UK Landlord Forum / Life

We have a fully managed property via a local agent. Is it the agents responsibility to make sure all the Certs etc are up to date and correct or is it ours. Just wondering if they will let us know when the gas cert runs out and that It needs doing or should we be on top of it and letting them know. We bought the property a few months ago and it's the same agent who is letting it for us. They also previously let it before we bought it so there is history there.

Hi,

It's ALWAYS the landlords responsibility to ensure all legal requirements are met. While it *should* be the agent's responsibility to remind you of when anything needs renewing, I personally wouldn't rely on them, because it's always going to be your neck on the line. On that note, that's why I don't use a fully managed service.

Ah ok, so your saying its not their responsibility to make sure all the paperwork is correct even though they are the agents and we pay them for a service as such. Not trying to be clever just wondering where we stand on things

It's the difference between legal responsibility under, say, the Housing Act and contractual obligation. So, for example, if your contract with your agents says that they will be responsible for protecting the deposit, and they don't protect the deposit, then it's still you, as landlord, that will be liable for any and all penalties that may be incurred as a result. However, you would then be able to sue your agents for breach of contract and recover your costs. The tricky bit comes when the contract is ambiguous and/or doesn't actually say what you thought it said when you signed it.

If you've managed to find competent agents, you should be able to leave them to it but, if you're wise, you'll do your homework about a landlord's responsibilities and keep abreast of legislation (via sites like this). I use an agent to manage my one and only rental property, and I'm happy with the service they provide. I still keep a note of when things like the gas ticket etc are due, though. If I ever found myself having to remind the agent about something as straightforward as that, it would be time to look for another agent!

Quote from: Lesstatt on January 03, 2017, 07:02:26 PM
Ah ok, so your saying its not their responsibility to make sure all the paperwork is correct even though they are the agents and we pay them for a service as such. Not trying to be clever just wondering where we stand on things

They may have a responsibility to you, you would need to check the terms of business you signed with them, but what is being said is that the onus falls immediately back onto you if your Agent doesn't do something that should have been done... they're your Agent, after all. They are effectively you.

A GSC is not just paperwork, though, is it? I mean, it obviously is paperwork... but behind it is a check that the things that use gas in your property are safe.

I'm a new landlord too.  I set up reminders on my phone for when the Gas Safety Certificate and Electrical Safety Certificate are due (reminder kicks in a month before due date).  Hope that helps.