Landlords

Landlord Requirements

• Register as a Landlord with Aberdeen City Council

All joint owners must individually register as a Landlord with the relevant local authority of the property to be Let.  It is the Landlord’s responsibility to register with the Scottish Landlord Registration Scheme and to advise Caroline Walker Property Leasing Ltd of the applicable Landlord and property references.  It is a criminal offence to act as an unregistered Landlord.  In registering as a Landlord, the Landlord will advise the local authority of our appointment as their managing agent quoting our agency reference number which can be provided as required.

• Landlord Gas Safety Certificate (LGSC)

Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1994

Gas appliances and installations must be checked and found to be safe by a GasSafe registered engineer. The necessary certificate must be provided to the Agent. The LGSC should be renewed annually.

• Domestic Energy Assessment (EPC)

Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards

As from the 1st April 2018 there will be a requirement for any properties rented out in the private rented sector to normally have a minimum energy performance rating of E on an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). The regulations will come into force for new lets and renewals of tenancies with effect from 1st April 2018 and for all existing tenancies on 1st April 2020. It will be unlawful to rent a property which breaches the requirement for a minimum E rating, unless there is an applicable exemption. Every Let property must hold a valid EPC and the EPC rating must be displayed on all property leasing adverts. The EPC must be renewed every 10 years.

• Electrical Inspection Condition Report (EICR)

• Portable Appliance Test (PAT)

Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016

The wiring at the property relating to both fixed electrical equipment and that incorporated into the building itself must meet all electrical and fire safety regulations. A suitably qualified contractor should check the wiring on a regular basis. An EICR should be completed before a tenancy and the certificate lasts 5 years. The portable appliance testing will need to be renewed annually.

• Hard Wired Smoke Detectors & Heat Sensors

The landlord has a duty to ensure the smoke detector system at the property is hard wired.  The property should have interlinked smoke alarms in all living spaces and a heat sensor in the kitchen.  The landlord understands that any existing battery operated system should be replaced with a hard-wired interlinked system.  This is in compliance with the Repairing standard set out in the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006. The landlord will be responsible for the cost of replacement or upgrading.

• Legionella Risk Assessment

The Landlord will ensure that the risk of exposure to Legionella is reduced by regular risk assessments and controls and no later than five working days before the commencement of a tenancy and provide evidence of compliance.   

• Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988

All soft furnishings in furnished or partially furnished properties must comply with fire resistance requirements that came into force in 1988.

• Repairing Standard

Landlords are now required to inspect their property before a tenancy starts to identify any potential issues in their property.  This is applicable to all new and existing tenancies and the Repairing Standard extends previous obligations on Landlords to repair and maintain their property.  The main issues covered by the Repairing Standard are as follows:

a)       The property is fit for human habitation.

b)      The property is in reasonable repair and proper working order.

c)       All supplies and waste provisions to the property are in proper working order.

d)      All fixtures, fittings and appliances are in property working order.

e)      All furnishings are safe and fit for the purpose of which they are designed.

There are hard wired smoke alarms and heat sensors as required.

Our Commitment to Landlords

Client Money Protection

As a member of ARLA Propertymark, you can be sure with CWPL that all Landlords’ and Tenants’ money is protected by Client Money Protection (CMP). The Propertymark Conduct and Membership Rules can be found here : https://www.propertymark.co.uk/working-in-the-industry/member-requirements/.

All client money is held in an independent “Client Account” which is kept separate from all business accounts. Rent payments are transferred to Landlords within 5 working days. All deposit payments will be sent on to Safe Deposits Scotland for the duration of the tenancy.

As an ARLA Propertymark member, we adhere to the Property Ombudsman Code of Practice and more details of the code can be found here: http://www.propertymark.co.uk/media/1045366/conduct-and-membership-rules.pdf

Complaints

Caroline Walker Property Leasing Ltd are committed to providing a professional service to all our Landlords and Tenants.  When something goes wrong, we urge you to tell us about it.  This will help us to improve our standards.  If you have a complaint, please put it in writing either via email or letter and include as much detail as possible about your complaint. 

If you have a complaint about our service of a contractor or third party who we have instructed to provide goods or services in relation to a property owned by or occupied by you, please write down the details of your complaint and send it to:  Caroline Walker Property Leasing Ltd, 100 Forest Avenue, Aberdeen, AB15 4TL.  The agent will acknowledge your complaint within three working days and we will then investigate it further.  This will normally be dealt with by a manager who will review your file and speak to the person(s) in question.  A formal written email outcome of our investigation will be sent to you within 10 working days of sending the acknowledgement email.  If at this stage, you are still not satisfied, you should contact us again and we will arrange for a separate review to take place by the Director of CWPL.  We will email you within 15 working days of receiving your request for a review, confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons for this decision.   

You may apply to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing & Property Chamber) if we have breached the Scottish Letting Agent Code of Practice and you remain dissatisfied once the above steps have been exhausted, or if we do not process your complaint within a reasonable timescale.  You can contact the Tribunals Centre, 20 York St, Glasgow G2 8GT.  More details can be found at: http://www.housingandpropertychamber.scot