Landlord and Tenant Responsibilities in Rental Properties

• Guides
• Published: 20 Nov 2009 in Household and Home Insurance

When you enter into a property rental agreement – either as landlord or tenant – there are certain obligations you undertake, and likewise certain duties which are owed to you. It’s a good idea to have a knowledge of these responsibilities in order to avoid misunderstanding or dispute.

Responsibilities will – of course – be outlined in a rental agreement. It’s always a good idea to have a written contract in place as a safeguard. And, if you didn’t draft it, make sure you read it to ensure there aren’t any unnecessarily onerous or restrictive clauses.

But, in general, here are the main obligations for landlords and tenants:

Your responsibilities as a landlord:

• Perform repairs to the structure and exterior of the property when needs be.
• Repair heating and hot water installations, sinks, baths and other sanitary fittings.
• Ensure safety of gas and electrical appliances. Gas appliances need an annual safety check, and – as a separate requirement – need to be serviced annually. These responsibilities cannot legally be passed on to the tenant.
• Ensure furniture and furnishings provided are fire safe.
• Ensure property is fit for habitation.
• Provide locks and keys in good working order.
• Maintain common areas in multiple-occupancy dwellings.
• Provide new tenants with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC).

A landlord is not responsible for any cost incurred fixing problems directly caused by the tenant. This is why it’s a good idea for tenants to have adequate home insurance.

Your responsibilities as a tenant:

• Pay rent.
• Pay gas, electricity, telephone, broadband and so on, unless agreed otherwise with the landlord. Some of these may be inclusive in the rent, and this will be stated in the rental agreement.
• Pay Council Tax, water and sewerage charges in most cases.
• Ensure property is looked after and kept in a sanitary condition.
• When you wish to move out, be sure to give the appropriate amount of notice. This will usually be outlined in the rental agreement. A very common notice period is one month.
• On moving out, restore property to the same condition as when you moved in. Any expense incurred by the landlord restoring property to its original condition is likely to be deducted from your deposit. There is some leeway for normal and unavoidable wear and tear.

Access rights

The landlord has a right to ‘reasonable’ access to the property to perform repairs and maintenance and so on, but should always get the tenant’s permission, and give 24 hours’ notice. The landlord should secure permission for any other reason (for example, showing prospective buyers around), and the tenant has every right to refuse if the timing is inconvenient. Again, refusal to access should be made on reasonable grounds, and hence the tenant cannot unreasonably bar the landlord from the property. Which is fair enough, as it is the landlord’s property. A practical tip rather than a legal requirement this one; but it’s always best maintain a good relationship and keep up communications in both directions.

Another thing to remember

If you feel that either your landlord or your tenant isn’t living up to their legal or contractual obligations, don’t take the law into your own hands! The law is there to protect the interests of both landlords and tenants, and there are always options to pursue without having to ‘get lively’.

Further reading
Landlords can Boost Rental Viewings with these Tips
Why Landlord Insurance Makes Sense in a Challenging Buy-to-Let Market
How Accommodating are you? Confused.com’s Pros and Cons of Getting a Lodger
A Confused.com Guide to Happy Renting
Deposit Protection Schemes for Tenants Explained