Get more than just gas safety with landlords insurance

Meeting your legal obligations is an essential part of being a landlord – you have a responsibility to ensure the safety and security of your tenants. Failing to comply just isn’t an option if you want to avoid heavy penalties from the authorities.

In some cases, you responsibilities will be covered as part of your landlords insurance. In other cases, the things you need to do will exist outside your policy. Therefore, it’s essential to know which is which if you want to operate legally and successfully in the rental market.

The safety of your tenants is your most important responsibility as a landlord. The property you provide must be hazard-free, and you must maintain important safety equipment like smoke detectors. Providing satisfactory locks and keys is also important in ensuring the home is secure.

The premises must also be kept in order and obey local housing codes. All structural components – such as walls, ceilings, fireplaces and roofs - need to be kept in good condition. This includes making any repairs to make good any damage, to keep the property in the same condition as when the tenant moved in.

It’s important to be clear here: this does not include damage caused by the tenant. You aren’t liable for this, but you may be able to claim for the cost of any repairs on your landlords insurance. However, check your policy for details of this.

Gas safety

This is perhaps a landlord’s most important responsibility of all. You must make sure all gas fittings and flues are in good working order, and arrange a gas safety check every year with an engineer on the Gas Safe Register. Once a satisfactory check has been completed, you’ll be issued with a certificate, which should be issued to your tenant within 28 days. It’s your responsibility to keep hold of this documentation for at least two years.

Considering the sheer number of responsibilities on your shoulders as a landlord, it could be a smart move to get a landlord insurance policy that covers as much as possible. With many policies, you’ll be covered for the cost of a gas safety check and any repairs that are needed as a result. You may even find that some policies allow tenants to claim directly for any repairs – saving you the hassle of sorting things out and meaning you’ve got more time to sort out your property empire.