3 tips for a first time landlord

Renting to tenants can offer good returns on your property investment, but it can also bring with it some challenges. Itís important to fully understand your responsibilities and legal obligations as a landlord as well as the obligations of your tenant.
If you’re a new landlord, here are 3 initial considerations:
Safe and sound
Before your tenants move in, you must make sure that your property complies with safety regulations. Electrical installations should be checked by a registered professional and inspected regularly to help identify any faults. Furnishings in the house should also comply with fire safety regulations.
Make sure that any gas installations are fitted and monitored by a registered Gas Safe engineer. You could be held liable if one of your tenants is injured due to your negligence, so itís wise to take all the necessary precautions.
Protection in place
Specialist buy-to-let-insurance can help give you the protection you need as a landlord in case things go wrong. If you are renting the property to tenants, a standard home insurance policy will not offer sufficient cover.
As well as financially protecting the actual structure of your property, you can also protect any of your possessions that are included in the rental. Your tenants will need to take out their own cover for their personal items.
A buy-to-let policy will also typically include cover for legal expenses, landlord liability cover, accidental damage, loss of rent and home emergency cover.
Deposit scheme
Make sure youíre clued up on the Tenancy Deposit Protection (TDP) scheme. This ensures that all rental deposits are kept securely in the scheme. Landlords are not allowed to hold their tenant’s deposit – helping to avoid disputes at the end of a tenancy. Within 14 days of receiving the deposit, you must give your tenants full details of how their deposit is protected and how they can apply for its release.