Landlord duties and responsibilities

As a landlord with one or multiple properties, understanding your landlord obligations is crucial. Protecting your investment involves knowing your landlord duties and responsibilities, especially in the event that you encounter property damage of some description. 

To ensure a safe and habitable environment for your tenants, diligent property maintenance is essential. By fulfilling your landlord obligations, you not only safeguard your assets but also uphold your legal and ethical responsibilities to your tenants.

What are your duties and responsibilities as a landlord?

While specific landlord obligations can vary based on the tenancy agreement, general landlord duties and responsibilities include maintaining anything that was already on the property before your tenants moved in. This usually includes the structure and exterior of the property, any furnishings, appliances, and fittings you supplied, basins, sinks, baths, pipes, and drains, heating and hot water, electrical wiring, and the chimney if you have one.

Maintenance

It is also the landlord’s responsibility to maintain the property’s exterior features, such as the roof, floor slabs, walls, windows, and doors. While tenants typically care for the garden, the landlord is ultimately responsible for its upkeep.

Safety

Prioritising safety is crucial. Landlords must ensure smoke, carbon monoxide, and heat detectors are operational, escape routes are clear, and fire safety equipment is in good condition. It’s a good idea to have a maintenance schedule for each property that you can refer to in order to determine which checks need to be carried out and when. Gas safety checks need to be conducted annually, and electrical installation checks every 5 years. Any issues around dampness, heat, and safety must be repaired as soon as possible, as these can cause potential risks. 

Communication

Effective communication with tenants and timely responses to complaints are key to maintaining a positive landlord-tenant relationship.

It’s essential to understand your landlord duties and responsibilities to ensure tenant safety. While landlords must carry out necessary repairs, they are typically not obligated to make property improvements such as installing double glazing. Exceptions include reasonable adjustments for disabled tenants, which fall under landlord obligations for accessibility.

These responsibilities may be different if you are the leaseholder of a flat, as it may instead fall to the freeholder to conduct the repairs. In all cases, be sure that the tenancy agreement lists who is responsible for what so that there is no confusion between you and your tenants.

What is the tenant responsible for?

If a repair is needed because of a tenant’s own actions, or even those of their friends and family, and it goes beyond ‘fair wear and tear’, the responsibility then falls to them and is not included in the landlord duties and responsibilities. Routine maintenance, like replacing light bulbs and clearing drains, is typically the tenant’s responsibility. However, larger issues stemming from these, such as leaks, should be reported promptly to the landlord.

In the rare case that a tenant ends up damaging another tenant’s flat, for example, if water leaks from one flat into another from an overflowing bath, then it is the tenant’s responsibility to pay for the repairs, as it was a direct result of their own actions.

Landlord obligations and reasonable time frames

Promptly addressing tenant concerns is crucial for maintaining a positive landlord-tenant relationship. As part of landlord duties and responsibilities, a landlord should carry out repairs within reasonable timeframes, and delays can escalate issues and potentially lead to legal disputes. 

In signing their tenancy agreement, your tenant is agreeing to pay rent when it is due. If they are unhappy with the state of the property, they need to go down the appropriate legal route.

Open communication and a timely response to repair requests can prevent misunderstandings and disputes.

Landlord duties and responsibilities: communication is key

Effective communication is paramount to fulfilling landlord duties and responsibilities. Ever since the laws around retaliatory evictions in England were introduced, it is much more difficult for landlords to evict tenants in response to requests for repairs. This makes it all the more important to respond to your tenants complaints. Communicate with them as best you can.

Always be slightly cautious. Keep all correspondence between you and your tenant confidential should you ever need to take legal action. It’s important to have evidence to prove that you have been diligent. As well as haven taken reasonable steps to keep your tenants safe. If you have a conversation with them in person or over the phone, follow up with an email. Request a ‘read receipt’ for proof.

By going above and beyond your landlord duties and responsibilities, you can foster positive tenant relationships and reduce the likelihood of issues. Safe tenants and a property in good condition mean fewer overall repairs, and your rent given on time!

While you’re looking to keep your rental property maintained, have you considered landlord insurance? This can cover you in the event of fire, theft, loss of rent, and more. So take out a policy if you haven’t already! At CIA Landlords, we compare landlord insurance to get you the best deal. Get a quote with us today.