The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985

The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 governs many of the areas of letting out a property that you will need to be aware of if you intend to become a landlord. The exact details of the legislation would be too lengthy to describe in a short article, but the basics covered in the Act are below.

Disclosure of a Landlord's Identity

If your tenant asks for your name and address to be supplied to themselves or to anyone else, whether directly or through a letting agent, those details have to be supplied within 21 days, or you could be fined.

A tenant can also ask for details of the directors and secretary of a company, if their landlord is a corporate landlord. The same rules apply about disclosure within 21 days.

There are also rules about notifying a tenant if a tenancy is assigned to another person or business.

Rent Books and Information

The law states that a landlord must supply a tenant with a rent book, or similar document which gives them details of their tenancy agreement.This should contain details of the landlords name and address, any restrictions on the tenancy, and details of the company if the landlord is a limited company.

If the rent book or information isn’t supplied to the tenant, the landlord can be fined.

The Property Must Be Fit For Habitation

Unless the tenancy on your property is for a fixed term that exceeds seven years, any property that you rent out as a landlord must be fit for human habitation when the tenancy is commenced, but there is also a stipulation that the property will be maintained throughout the tenancy, and that’s the responsibility of a landlord.

You must also give a reasonable amount of notice to a tenant if you wish to enter the premises to inspect or carry out any maintenance/repairs. Reasonable in the Act is 24 hours. You must also only do this at a ‘reasonable’ time of the day.

A landlord is responsible for keeping both the interior and the exterior of the home in good repair, and that includes aspects such as the gas and electricity supply, water and drains, and any central heating systems and boilers.

If the property is a flat or maisonette, the landlord is also responsible for repairs to any other parts of the building which you own, if letting them get into disrepair would affect your tenant. However, you are not responsible for any damage that has been caused by a tenant.

The tenant is not expected to be responsible for carrying out any repairs to the property, apart from to any items that they are entitled to take away at the end of the tenancy, or by previous agreement.

In some cases where there is a dispute, a county court can make an order that a landlord carries out certain repairs.

Failure to Comply

Local authorities have powers to prosecute landlords if they don’t fulfil their legal obligations under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. The areas that they can and will take action include the provision of a rent book books failure to disclose the correct information when requested.