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There are no laws that specifically mention landlord’s or tenant’s responsibilities for trees and it is usually dependent on the Tenancy Agreement to decide. Trees are technically part of the ‘property’ the tenant is renting. For a range of reasons ‘generally’ tenants are not good at maintaining gardens. The idea of sitting on a groomed…

In England & Wales, there are two routes to achieve a safe and legal installation: 1. Installation by a HETAS registered installer When a HETAS registered engineer has completed an installation, they self-certify their work as compliant with legal requirements. The consumer will receive a HETAS Certificate of Compliance and the installation is notified to…

Anyone employed to work on gas appliances in domestic premises must be a Gas Safe registered engineer and competent in that area of gas work. The gas engineer’s competencies are clearly marked on the back of the engineer’s Gas Safe Register ID card. If in any doubt you can ring Gas Safe Register 0800 408…

New research shows that the average length of time a rental property is unoccupied in the UK rental property is three weeks, the longest period since the beginning of 2011. The figures come from the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) which is suggesting landlords take action to avoid these empty ‘void’ periods. “Void periods…

Contrary to popular opinion amongst gas engineers the installation of CO detectors is not yet (May 2012) law. The Household Safety (Carbon Monoxide Detectors) Bill 2010-12 had it’s first reading in the House of Commons on 3rd November 2011 so at some point in the future all homes will need to have a detector fitted.…

There is a lot of mis-information and ignorance around this topic so here is a quick guide. Gas safety in property is covered by the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 Duties of landlords are covered in Part F, Regulation 36 (found here) Very briefly the regulations require that every landlord shall ensure that:…

The end of another tax year and as landlords think about their tax return they may be wondering what costs can be deducted from rental income. Costs that can be deducted are as follows: * Financing costs * Repairs and maintenance (but not property improvements) * Heating and lighting (where paid by the landlord) *…

It is essential that your rented property has an inventory. The vast majority of tenancies will now take a deposit which will be protected under one of the government authorised tenancy deposit schemes. If there is any dispute at the end of the tenancy regarding the deductions which the landlord wishes to make from the…

Just who is responsible for pests in the property during the tenancy? If the pest problem is caused by disrepair (e.g. holes in floor permitting mice to enter property) then it is the landlord’s responsibility. If the pest problem is caused by the actions of the tenant after the start of the tenancy it is…

Start a customer service revolution today. Everything thing you do at work whether it is answering e-mails, writing letters, working on the next PowerPoint or the next new marketing campaign STOP! And ask yourself some questions: Does the customer value what I am doing? Not sure of the answer? Ask yourself the same question in…