UK Landlord Forum / Life

...and looking for some advice please.

I've moved in with my girlfriend and spent the last few months sorting my flat with things that needed doing. Now it's ready to be rented and after reading a few posts on here I am truly surprised as to just how complex the whole thing can be. I've advertised the flat as being available from 6 July but wondering now if that is too soon to get all the i's dotted and t's crossed.

So far I've worked out I need to get or do
- gas safety cert (british gas?)
- electrical cert (british gas?)
- PAT testing (british gas?)
- epc
- landlord insurance
- notify my mortgage lender (didn't realise people bothered to tell their lenders)
- declare the income for tax purposes (didn't realise people actually declared this)
- tenancy agreement (WH Smith?)
Is there anything I've missed?

Now I was planning on getting a tenant in myself rather than via an agency but I'm thinking that for the first time round it may be wise to go via an agent just to get a feel for things in terms of references, guarantors, credit checks etc etc. Also I did hear a while back that landlords are now not allowed to directly hold onto the deposit. Is this so?...and if so then where is it held ?...how does this work? Where can I read up on this?

The more I type is the more I feel lost. Is there anything like a landlord's 'bible' that I can read.

This morning I was buzzing at the idea but after an hour or so on here I just feel swamped but determined to sort this all out even if its a month or 2 on from here.

Your guidance is would be appreciated.

Hi MisterG,

6th July is very doable, and it looks like you're on the right lines. Your list seems very reasonable, is your property classified as a HMO?

- three or more storeys
- five or more tenants forming more than one household
- http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/homeandcommunity/privaterenting/repairsandstandards/dg_189201

If so, you will need to make sure you meet all HMO regulations as per your list. Otherwise, a gas safety certificate and EPC are what is required.

Regarding deposits, they must be protected in a government approved scheme. Two of the more popular ones are the DPS (http://www.depositprotection.com/), and MyDeposits (http://www.mydeposits.co.uk/). The former will actually hold onto the money, whereas the latter you keep the money but must pay a fee.

There is a wealth of information online, obviously here on the landlordforumproject is a great start!

Without wanting to be pushy, our service OpenRent will take care of a lot of the admin & advertising for you and we only charge £20 in total! Feel free to check us out (or not!) at: www.openrent.co.uk.

Kind Regards,
Darius.

Hi Mr G,

Don't want to inflate Landlord's ego any more, but cruising the site map of his blogs will let you get a really good to-do list organised.  There's a couple of things which might not be on your list:
- Inventory (if you want a hope of getting any deposit back for damages caused)
- I use GasElec for my inspections because that's all they do, so you get good customer service off them like you don't with big corporates;
- Your mortgage lender might try to move you onto BTL product.  Can your business plan stand the extra cost of teh mortgage?
- Get an accountant.  Don't try to do it yourself.  Mine always gets more tax back than his fee.  So not only is he "free" to use, but he takes all that nasty tax admin away!
- To labour dazbradbury's point: If you do arrange the holding of the deposit then be very, very careful to give he tenant all the right paperwork.  If you don't you will probably lose any ability to retain it against damages but also be open to a court fine.

You can hold the deposit yourself, but you must be backed by an insurance bond.  Check out RLA.  Might not be too cost efficient if this is your first and only property.

Hope this helps.  Let us know how you're getting on.