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Annex 1: Legal Obligations on
Landlords
The material to which a local authority must have
regard, under section 86, in deciding whether an applicant
is a fit and proper person to act as a landlord, includes
material which shows that the applicant has "contravened
any provision of the law relating to housing, or landlord
and tenant law." This Annex provides a brief guide to the
range of issues which are covered by those legal
requirements.
The exact obligations on landlords depend on the type of
tenancy or occupancy arrangement in place. We hope to
provide a more detailed description of legal requirements
to accompany the registration guidance.
- The tenant must be given details of the landlord's
name and address, and the name and address of their
agent, if they use one. Where an assured or short
assured tenancy exists, a written agreement must be
provided.
- Correct legal procedures for seeking possession of
the accommodation (if the tenant does not leave when
they are asked to). In most cases this means giving
proper notice, and ultimately getting a Court Order.
Under the Rent (Scotland) Act 1984, it is a criminal
offence to evict a tenant unlawfully, or to use
harassment to try to make them leave.
- Various rules apply to the charging
and handling of rents and deposits:
- No charge must be made for a person
to have their name put on a list for accommodation
- No charge must be made for drawing
up or copying the tenancy agreement
- If a deposit is required, it must be
no more than the equivalent of two months' rent
- If rent is paid weekly, the landlord
must issue a rent book and enter a receipt for each
weekly payment
- The tenant cannot be required to pay
rent before the start of the rental period to which it
relates
- Proper procedures must be followed
before changing the amount of rent to be charged
- The landlord must keep the accommodation wind- and
watertight and generally fit for human habitation (in
practice this normally means the house should meet the
Tolerable Standard). In particular, the landlord is
responsible for keeping the structure and exterior of
the property in good repair, including drains, gutters
and external pipes, and must make sure the
installations for the supply of water, electricity and
gas, and the appliances for heating the house and
heating water, are kept in good repair and in working
order. (The current Housing (Scotland) Bill proposes to
extend this to cover fixtures, fittings and furnishing
provided as part of the let, and to require the
landlord to carry out an inspection prior to the
beginning of every tenancy).
- The landlord must have any gas appliances checked
annually by a
CORGI registered contractor, and
obtain a gas safety certificate. He must provide
tenants with a copy of the certificate, and keep the
records for at least 2 years (Gas Safety (Installation
and Use) Regulations 1998).
- All furniture and furnishings provided by the
landlord must comply with the Furniture and Furnishings
(Fire)(Safety) Regulations 1988.
- The landlord has a general duty to make sure that
the electrical installations and appliances provided as
part of the let are safe to use (Electrical Equipment
(Safety) Regulations 1994).
- The landlord must comply with any statutory notices
requiring property he or she owns to be repaired,
brought up to a higher standard, closed or, if it is an
HMO, provided with additional
facilities or means of escape from fire.
- The owner of an
HMO must hold a licence from the
local authority and must comply with the conditions of
that licence.
- In addition, the local authority must consider
whether the applicant has "practised unlawful
discrimination on grounds of sex, colour, race, ethnic
or national origins or disability in, or in connection
with, the carrying on of any business".
- The Equal Opportunities Commission
provides advice on its website for organisations and
individuals who provide accommodation.
- The Commission for Racial Equality
has produced a Rented Housing Code of Practice to help
landlords comply with their duties under the Race
Relations Act 1976.
- The Disability Rights Commission
provides extensive guidance for suppliers of goods and
services (which includes landlords) on the duty to make
reasonable adjustments to make their services
accessible to disabled people. The Disability
Discriminiation Act 2005 will extend the requirements
on landlords to make reasonable adjustments or provide
auxiliary aids and services to enable a disabled person
to enjoy all the facilities of their home. Guidance on
these requirements will be produced in due course.
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