Why Landlords work with us

THE TENANCY DEPOSIT PROTECTION SCHEME

Under the provisions of the Housing Act 2004 every landlord or letting agent that takes a deposit for an Assured Short-hold Tenancy in England and Wales must join a Tenancy Deposit Scheme. The new regulations came into effect from April 6, 2007. The purpose of this regulation is to ensure good practice. The secondary purpose of the new regulations is to try and keep disputes between landlords and tenants out of the courts by encouraging Alternative Dispute Resolution.

In November 2006, three companies were awarded contracts by The Government to run Tenancy Deposit Schemes:

CUSTODIAL SCHEME

•  The Deposit Protection Service (The DPS)

INSURANCE BACKED SCHEMES

• Tenancy Deposit Solutions Ltd (TDSL), now trading as My Deposits.

• The Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS)

Haystack Property Ltd uses The Deposit Protection Service (The DPS):

Deposit Protection Service, The Pavilions, Bridgwater Road, Bristol, BS99 6AA

Telephone number: 0870 707 1707

Email: enquiries@depositprotection.com

OBTAINING REFERENCES

Arguably, the most important factor when letting the property is the prospective tenant. The whole success of letting depends on finding the right tenant. If an applicant wishes to proceed with a tenancy, we will assess their suitability.

The Tenant Fees Act 2019 came into force on 1 June 2019.  This dictates that the reference costs will now have to be paid by the landlord.  Haystack Property Ltd aims to be clear and transparent; rather than increase the tenancy set up fee, the simple cost of referencing each tenant will be paid by the landlord.  This fee will be per tenant and is £52.00.

Haystack Property Ltd works with Canopy to conduct and complete all tenant referencing.  This is to ensure the reference process is completed thoroughly and to give as much confidence as is possible to the landlord that their tenant is suitable.  In addition to all the standard checks, Canopy also cover:

Canopy Default Tenant Check

They keep a database of tenants who have defaulted on rent protection policies and check any potential tenants against this database – which has around 14,000 records. If your applicant is found as a match on our database, this would be flagged to you, which could save a costly eviction process in the future.

Financial Sanctions Check

Canopy check the tenant isn’t listed on any of the government’s asset freezing lists, as this could affect their ability to pay rent in the future.

Bank Validation

If the applicant supplies bank details, they will be checked to see if this is a live UK bank account – which could avoid you setting up a tenancy with phoney bank details.

CIFAS check

Canopy check every potential tenant against CIFAS – if a CIFAS match is found, they may review how they handle the application, ie they may not accept supporting documents such as payslips from someone who has been a perpetrator of fraud. This intelligence will allow them to detect high risk tenants who pose a larger risk to a business and could be costly down the line.

IP Address Check

Their system recognises IP addresses for anything completed online. If a referee supplies a reference from the same IP as the applicant, our system will flag up to double check the reference, which could stop a potentially fraudulent reference

Employer Validation

Canopy have a validation process whereby they check the employer details provided against what they can find online. If it doesn’t match, they ask for further details such as payslips and contract. Similarly, they don’t accept employment references from anything but a business email, unless it is provided on company headed paper. This is done to ensure the reference from a legitimate company.

All necessary legal paperwork, including an inventory, will be prepared and signed and any outstanding balances settled by the tenant before the tenancy commences.

IMPORTANT SAFETY AND LEGAL REQUIREMENTS

GAS SAFETY

The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 state landlords must ensure that gas appliances, fittings and flues are safe for the tenant’s use, and that installation, maintenance and annual safety checks are carried out by a technician registered with the Gas Safety Register (which superseded CORGI on 1st April 2009).

The landlord must keep a record of the safety check for two years. They must issue a copy to each existing tenant within 28 days of the check being completed and issue a copy to any new tenants before they move in.

ELECTRICAL SAFETY

As of 1 April 2021, all rental properties must have an EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report).  These regulations require all landlords to have the electrical installations in their properties inspected and tested by a qualified person at least every 5 years. They must obtain a report from the qualified person and provide a copy of this to their tenants, and to the local council if requested.

The aim is consistent electrical safety across every rented home. Faulty wiring causes fires and electric shocks, and before 2021 the standard varied hugely from one rental to the next. The Regulations set a single benchmark so that every tenant lives somewhere that has actually been checked.

All electrical certifications should be carried out by a registered electrician for example, one who is registered with the National Inspection Council for Electrical Installers and Contractors (NICEIC). 

FIRE SAFETY

The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 (as amended in 1989 and 1993) sets minimum fire resistance standards for domestic upholstered furniture, furnishings and other products containing upholstery that remain in a dwelling during a tenancy.

These include any of the following which contain upholstery:

• Furniture intended for private use in a dwelling, including children's furniture

• Beds, head-boards of beds, mattresses (of any size)

• Sofa-beds, futons and other convertibles

• Nursery furniture, garden furniture suitable for use in a dwelling

• Scatter cushions, pillows, seat pads and loose and stretch covers for furniture

The Regulations do not apply to:

• furniture made before 1950

• sleeping bags

• bed-clothes (including duvets)

• loose covers for mattresses

• pillowcases

• curtains

• carpets

For items that do apply, a suitable label must be attached to the furniture in a prominent position so that the label will be clearly visible to a potential purchaser of the furniture and the wording on both sides can be read with reasonable ease. Examples of these labels can be seen above.

SMOKE ALARMS & CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTORS

After 1st October 2015 the landlord must ensure that a smoke alarm is equipped on each storey of the premises on which there is a room used wholly or partly as living accommodation. Additionally, landlords must ensure that there is a carbon monoxide alarm fitted in any room that is used partly or wholly as living accommodation which also contains any appliance which burns, or is capable of burning, solid fuel. This would include log and coal burning stoves and open fires.

ENERGY PERFORMANCE CERTIFICATE

With effect from 1st October 2008, all new tenancies require an Energy Performance Certificate. Their purpose is to determine how energy efficient homes are on a scale of A-G. The most efficient homes - which should have the lowest fuel bills - are in band A. The certificate uses the same scale to define the impact a home has on the environment. Better-rated homes should have less impact through carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The average property in the UK is in bands D-E for both ratings.

The certificate includes recommendations on ways to improve the home's energy efficiency to save money and help the environment.

INSURANCE

The landlord must insure the building and any contents which will be listed on the inventory.  The tenant will also insure their own belongings.