Hello Readers,
I’m continuing my series looking at a few key things that have changed now the Renters’ Rights Act is in force and an interesting one is the serving of certain documents. This has now changed because of the abolition of Section 21 (interestingly).
Do I need to serve a gas safety, EICR and more?
The only way a valid Section 21, could be served was if the tenants had received the following documentation at point of tenancy being signed and subsequent documentation / inspection renewal:
- How to rent guide
- EPC
- Gas Safety Certificate
- EICR
- Deposit confirmation
An interesting point here is that these were never required under Section 8, so there is now no need to serve them in order for an eviction notice to be valid. But, that does not mean they are necessary.
Do I still need to carry out these compliance measures?
The answer here is a yes – apart from serving the How to Rent guide, as it has been withdrawn and landlords need to provide prescribed written information check here (which would be contained within the tenancy agreement).
With regards to confirmation of deposit, this is not required to serve a section eight notice, but it is still a requirement for landlords to provide tenants with a copy of.
The challenge here may be how because this documentation is no longer required to serve an eviction notice, standards and compliance actually slips.
Of course, it’s possible for a tenancy to continue for years, creating a genuine risk that important safety obligations could be overlooked.
This means that landlords still need to ensure the following is carried out, with a record kept:
- Annual gas safety inspection
- Electrical inspection every five years
- EPC every ten years
Will a national landlord database change this?
It’s entirely possible that the part of the thought behind a national landlord database is to monitor this and keep landlords on track. Most likely with an additional cost, of course!
My thoughts here are that there is so much change, even experienced landlords will take time to adapt and adjust – even us as agents have had to take a lot of time and training to make sure we remain compliant.
The ironic thing is, however, that whilst the Renters’ Rights Act was intended to improve standards for tenants, it may actually lead to increased costs and landlords assuming certain requirements no longer matter because they are no longer linked to possession proceedings.
I’ll be interested to hear what you think about this! It’s a huge shift and one that will take some getting used to – the best way to get in touch is by emailing hasan@home-share.co.uk.
Hasan