Landlord obligations
Subletting/Renting out of flats
Subletting and buildings insurance policy
Gas safety
Multiple occupancy
Short-term lettings
Landlord obligations
If you are a landlord, there are obligations that you must undertake to ensure that buildings insurance and other important matters continue to be complied with, particularly if you are renting out a flat. A landlord is classed as someone who rents their property out in full (e.g. the whole flat) or in part (e.g. continues to live in the property but with a tenant). Additional information can be found in your legal documents such as your lease.
Subletting/Renting out of flats
If you are subletting (renting out) your flat, clause 14.4 of your lease requires you to serve notice to Brockwell Gate Management Company Limited (BGMCL) and the freeholder’s agent E&M Ltd.
To notify BGMCL, complete this online form. A fee of £20.00 is payable to BGMCL.
To request permission to sublet from the freeholder’s agent, E&M Ltd, and find out about fees payable to them, visit the E&M Ltd website.
Notice and payment to both parties must occur within 21 days of the sublet beginning.
Please advise your tenant about this website as a source of useful information, and ensure they are familiar with the rules of the development and all terms of your lease, as the owner is still liable for all breaches of terms.
In particular, please ensure that your tenants respect the rules and the lives of their neighbours regarding parking, noise, refuse and recycling, cleanliness and other restrictions detailed on this site. Where the actions of your tenants cause expense or loss to shareholders, BGMCL may apply management and administration charges to your service charge account.
Please inform tenants that there is no space on the development for the multiple parking of cars, and that not all properties have a parking space. You will need to identify the parking space for your property to your tenants if you have one. If not, they may park where there are no road markings (bays or red lines). Overnight parking of commercial vehicles is not permitted.
Subletting and buildings insurance policy
Please familiarise yourself with clauses in the buildings insurance policy if you are subletting your flat. The policy will continue to apply if:
– the tenant is in full-time professional employment.
BGMCL must be informed about tenants who are students, DSS claimants, asylum seekers, unemployed or renting directly from the landlord. You can do this by completing this online form.
Landlords must comply with Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 regarding statutory obligations to maintain gas appliances that they own. By law, all landlords are required to arrange for a Gas Safe registered engineer to check all gas appliances and flues within 12 months of being installed and then at least every 12 months. They are also required to complete any necessary maintenance and repairs of gas appliances, flues and pipework. Here is a complete list of who the regulations apply to. Find out more about your responsibilities from the Health and Safety Executive.
Multiple occupancy
Flats and houses may only be used as one private dwelling house in the occupation of one household only. Properties must not be sub-divided into individual parts or rooms for letting purposes. This covenant will be strictly enforced.
It is a legal requirement to notify the council, Lambeth, of multiple occupancy.
A House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) is a house or flat which is occupied by three or more people who do not live as a single household (such as people in a family relationship) and where they share one or more basic amenities, such as a bathroom, toilet, or cooking facilities. Bedsits and houses or flats occupied by sharers are examples of HMOs.
Short-term lettings
Houses and flats must not be let on short-terms agreements. Rentals and tenancies must be for a minimum period of six months. This is extremely important and forms a key part of the buildings insurance for flats. This is stated in paragraph 21 of Schedule D in the transfer for houses, and equally in the lease for the flats.
You are not allowed to rent out properties on shot-term property let websites or through short-term let agencies, for example, Airbnb.