Back to basics
A page of basic information about lettings

Electrical Safety
Electrical safety is often misunderstood in rented property. Unlike gas regulations which are clear, electrical safety is more complex and made up of lots sub-regulations.

Energy Performance Certificates (EPC)
An energy performance certificate must be made available for all prospective tenants and given to the person who ultimately becomes the tenant.

Granting an Assured Shorthold Tenancy
Guidance on how to grant an assured shorthold tenancy

House in Multiple Occupation (HMO)
Houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) are a complex thing to understand. This series of articles provides all sorts of advice from what is an HMO to when an HMO requires planning permission.

It’s All Change On 1st October 2015
On 1st October 2015, many things changed in England including smoke & CO alarms, new section 21 rules, retaliatory evictions and more. Read it all in this series of articles.

Legionella risk assessment guidance
Guidance on how to complete a legionella risk assessment with a downloadable template for the iAuditor app.

Protect and Un-Protect a deposit
Guidance on how to protect a deposit and un-protect it later.

Rent Smart Wales landlord guidance (landlord registration and licensing in Wales)
Guidance on the requirements for landlords to be registered and licensed to let or manage rented property in Wales

Rent Smart Wales agent guidance (agent licensing in Wales)
Guidance on the requirements for agents to be licensed to let or manage rented property in Wales

Right to rent – how to conduct right to rent checks
Under the Immigration Act 2014, right to rent checks must be performed on all prospective adult occupiers in England.

Back to Basics
A brief summary of things a landlord needs to know.

Energy Performance Certificates (EPC)
An energy performance certificate must be made available for all prospective tenants and given to the person who ultimately becomes the tenant.

Golden rules of letting a home
Follow these golden rules and your letting should run smoothly (at least as smoothly as can be!)

Granting an assured shorthold tenancy
In-depth guidance on granting a tenancy from advertising the property to initial requirements such as EPC’s and gas safety certificates to completing the tenancy agreement and protecting any deposit taken.

Protect and Un-Protect a deposit
Guidance on how to protect a deposit and un-protect it later.

Rent Smart Wales landlord guidance (landlord registration and licensing in Wales)
Guidance on the requirements for landlords to be registered and licensed to let or manage rented property in Wales

Rent Smart Wales agent guidance (agent licensing in Wales)
Guidance on the requirements for agents to be licensed to let or manage rented property in Wales

Right to rent – how to conduct right to rent checks
Under the Immigration Act 2014, right to rent checks must be performed on all prospective adult occupiers in England.

Housing Benefit – Appeal / Compensation
When a tenant is 8 weeks / 2 months in arrears, a local authority must make payment direct to a landlord after notice. The same is true under Universal Credit. This guidance explains how to appeal if after notice the tenant gets paid when the landlord should have been paid.

How to increase the rent on an assured shorthand tenancy
Fairly self explanatory! Contains various options for increasing the rent on an AST and when it can be done and length of notice etc.

Is notice from tenant valid?
Use this article to determine if a notice given by a tenant is valid or not.

Protect and Un-Protect a deposit
Guidance on how to protect a deposit and un-protect it later.

Small Claims Procedure
The small claims procedure is used where you simply want a money claim against a person (for example a tenant or guarantor). Normally this would be done at the end of a tenancy but can be done during too if appropriate.

Goods left at property
Guidance on dealing with the situation where items have been left by a tenant at the property. The guidance includes links to suitable forms.

How to choose which possession notice and how to serve wizard
This is one of our most popular pieces of guidance. It is basically a wizard system which will establish which notice you require. It will then allow you to download the notice and will explain in perfect detail what to write in each box.

How to commence court possession proceedings wizard
Similar to the notice wizard, this is a court form wizard. It will determine the appropriate court form for your needs and explain in detail how to complete it (or online if an online facility is available). There are samples that can be downloaded.

How to complete the Warrant for Possession (bailiff) form (N325)
After a possession order has been obtained and the tenant still hasn’t vacated, the bailiff must be arranged to remove the tenant. This is how to complete the form for that purpose.

Is notice from tenant valid?
Use this article to determine if a notice given by a tenant is valid or not.

Potential defences to a section 21 notice
It is important that a section 21 notice is not only completed properly but also it is served at an appropriate time. There are many pitfalls to serving a section 21 notice which this guidance explains. The wizard (linked above) should ensure you only serve a section 21 at the correct time.

Small Claims Procedure
The small claims procedure is used where you simply want a money claim against a person (for example a tenant or guarantor). Normally this would be done at the end of a tenancy but can be done during too if appropriate.

Guild members can access free advice with an accountant specialising in landed estates tax advice.

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The Guild runs the Private Rented Sector Accreditation Scheme (PRSAS) in partnership with Training for Professionals. Members of the Guild may become accredited which is subject to completion of an on-line development course. Accreditation lasts for 3 years. If you are already accredited with another recognised body, we can passport you into our scheme for free.

PRSAS accredited members get a discounted rate to the annual subscription of the Guild of Residential Landlords.

Learn more about accreditation

Earn money by promoting the Guild on your website.

This is one of the most popular service taken up by members. We offer discounted buildings insurance especially designed for rented property. Our aim is to try and ensure members save at least the cost of annual membership which is normally done.

More about buildings insurance

Members have access to our dedicated independent financial advisor who can assist with buy to let mortgages.

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Guild members are able to obtain a discounted rate to the DPS insured deposit scheme.

Since October 2008, it is a legal requirement for landlords to provide “prospective” tenants with an EPC. We no longer provide EPC’s because the suppliers are too unreliable on a national basis. We therefore recommend sourcing a local supplier via epccompare.com

The Internet is where you need to advertise your property for rent. The Guild has negotiated a fantastic discounted rate with Upad.co.uk where your property is placed all the main portals such as Rightmove, Primelocation, Find a Property, Zoopla etc.

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Lettings and managing agents in England must be a member of a redress scheme. Guild subscribers can obtain a 10% discount to the Property Redress Scheme.

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Here you can join or renew to the Guild of Residential Landlords.

Subscribers may download a whole array of landlord and tenant documents free of charge. We believe we provide the most comprehensive list of landlord and tenant documents of any landlords association in the UK. We currently have well over 100 forms to choose from and they are constantly being updated.

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Be proud to be a subscriber of the Guild! Display our logo on your website or stationery.

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The Guild provides meetings, generally in Cardiff, where both members and non-members are welcome to attend.

Read more and see when our next meeting is.

Many of our members offer services that maybe useful to other members of the Guild. Here we list the services of our members.

View services provided by our members

We provide regular newsletters by email. You can choose from the following options-

Weekly Digest – this is the recommended option for most people. We will summaries the previous weeks posts in a weekly email.

All – receive an email for every published article or page. This can be as much as daily.

Main – we try to decide out of the published articles which are of relative importance. For example news would never go out under this subscription (unless it was important). 3 – 4 a month is estimated but can vary depending on what’s happening at the time.

Important only – as described we only email the really important items and we assume you regularly read the website to keep up to date. 1 or 2 a year is sent.

Forms and templates – this notifies you every time we add a new template or if we make some change to a template.

Change you preferences here.

If you use our landlords buildings insurance, a bolt on of rent guarantee can be purchased which is connected to the property . You must follow the procedure for covering a tenant but our tenant referencing reports are suitable for the credit checking requirement of the rent guarantee policy because they are provided by an approved supplier – Letsure.

Alternatively, after a tenant reference has been completed, a telephone number and reference number is provided on the report produced. You can call that number and they will provide a quote for rent guarantee based upon the report obtained.

The Guild can help with most things from seeking possession, section 21 notices, section 8 notices, tenancy agreements etc. However there are occasions when you may need a solicitor for example house purchase, freeholder issues etc.

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Subscribers may call our help-line anytime (during office hours) for any landlord and tenant question. There is no clock on how much you use us. Our dedicated help-line is one of the key benefits of the Guild. The number to call is 01423 873399.

More contact details

It’s very important in particular nowadays to check a tenants credit history. The tenant referencing service checks for County Court judgments and Bankruptcy amongst other things. For an additional fee, the tenants employer and previous landlord can be referenced too.

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As a subscriber to the Guild of Residential Landlords, you’re eligible for free TradePoint membership, giving you access to huge savings on materials, tools, kitchens and bathrooms. TradePoint, which can be found in over 300 B&Q stores nationwide, supply all products needed for building and maintenance under one roof at handy locations.

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We provide the training which is a condition of any Rent Smart Wales licence.

In addition, working with Training for Professionals, the Guild can provide public and bespoke training for landlord and letting agents.

View our dedicated Rent Smart Training website.