Ben Gurluk discusses the legalities of letting in RBS Homewise

Seven pieces of paperwork to have ready for your new tenants

At the start of a tenancy, certain pieces of paperwork are required by law and others it’s good practice to include.

Before a tenancy can commence, there are certain important steps a landlord must take. Some of these involve confirming the suitability of the tenant for example, by ensuring they have the right to rent in the UK but others involve collating all the necessary paperwork to give your tenant when they move in.

Ben Gurluk, partner at Hunters Law, says: In order to ensure that you comply with the various rules and regulations, it’s important to treat renting out your property as a business. The government is seeking to professionalise the private rented sector, while ensuring that tenants are protected. Landlords must be prepared and thorough and should ensure everything that has been discussed with the tenants is documented and easily accessible.

In England and Wales there is no law to say that landlords have to provide a written tenancy agreement, but it is a good idea to do so, adds Gurluk. When you let out your residential property, the tenancy will now automatically be an AST under the Housing Act 1996 unless you specifically agree another form of tenancy in writing.

All landlords are required to be able to provide tenants with an energy performance certificate (EPC) on the day they move in, says Gurluk. An EPC must be provided every time you subsequently let your home to a new tenant.

Read the full article in RBS Homewise here.