Fire and safety checklist

27 June 2018

In a further effort to get a grip on the burgeoning rental market and to clampdown on rogue landlords, the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government has updated the How to rent: the checklist for renting in England.

It includes information about safety, including smoke alarms, and refers tenants to a second new document, How to rent a safe home, which includes a checklist of what tenants should look for before they rent and what to do if they identify hazards.

Landlords are being asked to give the guidance to current and prospective tenants and are being told that they "cannot use the Section 21 (no fault) eviction procedure unless an up-to-date version of this guide has been provided to the tenant.

"These guides form a key part of government’s continuing crackdown on poor practice by a minority of landlords and agents in the private rented and leasehold sectors. Evidence shows that Citizens Advice helped 65,000 private renters with more than 100,000 problems about their tenancy in 2017.

"As part of government’s commitment to ensure everyone has a decent, safe place to live, the ‘how to’ guides include checklists for new and existing tenants, landlords and letting agents to ensure they are complying with their legal responsibilities."

Original source

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government