Key differences in letting rules throughout UK

Because housing is a devolved matter, there are differences in the way each of the four countries within the UK approaches PRS policy.

Landlords everywhere must protect their tenants’ deposits and ensure that their rented properties:

• • Are safe
  • Have correctly-installed and safely-maintained electrical & gas systems and equipment
  • Have an Energy Performance Certificate.

However, there are five areas where requirements and obligations for landlords and agents differ.

Licensing and registration

Probably the most significant difference for landlords is the requirement for licensing and/or registration, which currently exists everywhere except England.

In Scotland, all landlords must register themselves and their properties with the local council. In Wales, landlords need to be registered with Rent Smart Wales and anyone who wants to manage a property – landlord or agent – must be licensed. And in N.Ireland, landlords must provide information on themselves and their properties to The Landlord Registration Scheme.

Deposit protection

The first difference is the length of time landlords are given to protect a deposit and serve tenants with the relevant prescribed information:

• • England & Wales 30 days
  • Scotland 30 working days
  • N.Ireland 14 days to protect the deposit and 28 days to serve prescribed information.

Then there is the type of deposit protection available to landlords. In England, Wales and N.Ireland they have the choice of either a custodial or insurance-backed scheme; in Scotland, there is only the custodial option.

Right to rent checks

Under the Immigration Acts 2014 and 2016, right to rent checks on adult tenants became mandatory in England from 1st February 2016. Although the Home Office held meetings in Cardiff and Edinburgh in February this year, to begin the process of implementing the checks across the rest of the UK, landlords and agents in Wales, Scotland and N.Ireland are still not currently required to carry out the checks.

Fees and charges by letting agents

In 2012, the Scottish government made it illegal for letting agents to charge tenants fees to rent a property and it is still the only country in the UK to have done so.

Although the Queen’s Speech in July of this year mentioned the possibility of banning fees in England, a full consultation has now taken place and a further announcement is expected in the Budget in November. The Welsh government launched its own consultation in July, which closed at the end of September, so tenants in Wales may see the initial cost of renting go down in the near future.

In N.Ireland, although the majority of agents do charge tenants additional fees, Housing Rights has long believed the practice may be illegal and has been campaigning to have fees either banned or subject to greater regulation.

A consultation on a ban closed in April of this year but there has not yet been any change to the law.

Property repairs

All landlords are obliged to maintain the property, but the exact standards they have to adhere to are different. Scotland has the Repairing Standard, England and Wales have the Housing Health and Safety Rating System and landlords in N.Ireland must comply with repairs as outlined by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive.

The laws on letting a property are becoming increasingly complicated, and it is your responsibility as a landlord to let a property legally and safely. To do this, bear in mind the complicated nature of lettings law, you need to comply with legislation either by working with an agent that is self-regulated through member organisations such as ARLA, NALS and RICs, or by joining a local council landlord accredited scheme or landlord association, the latter of which typically has a legal helpline.