Do we at some point get asked for the EPC to upload it so it’s sent once the tenancy is setup I am sure it mentioned somewhere Open Rent serve this on the Landlord’s behalf.
Do we receive confirmation also that the tenant has been notified of their deposit being deposited successfully into the DPS?
And also at which stage does Open Rent send the tenant the How To Rent Guide?
I assume you don’t upload recent electrical safety certificates and auto send them to the tenant?
Thanks!
Hi Daniel,
You can upload your EPC to the advert - this is a good idea and the best way to make sure every tenant you engage has access to your valid EPC. As you know, you also need to confirm whether you have a valid EPC to show tenants as part of the ad-creation process. We don’t actively serve EPCs to tenants at the moment, however.
We do serve the prescribed tenancy deposit information as part of Rent Now. It’s contained in the tenancy agreement that all parties sign, so if the tenants have signed, then you’ll know they have been served the prescribed information.
The same thing applies for the Right to Rent guide. Landlords/agents aren’t required to have receipt of this information confirmed by signature, but that’s something we do so landlords have peace of mind!
Thanks Sam, so are you saying the EPC is contained with in the tenancy signing or do landlords have to do this separately or?
do we have to send them gas safety manually too?
i thought Open Rent helped landlords with all these legal docs we now have to send actually.
Hey Daniel,
Legally, in England & Wales, you need to be able to show tenants a valid EPC if you’re advertising property to let.
Really, the EPC should be in the advert. The best practice is always the put the valid EPC in the advert and this is already law in Scotland.
That’s the best thing for the tenant and the landlord, and the strictest interpretation of the guidance. OpenRent can’t do this for you, since we don’t have access to every landlords person documents – just like how we can’t upload your property photos for you. But you can upload it in a few seconds by adding it as an image to your OpenRent advert’s photos.
If you don’t have an EPC, then you can order one through our site, so we ensure that all landlords able to meet EPC legal obligations.
As you know, landlords need to have a gas safety check performed every 12 months. You can order this on OpenRent, too. Serving it the tenant is not something we currently do, but all the law requires is that it is sent to them.
We make this easy by providing a digital report than you can simply forward to the tenant when the report is completed.
Sam
Hi Sam, I came here to ask this question too. My first time letting via OpenRent and so far I’m impressed. The gas safety certificate has to be given to the tenant before they commence the tenancy along with the prescribed info, the how to rent guide, EPC, etc etc. It would be good if landlords could upload their docs and have them included with the agreement you send the tenants.
Agreed yeah. I mean if the EPC is in the ad no problem.
Not sure how a court would view it unless I had given them a paper copy or emailed them but better than nothing.
Mainly for me the gas safety included when sent with the How To Rent Guide and Deposit info.
It’s not a huge deal but if Open Rent was able
to provide a service where it helps Landlords protect themselves from not being able to service S21 notices it would be valuable to a lot of landlords.
Lots of new regulations these last few years it’s left me slightly anxious sometimes when setting up new tenancies, and I have researched the laws, not sure how those who don’t do much keeping up to the date with the laws are doing.
If Open Rent offered a service included in Rent Now where it states exactly what the landlords needs to send and allows them to upload all those docs before the tenancy is setup so a landlord can feel confident his back is covered regards to being able to service S21s (if needed) and also having peace of mind he has followed the laws regarding docs he needs to serve on new tenancies I predict most landlords would be very appreciative of that.