Your responsibilities as a landlord

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If you rent out your property, you’re a landlord. As a landlord you must:

Gas safety

Landlords have gas safety responsibilities: the gas supply and appliances in a private rented home must be in a safe condition.

Gas boilers, fires and appliances must be fitted or repaired by a Gas Safe registered engineer.

A gas safety check must be carried out every 12 months by a Gas Safe registered engineer. This includes gas pipework, gas cookers, gas boilers, gas fires and gas water heaters. The landlord isn't responsible for the safety of gas appliances owned by tenants.

Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms

It is the responsibility of a private landlord to:

  • install a smoke alarm on every floor of their property
  • install a carbon monoxide alarm in any room used as living accommodation which contains a fixed combustion appliance. Note: From 1 October 2022, this includes gas appliances but excludes gas cookers.
  • check that alarms are working at the start of every new tenancy and repair or replace any defective alarms if reported as faulty.

If they fail to meet these responsibilities, which are set under the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 Act, the Council may serve a notice for the work to be carried out. Failure to comply will result in the work being carried out in default by the Council who will recover costs and impose a fine of up to £5,000.

If, as a landlord, you would like to know more about how to fit Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms in accordance with the relevant British Standards, you can read further information on Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm at Gov UK website.

Download a question and answer booklet for landlords and tenants

Electrical Safety in Private Rented Properties

The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 were introduced by the government. They ensure electrical installations in privately rented properties are safe. The regulations require landlords to arrange for regular inspections. They must also deal with any defects identified quickly, so there is no potential danger to the tenants.

Which properties do the regulations apply to?

The regulations applied to all new specified tenancies from 1 July 2020, and to existing specified tenancies from 1 April 2021.

A specified tenancy is one that:

  • grants one or more persons the right to occupy all or part of the premises as their only residence
  • provides for payment of rent (whether at market value or not)
  • is not an excluded tenancy

Excluded tenancies are:

  • long leases of seven years or more
  • where the tenant shares the property, or part, with the landlord (or a member of the landlord's family)
  • where the landlord is a registered social landlord
  • student halls of residence
  • hostels, refuges and care homes
  • hospitals, hospices and other care related accommodation

Landlord responsibilities

Landlords must ensure electrical safety standards are met before starting to let a property, and during any tenancy.

In order to do this, an inspection of the electrical installation must be carried out by a person who is qualified and registered with a competent person scheme every five years - or more frequently, if the most recent report requires it.

A copy of the report, known as the Electrical Safety Condition Report (EICR), must be provided to the tenant, and to the local authority if requested.

Action required by landlord

If the report identifies any code 1 (C1) defects indicating danger with a risk of injury, action must be taken to remove the risk by the competent person before leaving the property.

If there are code 2 (C2) defects indicating potential danger, the landlord must arrange for these defects to be dealt with by a competent person with 28 days - or sooner, if stated in the report.

If any part of the installation is noted as requiring further investigation (F1), the landlord must arrange for this to be carried out by a competent person within 28 days. If this results in further code 1 or 2 defects being identified, these must be dealt with in the time scales above.

Code 3 (C3) defects are advisory and a recommendation for improvement to the installation.

Landlords have a duty to comply with the regulations. Failure to do so can result in service of a remedial notice, requiring works to be carried out to make the installation safe. If the notice is not complied with, the Council can apply a penalty of up to £30,000 and/or arrange for the works to be carried out and recover costs.

Download statement of principles and penalties under electrical safety standards

For more information, please read the government’s guidance about electrical safety standards for landlords.

You can also email our Private Sector Housing team.

Right to Rent

All private landlords have to make right to make rent checks. This means checking that tenants have the right to be in the UK.

What this means for landlords

You need to make right to rent checks if you:

  • are a private landlord
  • have a lodger
  • are sub-letting a property
  • are an agent appointed by a landlord to make right to rent checks.

What this means for tenants

All tenants with tenancy agreements for privately rented accommodation after 1 February 2016 will be checked by a landlord or agent to make sure they have the right to rent.

Tenants who sub-let their room will also need to make right to rent checks.

Documents tenants can provide

Landlords will need to see certain documents which prove that the tenant has the right to be in the UK

Landlords who don't make the checks can be fined up to £3,000 if they rent out a property to someone who's in the UK illegally. Right to rent checks have been introduced as part of the government's ongoing reforms to the immigration system.

How to Rent Guide

Landlords must make sure their tenants receive a copy of the "How to Rent" guide put together by the Government, this should be the current version at the time it is given. Landlords who have not issued tenants with a How to Rent guide will not be able to serve a Section 21 until they have done so. This does not impact the landlord's ability to issue a Section 8 notice. For more information on the process for issuing a valid notice seeking possession please see the Gov.uk website

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 is a landmark reform designed to make renting fairer and safer across England. Find out more about the Renters’ Rights Act 2025.