Legal Requirements...
 Protecting your interests
Our objective when managing your property is to protect yourinterests and maintain your property in good order. We ensure you fully comply with safety regulations and our advise should minimise your risk. The maintenance obligations placed by law on the landlord can for some be considered onerous but our job is to guide you through the maze of legislation.
The followings requirements are the responsibility of the owner (Landlord) and in the case of our Management Properties, the requirements are also our responsibility. We therefore need to ensure compliance is adhered to.
 Energy Performance Certificate Domestic energy use accounts for 27% of the UK’s carbon dioxide emissions.The Government is introducing a number of energy savinginitiatives, including EPC’s, aimed at making all buildings more energy efficient.
From October 1st 2008, all landlords are required by law to show any prospective tenants an EPC when advertising a property for rent. The EPC is valid for 10 years however, if you don’t have one, you could be fined £200 for non-compliance.
EPC’s look similar to the energy labels found on our common domestic appliances such as washing machines and refrigerators. The energy efficiency and environmental impact of a property will be rated on a scale from A-G as shown below.
We will arrange for an EPC Assessor to attend your property and prepare an EPC report which will be retained of file and available for tenants to see. A charge will be made for this service from the contractor provided and added to the Landlords Statement accordingly.
 Gas Safety Certificate As a landlord, you are responsible for the safety of your tenants. You must ensure that appliancesare working correctly and guard against the dangers of carbonmonoxide.
Therefore, every rental property with Leapfrog Lettings that has any sort of gas appliance, whether it be a central heating boiler or a gas stove or even a gas fire, requires a Gas Safety Certificate. These certificates can only be issued by a Gas Safe Registered Engineer and Certificates are valid for a year from the date they are issued.
 We will arrange for a Gas Safety Certificate to be carried out at your property, prior to occupation from your tenant and will review the expiration date to provide renewals accordingly. A charge will be made for this service, from the contractor provided and will be added to your Landlords Statement.
As of the 1st April 2009 the new Gas Safe Register replaces the CORGI gas registration scheme as Great Britain’s gas safety authority. By law from now, only Gas Safe registered engineers should be employed to carry out work on gas installations and appliances – CORGI registration alone will not be valid.
Registered Engineered will be identified with the new yellow Gas Safe Register
logo and every engineer will carry a Gas Safe Register ID cards with their own
unique license.
 Electrical Safety Certificate Landlord electrical certificates are another important part of ensuring the safety of your tenants and being able to prove that you have taken reasonable steps to do so. All electrical certification should be carried out by an electrician whom is registered with the National Inspection Council for Electrical Installers and Contractors (NICEIC).
There are two types of electrical certificate:
Periodic Inspection Report It is advisable to have a full electrical inspection carried out every five years. This examination investigates the state of the electrical wiring throughout the property and thoroughly checks the safety of the electrical installation. These inspections can cost from £100 to £250. The electrician should issue you with a 'Periodic Inspection Report for an Electrical Installation' at the end of the examination, which declares the electrical installation as safe.
Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) It is also advisable to instruct an electrician to carry out PAT testing on all portable electrical appliances once a year. Portable electrical appliances are defined as any appliances that you supply with the property that can be plugged into the mains electricity (for example lamps, microwaves, portable electric heaters, TV etc.). The purpose of the PAT is to ensure that all portal electrical items provided with the property are electrically safe. PATs typically cost around £5 - £20 per appliance.
 Tenancy Deposit Protection It is important to us that Tenants Deposits
have the full protection of the Law and because of this, Leapfrog Lettings
are members of the Deposit Protection Service.
Under new legislation, from 6 April 2007 all deposits taken from tenants against possible non-payment of rent or damage to a property must now be covered by what is called a Tenancy Deposit Protection.
This means that any landlord or agent who takes a deposit for an Assured Shorthold Tenancy must safeguard it in one of the approved tenancy deposit protection schemes.
Under this scheme any deposits paid to Leapfrog Lettings are either sent to the Deposit Protection Services (DPS) or held by the landlord, in an insurance backed account. This ensures that if there is a dispute between the Landlord and the Tenant as to how the deposit should be allocated at the end of the Tenancy both parties can rely upon the DPS to make a binding decision on how the deposit should be allocated.
It has been developed to protect both landlords and tenants and provides an Alternative Dispute Resolution Service, which will ensure any disputes concerning deposits are resolved as swiftly as possible
You can find out more about this by looking at the DPS website at wwwdepositprotection.com.
Alternatively, you can call our office on 01287 653333 or, you may wish to contact us via our contact form and we will be happy to show you how this works. |