Landlords

Landlord Certification

EPC, Gas Safe Certificate, EICR

If you are a landlord in Edinburgh there are several certificates you will need to provide to your tenants. The main areas of landlord certification are EPC (energy efficiency), Gas Safety and EICR (electrical safety).

Home Sweet Home Letting provide a full range of Property management services for Edinburgh landlords. Our fixed monthly fees include management of all certificates, testing and reports. We’ll make sure all your certificates are kept up to date, your tenants are safe, and that your legal obligations are met.

Below you will find information on the main landlord certificates required for a rented property in Edinburgh. (Click links to jump to each section) These include:

EPC (Energy Performance Certificate)
Gas Safety Certificate
Landlords Electrical Certificates
EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report)
PAT Testing (Portable Appliances)
Fire Safety

EPC (Energy Performance Certificate)

An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) gives information to your tenants about how energy efficient your rental property is. Buildings are rated on a scale from A (very efficient) to G (inefficient).

If you are renting out your property it is a legal requirement to have a valid Energy Performance Certificate. Your Certificate is valid for 10 years, and you don’t need to update them when a tenancy changes.

As part of our property management service Home Sweet Home will make sure your EPC is always up to date. If necessary we will arrange for a registered energy assessor to provide you with an energy performance rating and all the necessary documents.

Landlord Safety Certificates

Landlord Gas Safety Certificate

Landlords are required to carry out gas safety checks every 12 months. Gas Safety checks are done by registered Gas Safe qualified engineers. The checks make sure that all landlord owned gas appliances are maintained and in a safe condition. This includes all gas pipework, fittings, chimneys and flues.

The annual Gas Safety Certificate should be provided to the tenant prior to the start date of the tenancy or for existing tenants within 28 days of completion. A landlord should keep copies of their Gas Safe Certificate for 2 years. Landlords are responsible for all regular maintenance and annual Gas Safety checks, as well as ensuring repairs are carried out quickly, should an issue arise.

Home Sweet Home Letting will take care of all gas checks, maintenance and repairs on your behalf as part of our monthly landlord services plan.

Landlords Electrical Certificates

There are two types of electrical safety check for landlords which must be carried out prior to renting out a property. These are the Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) and Portable Appliance Tests (PAT). It is the landlords responsibility to ensure your rented property is electrically safe.

Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR)

The Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) is an inspection of all electrical fixtures, fittings and installations. These electrical safety inspections should be carried out at a minimum of every 5 years and any remedial actions undertaken to ensure electrical safety. A new tenant must be given a copy of the most recent inspection before their tenancy begins. And existing tenants should be provided with a copy of any new electrical safety inspection reports.

Inspections must be carried out by a competent person who is a member of an accredited registration scheme, usually NICEIC, the Electrical Contractors’ Association of Scotland (SELECT), or the National Association of Professional Inspectors and Testers (NAPIT).

PAT testing for landlords

Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) is the inspection and testing of all portable electrical appliances provided by the landlord in a property, to ensure they are safe. Portable Appliances are basically anything in a rented property which has a plug- from small lamps right up to fridge freezers and washing machines.

PAT testing for rented property should be carried out before a tenancy begins, and at least every five years. PAT Testing needs to be carried out by a competent person.

During the test electrical appliances are both visually and electronically inspected and safety checked. Upon completion of a portable appliance inspection the landlord should be provided with appliance inventory, testing date and test result indicating a pass or fail. Any remedial action should be undertaken to ensure the property is electrically safe.

Electrical testing for landlords is easy with Home Sweet Home Letting landlord services. We’ll ensure all your certificates are up to date and arrange for any checks and reports to be completed as and when they come due. This is all included in our fixed price monthly fee.

Landlord Fire Safety Certificate

In Scotland there is no Landlord Fire Safety Certificate, however there are strict rules and guideline which you must follow when it comes to fire safety in a rented property. For example:

  • Tenants have the right for their home to be fire safe. Landlords must ensure their property meets a minimum physical fire safety standard and that it is reasonably fit for people to live in.
  • A smoke alarm must be provided on each floor and carbon monoxide alarms in rooms with any fuel burning appliance, such as a stove or fireplace.
  • Interlinked Smoke and Heat Alarms are now a legal requirement in Scotland. This means that if one alarm sounds, all the others sound as well.
  • All furniture and furnishings you supply should be fire safe.
  • As mentioned above, as a landlord you also need to keep up to date on electrical safety tests and EICR certification, as well as Annual Landlord Gas Safety checks is applicable.

To find out more about our package of Landlord Services, call Home Sweet Home Letting today.


Did you Know?

Home Sweet Home provide a complete Property Management Service for landlords in Edinburgh. For a fixed monthly fee we take all the stress out of renting your property.

As well as taking care of your landlord certification, our landlord service covers:

Fixed price management fee of 10% inc vat for the first year – reverts to 12% (10% +VAT) after the first year.


Call us today to find out more – 0131 554 6050. And don’t forget to arrange your free rental valuation today!