Hello, l started renting out my property in October 2021, and Haarts managed everything. It’s just come to light that they are asking for an EICR. I didn’t know what one was until couple of weeks ago.
It’s a legal requirement since April 2021.
Haarts are not having it, saying they complied with the law at the time. Any views?
Who is asking for the EICR? Unfortunately, regardless of what was or wasn’t done, if you’ve got no evidence that an EICR was done and don’t have the paperwork to back it up, you need to get one done as quickly as you can.
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It’s a legal requirement from April 2021 so they should have been aware of this when l went with them to property manage my property. I ve basically had building and contents insurance invalid for 3.5 years.
I ve contacted property ombudsman now as exhausted all the procedures with Haarts
I understand that but ultimately it’s your responsibility as a landlord to make sure you’re following the law. The agents are just there to act on your instruction.
So, regardless of what’s happened previously, your first priority should be to get compliant now.
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Don’t agree. The law might say I m responsible, but Haarts should know the law
That’s fine if you don’t agree, you’re obviously entitled to your opinion.
I think you need to check what your agreement with Haarts says. It may say who is responsible for making sure the checks are done/valid.
any fines from the local Authority will be to you not your agent. You ALWAYS need to check agents , or do not use them
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The terms and conditions say they recommend an electrical safety certificate, not worded as EICR
What do you mean check agents. They should know what they’re doing
YOU should know what they are doing . That is what helps to make a good landlord . The buck stops with you no matter what you say here
Ok so did you get an electrical safety certificate?
It could be that the requirement for an EICR was so new when you signed with them that they hadn’t updated the wording in their contract from ‘recommend’ to ‘require’ but either way, from what you’ve posted, it was never in your agreement for the agents to arrange an EICR so that was on you to arrange.
I really don’t understand why people in this country seem to have a real problem with taking responsibility for their own mistakes and always look for someone else to blame.
At the end of the day, you screwed up so you need to put things right by getting an EICR if you haven’t already done so. No good getting tetchy with people on an online forum.
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Id be amazed that a letting agent, in 2024 or 2025 would allow the rental to proceed without a satisfactory EICR being part of the pack to r given to the tenant
Maybe they take their cue from the world “leaders” who always blame someone else
Yes, exactly. I might as well have done it all myself. It’s not my fault
markleeks41
I agree, it is not your fault, you have paid an agent to manage your property and they should have dealt with this most basic legal compliance. However in the eyes of the law it is you as the landlord that they will seek to prosecute. You may remember a recent story of the Labour MP for Ilford South, Jas Athwal who used an agent to manage his property portfolio. His properties were found to be sub standard and they didn’t have licences which is a requirement of Redbridge Council. It was particularly embarrassing for the MP because before he became an MP in 2024 he was the leader of Redbridge Council and was credited with introducing the Selective Licencing Scheme.
They can’t legally advertise without an EICR so how did they not have one in place ?
The responsibility is joint. Haart should have done a better job, and you may have justifiable reasons to complain to them, but you should have done a better job at understanding your obligations as a Landlord. That’s your legal responsibility.
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