Any imperative advice before I start?

Landlord Discussion
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I’m finally just about to embark on letting out my 3 bed house. It’s all decorated ready to go, I’ve had a brand new boiler & now just need the electric checks & a gas check for the hob.

Question; can I just get a test on the gas hob alone ?

Also does anyone know if it’s cheaper to use an independent electrician or an open rent provided one & would they also do any work they might find needs doing ?

I also need an EPIC, is this cheaper via open rent too or is it better to go to an independent company, are there any free services available for this too ?

What do you experts think of social housing options ? Is it a good option ?

I’d really appreciate any serious advice before I embark on the process please.

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Social housing ? Forget it . The council is NOT your friend. I EPC privately. Use own elec . man. New boiler will have been tested? Should have had the hob done then

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@katepereira_1

The gas safety record has to cover all devices including the (gas combi?) boiler but is the same price regardless. Make sure they properly record your address not just the property address otherwise it can be an issue if you ever have it queried/have to evict. The gas engineer will normally also carry out a ‘tightness’ test on the whole system (recommended by gas saferegister and hse) tho not strictly legally needed

Openrent services get slated on these fora because when done badly there is no recourse and aren’t necessarily cheaper tho as they charge a national rate they might be cheaper in London. You have no idea of the quality of the trades they send so it may be cheaper but may not be best.

Good luck

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Here we go again !! :joy: :joy:

Concur with @Colin3 @David240

Dont rush to get any tenant - get the best and most stable you can find, its worth it in the end.

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@katepereira_1

If you are new to being a LL may be worth considering joining a LL association and doing training.

There’s various helpful guidance online

See eg First Time Landlord Checklist | NRLA

Also

Good luck

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Thanks, just to clarify I had the boiler fitted a year ago & the fitter tested the hob too at the time & included it in his test, but the service guy from the boiler company only serviced the boiler the other day, I didn’t ask if he could test the hob as I presumed he’d say no regardless, so now I need the hob tested on its own.

Hence my question, but thanks for responding.

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The Boiler service man is there to service the boiler nothing else. Being a new boiler it should be good, if a decent brand, for 20 - 25 years serviceable toil, when looked after and magnetic catcher cleaned yearly.

As a LL your main concern is Gas ‘tightness’ of all and any gas appliances - hob , boiler and supply pipework from the gas meter. so you need a yearly Gas Safety Certificate.

Try MyConstructor.co.uk for your locality. At least it gives you ballpark figures to work with if nothing else. check trustpilot for ratings if you need full reassurance.

Absolutely concur with @David240 and NRLA training

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The lettings game can chew up and spit out your lovely newly-decorated house and brand new boiler, let alone you yourself so so you really do need to do what David240 says… become a member of the N R L A and do their training ASAP.

Simply from your very first message, it’s obvious that there are wide range of things that you’re unlikely to be aware of.

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You can get just the hob tested

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A boiler service isn’t the same as a GSR which has to cover all gas appliances (except any separate ones owned by tenant) so even tho the boiler service will have made sure the boiler was safe you still need a gsr covering both the boiler.and the hob. There are specific items identified in law that have to be in the gsr (others can dig out the gas regulations) extract below. As a simple example the boiler service won’t normally contain details of the LL address (or agent address) unlike the GSR.

Ask any Gas Safe engineer they will I’m pretty sure confirm the GSR needs to include the boiler irrespective of the recent service.

Best

Landlord Gas Safety Record: the low down

As a landlord letting a residential property, you have a legal duty to ensure it’s safe for your tenants. This means you’re required by law to get a Gas Safe registered engineer to do an annual gas safety check on all gas appliances - and it’s the results of these checks that are recorded in your Landlord Gas Safety Record. You’ll receive a copy, and you’ll need to provide a record of this check to your tenants.

In your record, you should find:

  • A description and location of each appliance or flue that was checked
  • The name, registration number and signature of the engineer who made the checks
  • The date the checks were carried out
  • The address of the property where the appliances or flues are installed
  • Your name and address (or an agent’s where applicable)
  • Information on any safety defects and actions needed or taken to fix them
  • The results of all operational safety checks carried out on the appliances

The gas pipework in your rented property must also be kept in a safe condition. Installation pipework is not covered by the annual gas safety check, but both we and the HSE recommend that when you request a safety check, you ask your Gas Safe registered engineer to:

  • Test for tightness on the whole gas system, including installation pipework
  • Visually examine the pipework (so far as is reasonably practicable)

Want to see an example of what the Landlord Gas Safety Record should look like? Download it here.

https://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/gas-safety/gas-safety-certificates-records/gas-safety-record/

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@katepereira_1 robably true if the engineer doing the gsr is the same as the one who did the boiler servicing recently as they can record the previous checks on the boiler. But a copy of the gsr still has to be given to the tenant and it still needs to include all gas appliances provided by the LL including the boiler. I could be wrong but that’s the advice I got from a Gas Safe engineer and that matches what I found online but @katepereira_1 can check with GSR suppliers.

I had a new boiler installed recently and then checked and as I had a hob I found I needed a GSR and the engineer who installed the boiler was able to come back and do the GSR which covered both the boiker and the hob but obv there was no need to do a full service of the boiler…

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Do the landlord training before you market it. Think carefully about what kind of tenants you want and stick to your guns. Be prepared to go without rent for 2-3 months to make sure you get the right tenants. And don’t have any emotional attachment to the house, its state of decoration,etc it is just an asset.

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When deciding on tenant use head not heart . Forget the sob stories , we all have a sob story and remember some people lie, so check and check. Talk face to face. Go on your first gut feeling

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My advice is sell it now. You know little , there is no shame in that but today you are playing russian roulette in private rental.

Yes of course can get a gas hob done separately thats why i always fitted electric

Stay away from social housing if you can

if you dont know the rules get an agent,

the council may appear friendly but they are your worst potential enemy. iago has nothing on some of them

but honestly dont get into rental now its a truly poisoned chalice. You dont yet understand that today when you rent its not your house anymore, the law is massively on the tenants side

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Any gas certificate is only valid for a year, so unless the service guy issued a new cert you will need that tested also.

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For the EPC (not EPIC :wink: ) I’ve just used OpenRent and it was cheap (£50) and super easy to arrange. For gas and electric (EICR) I’d use well-reviewed local tradesmen or a recommendation from someone you know. It’s good to build up a relationship with ones you trust as you’ll likely be needing them regularly over the years.

Definitely do the landlord training. Be super picky about tenants, get thorough references, guarantors/rent guarantee insurance etc. Remember that if you pick the wrong one it could take a year or more to evict them while they pay no rent and potentially trash your newly redecorated house, or sublet etc. Can your finances withstand that? The RRA has made choosing reliable tenants even more of an imperative than it already was.

Good luck!

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@katepereira_1

What do you now think about being an embattled LL?

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Some of us are your friend but I do understand the hesitancy.

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Unless you plan (have a serious business plan) to grow a substantial portfolio as a specific business I would suggest you don’t start in this field. Sell the house and find an easier investment / income source.

If you are totally reliant on tradesmen, have no / little knowledge of the letting business and court procedures you could be on a hiding to nothing. It is a very risky business, and future legislation will not be in your favour as a landlord, nor is the legal system or the associated bureaucracy.

This business is not an easy fast buck, as many tenants would have you believe, it can be hard work if you are self managing, expensive, legally onerous, stressful and demoralising. Think hard and be absolutely certain you are the right personality to cope with it.

Conversely, you could get a fantastic tenant who is clean, stays for years and never defaults or causes problems, even from DSS (with a guarantor). But, that is the gamble you need to be prepared to take.

You obviously have some knowledge of the legislative requirements, but knowledge of the building / maintenance is advantageous so as not to be totally reliant on tradesmen and what they tell you.

You need to be a good judge of character and see through the prospective tenants polished presentation at viewings, they can lie. As others have said, ignore sob stories or any excuse to deviate from the requirements / contract terms.

My portfolio was built from wrecks with personal sweat equity to enhance the appreciation and ROI and to avoid high leverage, with hands on maintenance & management over many years until retiring overseas. It has given us a decent standard of living but at a considerable cost in time, physical damage, even violent abuse, and grey hair. I’ve also seen “investors” who leveraged to the limit go broke.

I currently have an excellent letting agent, but I’ve also had nightmare ones, no guarantees there either.

Just my personal (42 yrs. experience) opinion, for what it’s worth. Good luck.

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@katepereira_1

Each LL has a different reason for renting out. Inheriting a propety. having/ needing a secondary top up income. moving away from a property for work relocation/ sabatical reasons.

It depends

Seems @katepereira_1 has disappeared?