Solicitors in Aberdeenshire, North East Scotland

Permission from Lenders

If you have a mortgage over your property it is your responsibility to obtain written permission from your lender before you lease it out. An administration fee may be payable for obtaining this permission.

Landlord Registration

Since April 2006 all private landlords in Scotland must be registered. Each individual property to be leased must also be registered. It there are two owners of a property both have to be registered as landlords. Registration as a landlord and of a property are with the Council for the area in which the let property is located. A fee is payable for each landlord and for each individual property registered. On registration, you will be allocated a landlord reference number and you must give that to us as evidence that both you and your property are registered. Registration can be done on line at www.landlordregistrationscotland.gov.uk. If you do not have the facility to do this we can of course offer to do it for you at an agreed fee

When applying for registration you will need to enter our firm’s agent registration number: 16692/100/31170 for Aberdeen City, 16692/110/31170 for Aberdeenshire and 16692/300/31170 for Moray. If you have properties in more than one Council area you will need to use one of our reference numbers only.

Energy Performance Certificates

From 4th January 2009 all properties being leased out on a new lease require to have an Energy Performance Certificate. The certificate requires to be updated every ten years. A copy of the certificate must be kept in the rented property. We can put you in touch with appropriate providers of these certificates.

Multiple Occupancy

You will require a House In Multiple Occupancy Licence if you are to let your property to three or more unrelated persons. This may require you to carry out modifications to the property. A Scottish Executive booklet providing further details can be obtained from our offices. Alternatively you can contact your local Council direct to obtain further information and details of costs. In any event, you should note that it is an offence to allow your property to be occupied by three or more unrelated persons without having the appropriate HMO Licence – and committing this offence can result in a large fine.

Property Safety

To ensure the safety of your tenant, and to avoid any claims being made against you, you should ensure compliance with the following:

1. Gas Safety: all gas appliances, including central heating, must be safe and serviced in accordance with "Landlords Gas Safety Regulations". A Landlord's Gas Safety Certificate must be obtained on an annual basis from a Corgi registered plumber or engineer. One copy should be kept in the property. We will require a copy for our own files before we are able to lease out the property for you.
2. electrical equipment: Electrical equipment in privately rented houses in now subject to the "Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994 and all equipment should bear a British Safety Standard mark (CE mark) to show compliance with the regulations. You may wish to consider having all electrical appliances PAT tested for your own peace of mind.
3. Furniture: all furniture and furnishing s should comply with " The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988 as amended. All settees, armchairs mattresses and any other upholstered items should carry a label displaying a match and lighted cigarette symbol or reference to the regulations.
4. Smoke alarms: these should be fitted and batteries installed with the date of purchase clearly marked on them. You may wish to consider having smoke alarms "hard wired".

Repairing Standards and Private Rented Housing Panel

It is a landlord's duty to make sure a house meets the Repairing Standard at the start of the tenancy and at all times during it. The landlord must inspect the house before the tenancy starts, in order to identify work necessary to meet the Standard, and must notify the tenant of any work. Once the tenancy starts, the duty only applies where the landlord is aware that work needs to be done, for example, because the tenant has told them about this. The landlord must then carry out the work within a reasonable time. At the start of the tenancy, the landlord must provide the tenant with written information on the effect of the Repairing Standard in relation to their tenancy, including how it can be enforced through the PRHP. Guidance from the Scottish Executive states that in most cases landlords can fulfill this requirement by giving tenants a standard letter available from the PRHP website. There are a small number of exceptions to the landlord's duty to repair, for example, where the landlord is willing to carry out the work, but lacks the necessary rights to do so, despite having taken reasonable steps to acquire them. This might include a landlord being unable to gain access to the property to carry out the work. Landlords and tenants cannot contract out of the duty unless both parties agree and a sheriff grants consent to this arrangement. For further details ask for a copy of the Scottish Executive leaflet held at our offices.

Insurance

Responsibility for insuring both the building and contents will remain with you and you should contact your insurers to advise them that the property is to be leased out. This may result in a change in the terms of your policy, including an increase in the premium. The insurers may restrict who you have as tenants. Some insurers may decline to continue to provide insurance if the property is to be leased out.

You may wish to organise a specific landlord insurance policy which would provide for cover for loss of rent in the event that the property becomes uninhabitable for any reason and the tenant has to move out.

Insurance

You should bear in mind that any rent received is a taxable form of income which will need to be accounted for to the Inland Revenue on an annual basis in your tax return. There are taxable allowances which will reduce your total liability.

Going Abroad ?

If you are going to be resident abroad while your property is let out you will need to obtain clearance from the Inland Revenue to receive you rent gross (ie without deduction of income tax at the basic rate). If you do not have this clearance either the tenant, or ourselves as letting agents will require to deduct tax from the rental income and pay it across to the Inland Revenue. If you require such clearance please ask us for the contact details of the appropriate department of the Inland Revenue