Compliance
The safety paperwork a let property needs — and the part that gets missed
Most landlords know which certificates they need. Far fewer keep on top of the remedial actions those certificates generate.
Maintain Property South · · 2 min read
Compliance rarely fails because somebody decided to ignore it. It fails because a date passed, or because an inspection flagged work that never got booked in.
Here is the broad shape of what a let property in England generally needs. Requirements differ by tenure and by how the property is occupied — an HMO carries considerably more than a single family let, and a flat in a block brings the communal areas into scope too.
Gas safety
Where there are gas appliances, an annual safety check by a Gas Safe registered engineer, with the record given to tenants. This is the one most landlords have well in hand, largely because it is annual and the reminder is hard to miss.
Electrical safety
An electrical installation condition report (EICR) on a fixed five-year cycle for most private rented property, carried out by a qualified person, with a copy provided to tenants.
This is where the remedial gap opens up. An EICR is not a pass or fail document — it returns observation codes, and anything coded as requiring action means work is needed. A report sitting in a file with unaddressed C1 or C2 codes is not evidence of compliance; it is evidence you were told and did not act.
Fire safety
Smoke alarms on every storey used as living accommodation, and carbon monoxide alarms in rooms with a fixed combustion appliance. Alarms need to be tested at the start of a tenancy and repaired or replaced when reported faulty. Blocks of flats and HMOs bring further obligations around escape routes, fire doors and communal areas.
Energy performance
A valid EPC, provided to tenants, with a minimum rating requirement applying to most private lettings. Where a property falls short, the improvement work needed is usually insulation, heating or glazing — all of which takes planning time, so it is worth knowing well ahead of a renewal.
Water systems
An assessment of legionella risk in the water system, proportionate to the property. For most standard lets this is straightforward, but it is one people forget exists at all.
The part that gets missed
Every one of the above can generate remedial work, and that follow-through is where compliance actually breaks down. The certificate proves an inspection happened. It does not prove the problems it identified were fixed.
For one property, a calendar reminder covers it. Across a portfolio, you need a single record showing, for each property, what is current, what expires when, and what remedial actions remain open. That record is worth building before you need it.
