If a tenant dies in my property, could I lose everything?

Reply to the comment left by Charles de Lastic at 03/05/2023 – 15:40
Exactly Charles,

I’m worried I’m gonna’ go to prison cause tenant took battery out smoke alarm. And we gonna’ get caught out by some new retrospective law/reg that the Council or Govt bought in on a tenant THEY GAVE US 20 years ago that they knew this tenant wouldn’t be able to comply with this NEW law they’ve just bought in.

Reply to the comment left by Mick Roberts at 06/05/2023 – 08:30
Smoke alarms must be hard wired.
Carbon Monoxide alarms must be sealed units so that batteries cannot be taken out.

Reply to the comment left by Judith Wordsworth at 06/05/2023 – 10:23smokes must be hard wired….really?

Reply to the comment left by Judith Wordsworth at 06/05/2023 – 10:23
There is no legal requirement for smoke alarms to be hard wired.

Reply to the comment left by Mick Roberts at 06/05/2023 – 08:30
I agree up to a point Mick, but all businesses are subject to rules and regulations. As landlords (and agents) we just need to make sure that our processes and procedures are in place and abided by.

In general with H&S there is reasonable mitigation if you’ve made an effort as not everything is predictable. If you never think about planning you will be for the high jump when there’s an accident.

In fairness the risk of tenants dying due to a landlord’s failure is low, although is present.

Reply to the comment left by Judith Wordsworth at 06/05/2023 – 10:23
They’d like smoke alarms to be hard-wired-They don’t have to be. My tenants refuse them.

Reply to the comment left by Graham Bowcock at 06/05/2023 – 18:05
The issue I have is, they gave me this tenant & said She not be great Mick & won’t mow the garden, but we’ll be there for u.
20 years later, the SAME Council now say Mick, you getting 30k fine if she don’t mow that garden. And that tenant up there who u charging £550pm for & we know all other Landlords are charging £900, well now you got to have New build standards & that £550 won’t pay for it. So either put the rent up or evict & get better tenant.

Reply to the comment left by Trevor Leigh at 06/05/2023 – 07:43
Here’s the NRLA’s guidance on whether EICR’s need to be re-done when the tenant changes:

Do I need to get a new electrical safety certificate every time a new tenant moves in?
The regulations specify that an electrical safety certificate will be valid for 5 years, or a shorter time frame if the inspector deems it necessary. This means that generally you should only need to get one certificate every five years and this certificate can be supplied to any new tenants during that period.

The NRLA has received a number of reports of EICRs stating that the report is valid for ‘5 years or until change of tenancy.’ This is incorrect as the regulations require the tests are performed at regular specified intervals rather than being triggered by a change of tenancy. As a result, a change of tenancy should not invalidate an EICR.

The NRLA has raised this with MHCLG and the appropriate trade bodies to ensure that as many electricians as possible are aware of this. However, to avoid issues it is best you speak to the person providing the report to make sure they are aware of this.