Letting out a house can often be quite daunting for a first time landlord
. There are several things to consider and several things that are a legal requirement. Here is a check list of things to remember when considering letting out your house
Mortgage Contact your mortgage provider and see if your current mortgage is applicable to rental properties. If it was previously mortgaged as your primary residence, it is very likely that you will have to change your mortgage.
Gas Safety If the house has a gas boiler or other appliances such as gas fires, you will need to get a landlords gas safety certificate. This is called a CP12 and is required to be updated every 12 months. Again this a legal requirement and failure to regularly renew this could land you in deep trouble.
Inventory Whether you are letting your house out as furnished or not furnished you will want an inventory as this will help in disagreements about the deposit. It allows you to have a signed record of the state of the house when you signed the contract. It can include photographs to indicate state of carpets, walls, curtains and woodwork when the tenants moved in.
Contract It almost goes without saying that you will need to get a contract created. A tenancy agreement can easily be purchased online for a little as 5 GBP
Building Insurance Check your buildings insurance policy this will also probably have to be modified if you are changing the house from your primary residence to a rental property
EPC Landlords are now required to get an Energy Performance Certificate on the property for letting it out.
Deposit Protection Scheme - Landlords are also required to store the tenants deposit in a deposit protection scheme which safeguards the tenant, to an extent, in cases of dispute.
This is not an exhaustive list of all things to consider but it is a good checklist of the fundamentals. If this checklist doesnt sound daunting to you, then get straight on with letting out your house! If the idea of arranging all these checks puts you off then you could consider approaching a letting agent who can help you with this. Letting agents can also help you find your tenants and can even provide management services if you dont fancy leaping to the telephone every time your tenant has a problem.