01463 233218
Regulations
Professional and ethical
Since our conception in 2013, Tailormade Moves have carefully built our management portfolio, focusing on providing the best personal customer service for our landlords and the safest, fully legislated environment for our tenants.
Subsequent major changes to the Scottish private rental sector have meant we’ve had to adjust our approach to how we look after our landlords, properties and tenants.
We pride ourselves in applying the personal touch to each individual landlord and tenant, an approach adopted by all our Tailormade Moves employees. There are currently 3 fully qualified letting agents in our lettings team, all holding their CIH Lettings level 3 certification.
Scottish Letting Agent Register
If you do letting agency work in Scotland you’re required by law to:
- follow a Letting Agent Code of Practice
- be registered on the Scottish Letting Agent Register
The Scottish Letting Agent Register is a list drawn up by Scottish Ministers. It makes sure every letting agent is suitable to do the job and has met minimum training requirements.
We are also compliant with the following governing bodies:
Letting Regulations, Landlords and their Properties
Below is a brief outline of your responsibilities in order to be compliant as a landlord in Scotland.
Landlord Registration
Private landlords are required to register with their local authority under Part 8 of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004. Operating as an unregistered landlord is a criminal offence which may be subject to a penalty on conviction of up to £50k and a ban on letting properties of up to 5 years.
If you own or manage a property you are required to renew your application every 3 years. Failure to do so will result in a late fee.
You must inform the local authority of any changes to the information you have provided through the Scottish Landlord Register.
Landlord Insurance for Property
It is a legal requirement for all Landlords to have Landlord Buildings insurance. It is optional for landlords to have contents insurance.
Tenancy Deposit Protection
Under Scottish tenancy legislation, any tenancy deposit taken must be lodged with a third party tenancy deposit scheme. You must do this within 30 working days of the tenancy starting. At Tailormade Moves we lodge all of our deposits securely with SafeDeposits Scotland.
In addition to the above, all landlords in Scotland must have the below 5 pieces of Legislation (4 if a property does not have gas) for each of their properties to comply with Scottish Government Private Rental Legislation.
EICR – Electrical Installation Condition Report
Landlords of private rental properties are legally required to have an electrical installation condition report completed and available for the start of a new tenancy and for existing tenancies.
This is to comply with the electricity safety standards in the Private Rented section (Scotland) regulations 2020.
It is a legal requirement for a rental property to have a valid Satisfactory EICR before a new tenancy starts and are valid for a maximum of 5 years from the date of the test. On completion of an EICR being carried out, faults that have been identified are required to be rectified within 28 days from the date of the test and need to be undertaken. As we are a member of the Scottish Letting agent Register we are required to have all EICR’s carried out by a qualified electrician that is registered with SELECT or NICEIC.
Portable Appliance Test
If you are including any portable electrical goods in the rental of your property, we as your letting agent must have each of the appliances tested once in a 12 month period by a qualified appliance tester and the information recorded in an appropriate manner. The legislation for this is different if you are managing the property yourself. We as Scottish Registered letting agents are governed by the 2018 (Revised) Agent Code of Conduct.
EPC
Energy Performance Certificates are needed whenever a property is built, sold or rented. By law, you must have a valid EPC for potential buyers and tenants before you market your property to sell or rent. An EPC contains information about a property’s energy use and typical energy costs and recommendations about how to reduce energy use and save money.
An EPC gives a property an energy efficiency rating from A (most efficient) to G (least efficient) and is valid for 10 years. To let a property your efficiency rating must be between A and E.
Legionella
Landlords in Scotland must ensure a risk assessment has been carried out to determine the level of risk, if any, of water in the rental property becoming contaminated with Legionella. The Legionella risk assessment can be carried out by anyone competent to do so, which could be the landlord or alternatively we can do this for you.
Gas Safe
The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 outline your duties as a landlord to make sure all gas appliances, fittings, chimneys and flues are safe and working efficiently. This means getting an annual Gas Safety Check carried out by a Gas Safe Registered engineer. You need to supply a copy of the issued certificate to your tenants at the start of the tenancy, and ensure that the gas pipework, appliances, chimneys and flues are kept in safe condition for the duration of the tenancy.
Landlord Services and Fees
Are you considering letting your property but you’re not sure what it involves? Check out our list of useful information and advice on property management. To find out more about the services Tailormade Moves offer and costs, please phone 01463 233218 and select option #2 or email [email protected]
As a contracted client of Tailormade Moves we can organise ALL of the legal legislation your property requires. All works are carried out by qualified, reputable tradesmen. You will also benefit from preferred rates from our tradesmen – with NO ADD ON FEES.
