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Landlord Legal Requirements

Anyone who lets residential accommodation (such as houses, flats and bedsits, holiday homes, caravans and boats) as a business activity is required by law to ensure the equipment they supply as part of the tenancy is safe.

The Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994 requires that all mains electrical equipment (cookers, washing machines, kettles, etc), new or second-hand, supplied with the accommodation must be safe. Landlords therefore need to regularly maintain the electrical equipment they supply to ensure it is safe.

The supply of goods occurs at the time of the tenancy contract. It is, therefore, essential that property is checked prior to the tenancy to ensure that all goods supplied are in a safe condition. A record should be made of the goods supplied as part of the tenancy agreement and of checks made on those goods. The record should indicate who carried out the checks and when they did it.

It is strongly advisable to have the equipment checked before the start of each let. It would be good practice to have the equipment checked at regular intervals thereafter. You should obtain and retain test reports detailing the equipment, the tests carried out and the results.

The Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994

Repairs ( Landlord and Tenant Act 1985)

It is the landlord’s responsibility to maintain the property in good order, and to carry out any necessary repairs to the building (both internal and external) and services. Your duty to keep the property, its structure, installations, services, sanitary fittings and heating systems in order is an implied term of the tenancy whether or not it is mentioned in the tenancy agreement, and any term of the tenancy agreement which seeks to abrogate this responsibility will be null and void.

You should make sure that tenants can contact you quickly and easily to report repairs, and that you have suitable arrangements with plumbers (CORGI-registered if you have mains gas appliances) and electricians to carry out emergency repairs. If you do not live nearby, or are seldom at home, you should provide the telephone number of someone who is authorised to arrange emergency repairs on your behalf. We recommend that you arrange a maintenance contract for the central heating.

Source - Swansea University

Gas Safety Regulations

Anyone who lets accommodation must make sure that gas appliances are maintained in good order and checked for safety at least every 12 months.
All work on gas appliances must be carried out by CORGI-registered installers. You should request a Landlords Gas Safety Certificate at the time that the work is carried out. There is normally an additional charge to issue this certificate.

You should give a copy of the Landlords Gas Safety Certificate to tenants, whether they request it or not.

Only certain types of gas appliances can be used in bedrooms.
Further information from the HSE on gas safety for landlords can be found here.

If you do not comply with the gas safety regulations, you can be fined up to £5,000 and be sentenced to imprisonment.

Source - Swansea University

Houses in Multiple Occupation

An HMO is legally defined as any property that is occupied by persons who do not form a single household. In Swansea, this tends to be interpreted by the local authority to mean a house or flat located in the Uplands or Castle ward that is let to five or more individuals, or to a smaller number if it is more than two storeys high (including occupied basements). If your property falls within this definition you must apply to the local authority's Environment and Health department for it to be registered as an HMO. 

Failure to comply with the regulations can lead to a fine of up to £1,000. You should seek professional advice to ensure that your property complies.

Source - Swansea University

Consumer Protection Act 1987

All landlords and agents who let furnished accommodation are required to comply with the Furniture and Furnishings Fire Safety and Portable Appliance Safety sections of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 to ensure that all furniture and electrical items are safe.

Source Swansea University

Furniture Fire Safety Regulations

Upholstered furniture manufactured after the 1950’s and before 1993, must adequately withstand these flammability tests:-

• Cigarette test
• Match test
• Ignitability test

However soft furniture before 1950 was manufactured from materials which do not create toxic fumes when burnt.

New furniture produced after 1993 should have been manufactured from flame retardant materials and labelled at source by the manufacturer.

Furniture which does not meet the required safety standard must either be replaced or treated with a flame retardant substance.

If you are uncertain whether a particular piece of modern furniture is acceptable, it is possible to contact the Trading Standards Department at the City and County of Swansea to give advice about unlabelled furniture.

In addition to these regulations there is an implied assumption in the letting of furnished accommodation that any furniture supplied will be fit for its purpose, and capable of withstanding normal use.

Source Swansea University

Portable Electrical Appliances

All portable electrical appliances must be inspected and tested regularly by a NICEIC approved electrician e.g. fridges, vacuum cleaners etc.

The ‘Consumer Protection Act’ makes it an offence for a landlord to provide any portable electrical appliance which is either electrically or physically unsafe and which would be a danger.

Additional information on the Consumer Protection Act 1987 is available from Trading Standards at the City and County of Swansea

Source Swansea University