Private Landlords at risk of falling foul of the ever changing and updating of Lettings regulations.

Are you a private Landlord ? Are you aware the ‘How to Rent Guide’ you are legally required to issue to tenants at the start of a tenancy has been updated this month ?

I have recently found that not only are some landlords not aware of their obligations to issue a tenant the ‘How to Rent Guide’ at the start of a new tenancy but those who do are not aware that they must issue the latest version. A new version was released in January 2018 and this is the version you should now be using. Not issuing this to tenants or using an outdated version can make your Section 21 notice invalid.
The ‘How to Rent Guide’ is information for tenants about the renting process and I believe this should be issued to the tenants when they apply for a property and not when they are starting a tenancy.  
It covers:

• What to look out for before renting
• Living in a rented home
• What happens at the end of a tenancy
• What to do if things go wrong

The new January 2018 version can be downloaded from here How to Rent Guide Jan 2018 
 
There are also a number of changes that have recently come into force or are about to that you should be aware of notably:

• The tenant fee ban legislation
• The law on agents displaying fees
• Change to HMO licensing rules
• Plans for the regulation of all agents and CMP insurance
• Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards – ECP Energy Performance Certificates
• New General Data Protection Regulations coming into force from the 25th May

---