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Landlord
Insurance -Tips for Landlords when letting
out a rental property
TIPS
FOR LANDLORDS (also see our Advice
for Landlords for much more detailed information)
KEEP
IT CLEAN
If your property is clean, tidy and has a reasonable standard
of decoration it will be more attractive to good quality tenants
and easier to achieve a good level of rent. Think carefully
about whether you would want to live there or not. See
Our Guide on how to present a property for rental
for advice to make the property more appealing.
TO
FURNISH OR NOT TO FURNISH?
Property can be let fully furnished, part furnished or unfurnished.
Which of these is appropriate will depend on the type of property
and the local market conditions. As a minimum you will need
to provide decent quality
carpets, curtains and light fittings. Remember, you need to
accept that there will be wear and tear on the property and
any items provided. Do not leave items which are irreplaceable
or have personal sentimental value.
DO
I NEED TO TELL ANYONE THAT I AM LETTING THE PROPERTY?
If you have a mortgage bond or loan on the property you must
inform your lender in advance of any letting and, in some
cases, get their consent. If you do not do this you may breach
your mortgage bond conditions with potentially serious consequences.
If your property is sectional title you may need the consent
of the trustees of the body corporate. Keep copies of any
such consent's obtained safe, as you may need to provide them
later.
WHAT
ABOUT INSURANCE?
You must inform your insurance company of any proposed letting
as your cover and or premiums may be affected. Failure to
tell your insurers might mean they refuse to pay any subsequent
claim. You will need to ensure that your policy covers you
for third party/ public liability so that you are covered
for claims against you following accidents etc due to defects
at your property. You might want to consider one of the various
specialist insurance products for landlords, which could include
protection against rent arrears, or for legal expenses if
you have to take legal action against your tenant.CLICK
HERE FOR MORE DETAILS
Make sure you are covered if this happens?
INVENTORY
A suitably detailed Inventory or Schedule of Condition
for the property its contents is absolutely essential. The
inventory should be provided to the ingoing tenants on the
commencement date of their tenancy. Ideally the tenants should
check, sign and return a copy of the Inventory to confirm
their agreement with it. Without a good inventory a landlord
is, legally, in a very vulnerable position if he subsequently
tries to deduct money from a tenants deposit for alleged damages.
Don't forget, when changing tenants you will need to provide
an updated inventory to the new set of tenants. See
also
INFORMATION
FOLDER
It's good practice to leave a folder of information at the
property for tenants. This might include: details of
rubbish collection days, nearest schools, shops.Photocopies
of any manuals/ instructions for appliances, location of fuse
boxes/ meters/ stopcock- useful and emergency contact numbers
(plumber, handyman, electrician etc.)
SAFETY
MATTERS
As a landlord you have a legal obligation to provide a safe
property for the tenants to live in. Specifically, this means
that any electrical equipment provided, plugs, sockets etc
must be safe. You should also ensure that all equipment is
serviced regularly and provide instructions or user manuals
so tenants know how to safely operate appliances and equipment.
MAINTENANCE AND REPAIRS
As the owner and landlord you will generally be responsible
for maintaining and or repairing the fabric or structure of
the property. Your agent will be able to explain your specific
legal obligations in more detail.
HOW
DO I RECEIVE MY RENTAL INCOME?
You will need to agree with your letting agent the anticipated
timescale for the rent to be paid on to you after the tenant
has paid it to the agent. There are a number of factors that
influence this and you should discuss these with your agent
so there is an understanding on both sides. Make sure your
agent is a member of a reputable organisation such as ARLA
who have a mandatory and comprehensive client money protection
(Bonding) scheme for its member firms; requiring them to adhere
to specific rules relating to dealing with clients money and
submit to audits by external accountants.
If
the rent is paid directly to you by your tenants, it is advisable
to check your bank statement a few days after the rent
should be paid. e.g. Rental due on the 15th of month
should be in your bank account by 18th or 19th (depending
on weekends and bank holidays) If your tenants happen to bank
with the same bank as you do, it might even reach your bank
the same day. Don't wait for your monthly statement -
only to find that the rent has not been paid. You will have
lost a couple of valuable weeks to "chase" your
tenants. Quite often your tenants can rectify the problem
quickly and on line banking can help.
RECORD
KEEPING FOR PROPERTY OWNERS
As
a Landlord you are required to maintain complete records of
all expenses incurred and the income received from your properties.(see
Landlords
Letting Advice ) This means that you must hang
onto every relevent receipt and keeping details of any personal
assets you used for the property business. An example of this
would be to note down the details of all journeys you make
concerning your property's business, the portion of your home
used tp process related paperwork and time spent on your computer
carry out work for the property.
You
should retain all bank statements and all records have to
be retained for five years after the tax return filing date.
Any receipts regarding property improvements should be kept
for six years after the end of the tax year in which the property
is sold. If you don't keep tax related records you could face
a UK fine of £3,000.
DEPOSITS
N.B.
From April 2007 under
the 2004 Housing Act Landlords will no longer be able to hold
deposits with AST tenancies unless they have them registered
with a specific scheme. See
Tenancy Deposit Scheme
N.B.
This information should not be relied on for accuracy and
is presented here without the responsibility of jml Property
Service and the website it is being displayed at. ©jml property
Services 12-04
Cheaper Landlord
Insurance - Think jml
in association with
Homelet ,
Endsleigh 
and Rentshield Direct 
Isn't
time you thought about insurance for your rental property?
New
to letting or renting?
Take
a look at our landlords
advice and tenants
advice guides
Why
do I need Landlords Insurance?
Landlord
Insurance Article by Philip Suter
Problems
with Accepting Housing Benefit in England and Wales Article
by Philip Suter
DO
YOU HAVE A RELATIVE / DEPENDANT AT COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY IN
THE UK? Did you know that they
can get insurance for their rental room, flat or house? CLICK
HERE for more information
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