Gas safety certificate
A Gas Safe registered engineer checks every gas appliance and flue annually, and the certificate has to reach the tenant within twenty-eight days.
For landlords
Gas, electrical and deposit deadlines for every rented property
A landlord is measured by certificate dates and statutory windows, each one attached to a property rather than to a diary that already exists.
No account needed to see the proposed desk.
The recurring work
What landlords have to keep on top of
Every one of these has a date attached, a document behind it, and somebody who notices when it slips. This is what goes on the desk.
Electrical condition report
The electrical installation condition report runs on a five-year cycle, with any remedial work done inside twenty-eight days and the report given to the tenant.
Energy performance certificate
An energy performance certificate lasts ten years, and a property below the minimum rating cannot be let until the work is done or an exemption is registered.
Deposit protection window
The deposit must be protected with a government-backed scheme within thirty days of receipt, and the prescribed information served in the same window.
Right to rent checks
Original documents are checked before a tenancy starts, and tenants with time-limited permission need a follow-up check before that permission expires.
HMO licence renewal
A house in multiple occupation licence is renewed with the council, usually every five years, with conditions covering fire safety, amenities and management.
Tenancy renewal and rent review
Fixed terms end on known dates, and any rent increase needs the correct notice served before it takes effect, whether under the agreement or a statutory notice.
Alarm checks at move-in
Smoke alarms are tested and carbon monoxide alarms checked at the start of every tenancy, with a record of the check kept on the tenancy file.
Water risk assessment
A legionella risk assessment is held for each property, reviewed at least every two years or sooner when the system or the occupancy changes.
Leasehold and lender dates
Leasehold flats carry ground rent and service charge dates, and the freeholder or lender usually needs notifying when occupancy or use changes.
What it costs to carry it
The same certificate falls due at each property in a different month, so even a small portfolio produces a year-round calendar of inspections, payments and notices. Miss the thirty-day deposit window, or serve a rent increase on the wrong notice, and the mistake is expensive to undo, sometimes with a penalty attached. The work is administrative but the consequences are statutory, and it tends to land in the evenings after the day job.
What the desk takes over
The desk works this list to its own schedule and reports what it did.
Compliance file per property
Each property holds its gas, electrical, energy and deposit records in one file, with the next due date visible rather than buried in email.
Inspection booking
Gas, electrical and water assessments are booked with the right registered engineer or assessor ahead of the expiry date.
Statutory windows
Deposit protection and prescribed information are logged from the day the money arrives, so the thirty-day window is watched rather than remembered.
Tenancy date tracking
Fixed term ends, rent review dates and notice periods are tracked per tenancy, and the paperwork is prepared before each date arrives.
Leasehold and consent dates
Ground rent, service charge and consent to let dates are held per property and raised with the freeholder or lender in advance.
What stays with the landlord
The landlord still chooses the tenants, sets the rent and decides what work is worth doing, and signs the tenancy and any notice in person. Conversations about repairs, arrears or a difficult neighbour stay with the owner, because they turn on judgement rather than process.
Questions
How long does a landlord have to protect a deposit?
In England the deposit must be protected within thirty days of receipt, with the prescribed information given to the tenant inside the same period.
How often is an EICR needed on a rental property?
The report is required every five years, and any remedial work it identifies has to be completed within twenty-eight days of the inspection.
Does a single flat need a legionella assessment?
A water risk assessment is expected for rented property, and it is usually reviewed every two years or whenever the system or the occupier changes.
Put the landlord's recurring work on the desk
Start with a name, a website and one sentence about what the business does. The desk proposes the list; the landlord corrects it.