Hi all,
Im new to all this so i need to clarify… do i need to get a gas and electric safety certificate as im only letting out 1 room in a flat i myself live in and have lived in for the past 23 years? Or is it just for landlords letting out complete flats or houses?
Also do i need a CO2 alarm? All i have is a smoke alarm at present.
Thanks in advance.
Yes to the gas cert, i think yes to the electric cert too
but would have to check. Tenant Fees Act also applies. Its a CO alarm not CO2 and you need one if you have gas appliances or open fires/wood burners.
Google some lodger landlord websites and they will tell you all the legal requirements. There are some quite good sites that Ive seen.
you check your own gas boiler every year ? So you are half .way there. No harm in getting a 5 year elec cert for peace of mind , for the whole place . Fit carbon monoxide alarm anyway. Cover all bases whether legally required or not
I installed a CO2 alarm once. Had to get rid of it in the end and it kept going off all the time…
This is helpful site as it differentiates between tenants and lodgers.
Apparently, i only need a gas check but not electric… although its advised, its not legally required.
Julie18
As a live in landlord I don’t believe you need to have gas and electric certificates the same as landlords who rent out whole properties. You just need to make sure the property is reasonably safe for the tenant. The government incentivise property owners with tax breaks through their ‘rent a room scheme’ and it would be counter productive to require live in landlords to meet the same standards as a landlord that rents out a whole property. E.g. unless your property has recently been rewired it will most likely fail an Electrical Installation Condition Report and would cost several £100 to bring it up to spec.
Thank you Christopher… this is exactly what i was thinking but i cant seem to get a definitive answer so ive emailed Open Rent directly. Ill let you all know what they say when i hear from them.
Thanks to all the replies though.
Christopher, youre wrong about the gas cert. It is required for resident landlords.
David122
Renting to lodgers is an area that I am not too familiar with. Thinking about it, the requirement of a gas cert makes sense and is not too heavy a cost for a live in landlord👍
I didn’t think Openrent did / offered Lodger agreement options, just AST for tenants.
If it goes off and it is not that it need a battery change. Then it is doing its job
Yep… turned out my house had CO2 absolutely everywhere. Looked into it and it turned out that I was the source. I had to move out…
We have let two adjoining rooms in our house to a lodger and the council came around to look at the house and particularly the 2 rooms. They stated to send them either an annual gas certificate or annual gas service carried out. No electricity certificate required. I hope this helps.
We normally have an annual gas service done.
@tiberlillies1410
Thank you so much! I have the gas certificate ppl coming on Wednesday, i now have a carbon monoxide and 2 fire alarms so i should be completely legal then.
You are welcome! We had fire alarms and carbon monoxide already.
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