This is the second part of a two-part blog detailing the six items that landlords must provide for their tenants. In the first part, we covered the tenancy agreement, deposit protection scheme documents and the Government’s mandatory ‘How to Rent Guide’ (which you can get yourself online, though landlords are still legally required to at least offer to get it for you themselves).
In this second part, we focus on the other three items a landlord is legally obliged to provide for their tenants, starting with a very important one that people new to renting are often unaware of.
Gas Safety Certificate
All landlords are legally required to provide their tenants with a gas safety certificate. This ensures that they have had a qualified engineer registered with the Gas Safety Register check that all the gas appliances in the property are safe. Landlords must conduct the check via the engineer once every twelve months, after which they receive a certificate which they should provide for their tenants when they move in.
If you are a tenant and your landlord has not provided you with one of these certificates, then request that they do so immediately. If the landlord refuses (or simply keeps delaying and delaying), then this could be a criminal offence if the landlord has not had an engineer check the gas appliances within the last twelve months. In such a case, the tenant must complain to the Health and Safety Executive.
Energy Performance Certificate
These certificates are required whenever a property is built, sold or rented. The Energy Performance Certificate contains information about the property’s energy use and typical energy costs, as well as providing recommendations about how to reduce energy use and save money. In Scotland, landlords are legally obliged to display the certificate in the property, usually in the meter cupboard or next to the boiler.
Fire Safety Labels on Any Furniture
This one is pretty self-explanatory. It means that any furniture provided for the property by the landlord such as beds and couches must be made from materials deemed not to be a danger in a fire situation. The furniture should have a label somewhere detailing its fire safety status. If not, then the landlord should not be providing you with that furniture and you can ask for it to be removed or changed (if your tenancy agreement states that the landlord will provide certain furnishings).
