Having a qualified engineer carrying out gas safety checks for your houses for rent and flats to rent is an important legal requirement. Being organised and following a few tips can save time and money.
One of the most important legal requirements landlords have is to carry out an annual gas safety check. Every landlord has to have all gas appliances checked every 12 months by a Gas Safe registered engineer. The Gas Safe register replaced the CORGI gas register in April 2009. Arranging for an engineer to check a property takes time and costs money, especially if a landlord has several rental properties. It is, however, important for every landlord to understand and comply with the law relating to gas safety. The landlord has a legal duty to ensure that all gas appliances, fittings and flues provided in any houses for rentor flats for rent are safe.
Prices for Gas Safety Checks are Dropping
Historically, gas safety checks used to be relatively expensive with prices around £70-£100 per certificate for each flat to rent or house to rent. Many landlords have therefore decided to avoid having any gas appliances in their properties and installed electric appliances for cooking and heating. However, the current weak economic climate has also affected the price engineers can charge for gas safety checks. Recently, prices for gas safety checks for properties in London have fallen as low as £35. Searching on Google for cheap gas safety checks shows numerous plumbers offering checks for far less than a year ago. Before allowing anyone to carry out work on gas in your flats to rentand houses for rent, ask to see the Gas Safe Registered Installer identification card. You can also find a gas safe registered business on the Gas Safe website.
Combining Checks for all Your Houses for rent and Flats to rent
Meeting engineers to carry out gas safety checks on each rental property can be time consuming, especially if the properties are located a significant distance away from your home. In this case, it might be worth considering carrying out all gas safety checks for all your flats to rent and houses for rent on the same day. Engineers will generally be happy for you to travel with them from one rental property to the next while they carry out the checks. Even if the gas safety certificate for one of your rentals is still valid for another few months, it might be worth obtaining a new certificate now. It will bring all dates in line and in 12 months time, all flats to rent and houses for rent will need a new gas safety check and this again can be carried out on the same day. Also, if more than one certificate is required, you might be able to negotiate a further discount with the engineer.
Flats to Rent and Houseshares - Tips to Find Tenants Quickly
Advertising flats to rent and rooms in houseshares can be very effective if you know how to write a good advert. Read tips on what to include in your rental property adverts and how you can find the ideal tenant quickly.
How to Retain Tenants in Your Houseshare or Houses for Rent
Landlords can put huge effort and expense into finding tenants for their houseshares and houses for rent, but then lose the tenant soon after by neglecting their needs or increasing the rent. Landlords that want to retain their tenants should think carefully about how attentive they are to their needs and any rent increases.
Turn a Property to Rent into a Flatshare and Achieve Higher Returns
If you want to increase the profit you make from your buy to let portfolio, then turning a property to rent into a flatshare can significantly increase rental yield. However, there are risks and regulations that need to be considered before renting out rooms individually.
