{"id":6035141,"date":"2021-06-30T09:40:18","date_gmt":"2021-06-30T08:40:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.buyassociation.co.uk\/?p=6035141"},"modified":"2021-06-30T09:40:18","modified_gmt":"2021-06-30T08:40:18","slug":"new-regulations-and-rules-buy-to-let-landlords-need-to-be-aware-of","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-us\/news\/new-regulations-and-rules-buy-to-let-landlords-need-to-be-aware-of\/","title":{"rendered":"New rules and regulations buy-to-let landlords need to be aware of"},"content":{"rendered":"

With a number of new regulations in the private rented sector, it\u2019s more important than ever for buy-to-let landlords to know and keep up with the latest rules, regulations and best practice. <\/strong><\/p>\n

In recent years, the buy-to-let market has become more professionalised<\/a>. While increased regulation is not always popular, it does mean there\u2019s more accountability within the private rented sector. And this is further improving the standards of the sector.<\/p>\n

There have been a number of recent regulation changes buy-to-let landlords<\/a> need to be aware of. Here are some of the new rules all landlords need to know about.<\/p>\n

Electrical safety standards<\/h4>\n

Landlords need to ensure that all of their privately rented properties comply with the new electrical safety regulations<\/a>. This is part of the government\u2019s drive to improve standards across the private rented sector.<\/p>\n

These new rules are in place to ensure all fixed electrical installations and wiring are checked and tested by a qualified electrician. This includes sockets, wiring, fuse box and any other fixed electrical parts.<\/p>\n

If any remedial work is necessary to fix any faults, landlords must hire a qualified person to carry this work out. Once all electrical fixtures and fittings are compliant, landlords should obtain a written report and supply this to their tenants.<\/p>\n

Updated Right to Rent rules<\/h4>\n

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Right to Rent checks<\/a> have been undertaken by video call with a scanned photo or copy of the original documents since March 2020. As things stand, letting agents and landlords will need to revert to in-person checks from 1 September. The exception is checks for tenants with a Home Office status.<\/p>\n

There are new changes for EU, EEA and Swiss nationals that come into effect from 1 July due to Brexit. Moving forward, Right to Rent checks will be based on immigration status instead of national identification.<\/p>\n

Prospective tenants who successfully applied for a UK visa or to the EU Settlement Scheme will need to provide evidence of their immigration status. The government has a code of practice<\/a> on how Right to Rent checks must be carried out.<\/p>\n

Changing notice periods and eviction notices<\/h4>\n

Throughout the pandemic, the government put a ban on evictions<\/a> and added longer notice periods of six months in England. Eviction notice periods<\/a> have been lowered. Since 1 June, landlords must give tenants at least four months\u2019 notice for repossession.<\/p>\n

There are also new forms for Section 8 and 21 notices. These documents are always available on the government\u2019s website<\/a>. Landlords must ensure they provide the most up-to-date version when serving notice.<\/p>\n

As things stand, notice periods will return to pre-pandemic levels from 1 October. This will be subject to progress with the roadmap out of lockdown and public health advice.<\/p>\n

Prepare for future changes<\/h4>\n

There have been many changes for buy-to-let landlords in recent years. And additional reforms are coming forward in the private rented sector later this year.<\/p>\n

Announced in the Queen\u2019s Speech<\/a>, the government\u2019s consultation response on reforming tenancy law and abolishing Section 21<\/a> is expected to come forward later this year. Proposals of the lifetime tenancy deposit scheme is also likely to come forward.<\/p>\n

A white paper on renting reform will be published in autumn of this year. After that, legislation will likely follow shortly afterwards. Because of this, buy-to-let landlords will need to prepare for these changes.<\/p>\n

Whether you\u2019re an experienced property investor or a small first-time buy-to-let landlord<\/a>, the rules apply to everyone. It\u2019s important that landlords continue to keep ahead of updated rules and regulations<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Angela Davey, president of ARLA Propertymark<\/a>, says:\u00a0\u201cWhether you\u2019re an accidental landlord or a professional one, the same rules apply, so it\u2019s essential you\u2019re up to speed before marketing your property.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cYou are ultimately allowing a stranger into your biggest asset and therefore it is critical that you do your research, keeping in mind all parties with a vested interest in the property. If you haven\u2019t complied with all these important steps at the start of the tenancy, you may find yourself in a vulnerable position should anything go wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is a wealth of knowledge available to buy-to-let landlords. Bodies such as the ARLA Propertymark,\u00a0National Residential Landlords Association and British Landlords Association are good places to start. The government also offers a raft of resources on rules and regulations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With a number of new regulations in the private rented sector, it\u2019s more important than ever for buy-to-let landlords to know and keep up with the latest rules, regulations and best practice. In recent years, the buy-to-let market has become more professionalised. While increased regulation is not always popular, it does mean there\u2019s more accountability… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1982,"featured_media":14471,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,18],"tags":[15,71,345],"class_list":["post-6035141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buy-to-let-landlords","category-property-investment-guides","tag-landlords","tag-private-rented-sector","tag-regulation"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6035141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1982"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6035141"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6035141\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6035141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6035141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6035141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}