to allow a pet, you may wish an additional deposit is paid by the tenant. This must be protected within an authorised tenancy deposit scheme.

Before a tenant moves in you must provide them with the following items. These are minimum legislative requirements. Failure to comply could lead to enforcement action being taken against you.

Gas Safety Certificate – This must be provided on an annual basis if there is gas in the property. You must present the new tenant with the most recent Gas Safety Certificate, no more than 12 months old.
Deposit Paperwork – All tenancy deposits must be placed in a Government approved scheme. Read about Tenancy Deposit Protection on the GOV.UK website.
Energy Performance Certificate – You must provide an Energy Performance Certificate must be provided on a five yearly basis. A copy of the current certificate must be produced at the start of each tenancy.
A Record of any electrical appliance inspections – If you are providing any electrical appliances, they must be safe. A competent electrician must carry out an a Portable Appliance Test annually. We also recommend that you provide the tenant with a copy of an Electrical Inspection report, to evidence the electrics are in good order before the tenant moves in.

During a tenancy

Landlords responsibilities, access during the tenancy, tenant’s right to quiet enjoyment, tenants responsibility for repairs, redoration by the tenant, subletting and claiming housing benefit.

When a tenant moves into the property, there are several things you must do, throughout the duration of the tenancy:

Maintain – You must maintain the main structure and exterior of the property.
Deal – You must deal with any problems with the water, electricity and gas supply.
Maintain – You are responsible for the maintenance of any appliances and furniture you have supplied. All electrical appliances must have an annual Portable Appliance Test (PAT test), completed by a competent registered electrician.
Repairs – When things don’t work (for example central heating), you are responsible to arrange for repairs. In the case of central heating, where you are unable to carry out repairs on a central heating system, you may be required to provide temporary heating. View the Landlords Guide to Common Hazards for more details.
Insure – You are responsible for arranging insurance to cover the building, covering the cost of any damage from flood or fire. You must make it clear to the insurance company that the property is going to be let.
Smoke Alarms – Ensure you have fitted smoke alarms and that tenants have a fire escape route.
Carbon Monoxide Detectors – Ensure you have fitted carbon monoxide detector there the property has a solid fuel heating appliance. It is good practice to provide carbon monoxide detectors in all properties to protect your tenants from harm.
Gas Safety Check – You must provide an annual gas safety check carried out by an approved gas engineer and provide a copy to the tenant. Further information on official gas engineers can be found on the Gas Safe Register- external site website.

Use the expandable menu below to find more advice for landlords during a tenancy.

As a landlord you must give the tenant at least 24 hours “prior notice” in writing. The tenant must give the landlord or letting agent access to the property at reasonable times of the day. Access is only permitted for the following purposes:

to inspect its condition and state of repair;
to carry out the Landlord’s repairing obligations and other obligations under this agreement;
to carry out any inspections required by law including (but not limited to) gas safety inspections, fire safety inspections and inspections of any smoke or carbon monoxide alarms installed in the property and to carry out any works, repairs, maintenance or installations (including the installation of any smoke or carbon monoxide alarm) required by law.

In the event of an emergency, the landlord (or person acting on a landlords behalf) can gain immediate access to the property.

Access during periods where the tenant is absent for more than 28 days

If the tenant leaves the property unoccupied for a period of more than 28 consecutive days, as a landlord you may have access during that period, for purposes to keep the property insured and take steps, reasonably necessary to mitigate the risk of damage to the property during that period. From time to time tenants could be away, for example prolonged hospital stays. Before taking a decision that a tenant has absconded, we recommend you seek professional legal advice.

The right to ‘quiet enjoyment’ means that the tenant has the right to live in the property, as their home, without interference from the landlord or anybody else. The landlord cannot make unannounced visits and must comply with the terms of this agreement and the law in all dealings with the tenant.

Even where the landlord or his agents give notice of visits to the property, if the visits are very frequent and/or are made for little good reason, this may amount to a breach of the tenant’s right to quiet enjoyment and could amount to harassment. In return the tenant is expected to allow reasonable access, including to carry out repairs and maintenance.

The tenant is liable for the reasonable cost of repairs when they are directly attributable to the tenants failure to comply with their obligations. Tenants are responsible for damage or repairs which are clearly the fault or negligence of the tenant, any member of their family or their visitor.

This is covered in C4.1 and C4.2 of the Model Agreement for a Shorthold Assured Tenancy. This includes broken glass in windows where it is clear the tenants or their family or their visitors have caused the breakage.

Clause C4.2 prevents the tenant from making any alternations to the property, or carrying out any re-decoration without the landlords permission. As a landlord you must not unreasonably withhold permission. For example, putting up a shelf is more unreasonable to be refused. In this case the landlord could put in a condition whereas the shelf is removed, the area made good and then redecorated to its original condition may be considered reasonable.

On this basis, if the tenant does not reinstate the area to its original condition, the landlord may be able to withhold funds from the deposit in order to do so.

The landlord must provide a property which is reasonably decorated. Kitchens and Bathrooms must have floor coverings which are easy to clean and maintain.

A tenant must not assign (i.e. transfer to another person) the tenancy, either in whole or in part without the consent of the landlord in writing. This includes a tenant renting out a room to a friend. As a landlord you cannot unreasonable withhold permission.

Things for a landlord to consider before permitting subletting are:

If the property is leasehold and the freeholder prohibits subletting
If the property’s mortgage or insurance terms prohibit subletting
If the tenant refuses to provide references on the proposed sub-tenant
If the proposed subletting would cause the property to become overcrowded or would breach a licence condition where the property is licensed
If the proposed subletting would cause the property to fall within the definition of a licensable House in Multiple Occupation due to the number of unrelated occupants.

A request to sublet would include letting the property out on a short-term holiday let basis through sites such as Air BnB, or on a longer fixed term flat share basis through sites such as SpareRoom.co.uk.

Before agreeing to sublet the property, the tenant will need to confirm the prospective sub-tenant’s identity, credit history and possibly employment. If the property is to be used as the sub-tenant’s only or main home, the tenant must also check that all people aged 18 and over living in the property have the right to rent property in the UK (unless it is agreed in writing that the superior landlord will take responsibility for this).

If consent to sublet is given on the condition that an additional deposit is paid by the tenant, then the landlord must also protect that additional deposit in an authorised tenancy deposit scheme. The landlord must respond to requests to sublet the property within 28 working days and must state reasons if not granting consent.

Housing Benefit is a national scheme, which helps tenants on low incomes to pay their rent, and is administered and paid by the councils Housing Benefits team.

How is Housing Benefit claimed?

Tenants apply to their local council completing an application form either in person, over the phone of online. All applications must be supported by full original documentation, which confirms the tenant’s income and identity as well as confirming the rent charged and the tenancy conditions. Tenants should claim Housing Benefit as soon as they move into a property to avoid losing benefit.

Housing Benefit is paid in arrears directly to the tenant. In certain circumstances it can be paid to the landlord direct. View information on paying information direct to landlords. Further guidance is available at the Government’s How to Rent guide.

Ending a tenancy

How to end a tenancy, end of a fixed tenancy period and moving out at the end of a tenancy.

Some landlords may decide to evict a tenant in response to a complaint made to the council about outstanding repairs. This is called retaliatory eviction. New legislation came into force to protect tenants from immediate retaliatory eviction, affecting new tenancies, or tenancy renewals agreed on or after the 1 October 2015.
Further guidance can be found on the template letters in the relevant documents section. For further information visit the legislation.gov.uk website.
As a landlord, you must serve the tenant a Section 21 notice, giving notice that you want to end the tenancy. Further guidance can be found on the GOV.UK website.
Landlords should be aware that tenants cannot, in any circumstances, be evicted without a court order and that eviction without a court order is a criminal offence and you could be prosecuted.
At the end of the tenancy, you must return the deposit. Any disputes will be resolved by the scheme provider.
Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 allows you to serve a notice for non-payment of rent.

If the tenant wants to stay in the property you can chose to sign up to a new fixed term.

At the end of the tenancy fixed period?

The tenant must give a minimum one month notice in writing, to coincide with the rental period of the property. For example; if a tenant started their tenancy on the 16 of the month, their month notice would expire on the 15 of the month. This is when they would be expected to move out. The new rental period would start again on the following day the 16 when the new monthly rental payment is due.

The tenant must return the property in a good condition, allowing for general wear and tear. The property must be handed over, with the same levels of cleanliness, as when they took the property over at the start of the tenancy.

The property must be clear of all their possessions (including any furniture and rubbish) which belonged to the tenant of their family members.

If any such possessions are left in the property after the tenancy has ended, the tenant could be responsible for storage or removal charges. The landlord is obliged to store left items for up to a month, however it is not considered reasonable to store perishable items for example food. The landlord must make reasonable steps to notify the items where they are stored, so they can be collected. After a month the items can be disposed of. The proceeds from any sale can be used to offset any removal or storage costs.

The tenant must give vacant possession and return all keys to the landlord at the end of the tenancy. They must also provide a forwarding address.

Health and safety information for all landlords

Landlords and letting agents are required to have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) for all of your properties by law.

An EPC contains information about the property’s energy usage and typical energy costs and recommendations on how to reduce energy and save money. They give a property an ‘energy efficiency’ rating from A (most efficient) to G (least efficient) and are valid for 10 years. They are required whenever a property is built, sold or rented.

A landlord or letting agent must be able to provide a valid EPC to any prospective property owner or tenant. If not, Trading Standards officers can impose a fine of up to £200.

Single dwellings

Landlords should ensure their tenants have smoke and carbon monoxide alarms throughout the building. There should be a smoke alarm on each floor and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a solid fuel burning appliance.

Landlords should also ensure that tenants have access to a safe and reliable fire escape route and that the property is safe from fire hazards for example making sure that any furniture and furnishings provided meet safety standards and are appropriately labelled. It is also important to ensure that any electric and gas installations are safe throughout the tenancy.

Landlords have fire safety responsibilities, and it is good practice to provide a fire safety plan.

Shared properties and HMO’s

Landlords should ensure their tenants in shared properties or HMO’s are safe from fire similar to those in single dwellings.

It is a legal requirement for landlords to undertake a fire safety risk assessment to protect renters in their property. This risk assessment must now be recorded in writing and reviewed on a regular basis.

Humberside Fire and Rescue Service have provided some useful information and guidance on how you can complete the risk assessment and make your property safe for those who live there.

Contact details

01472 326296
[email protected]
Home Improvement Team, Municipal Offices, Town Hall Square, Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, DN31 1HU