How to become a landlord

Unless you’re in the property business, many people become landlords by circumstance. They’ve either inherited somewhere or moved in with a partner, so suddenly there’s a home left empty.

If you become a landlord by accident rather than by design, it can be quite a steep learning curve.

Rental homes come with many different regulations you might not be aware of if you’ve not rented recently or had a mortgage all your life. Landlords have extensive responsibilities to their tenants and their properties.

But if you go into being a landlord prepared and informed, you’ll have extra, regular income to look forward to and, hopefully, very few surprises or trouble.

If you’re planning to let out a property for the first time and are researching how to become a landlord, it can be quite a lot to get your head around. But you don’t have to do it alone – we’ve got some handy insights to ease you into landlord life.

What are a landlord’s responsibilities?

The key responsibility of a landlord is providing and maintaining a home that’s in a decent and fit state for habitation.

You have to look at your property in a different way – what might be fine for you at home might not be fine for a guest.

The same goes for a tenant. If you went and stayed in a hotel that had a wobbly light switch or grubby grout, you’d be suspicious about the quality of the wiring or heating.

Your rental property doesn’t have to be a palace, but it does need to be:

• Safe – check wiring, heating systems, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms
• Working – fix sticking windows, jamming locks and dripping shower heads
• Clean – tackle the hob extractor fan, kitchen cupboard corners and limescale marks.

Rental housing rules differ depending on where your property is in the UK, so make sure you check the government regulations in your region.

You can find online guides to renting out your property in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Also, keep up to date with the latest regulations and legislation such as the The Renters Reform Bill. It was introduced into parliament on 17 May 2023 and has been described as the ‘biggest shake up for landlords in over 30 years’ by the National Residential Landlords Association.

How do I manage a rental property?

Depending on how hands-on you want to be, you can do it yourself or get a letting agency to manage things for you.

The day-to-day things that might crop up will be minor plumbing problems – a loo cistern continually filling or a dripping tap. More immediate problems would be things like a loo not flushing or a trip switch that won’t reset.

You need to have a plan on how to deal with these, by having the skills to do this yourself, knowing a reliable fixer or signing up with a home emergency service.

Along with the practicalities, there is the paperwork and admin of being a landlord: advertising for a tenant, character and credit references, contracts, holding deposits and dealing with any disputes.

An agency may be able to deal with this side of things if you’d rather not, although you’ll have to factor in charges for their services.

Does the property need to be furnished?

Rented homes don’t have to come with furniture such as beds, sofas or dining tables. Assess your property’s location and type to get an idea of what other landlords are doing.

For example, if you’re near a hospital or university, your tenants might only be staying for a year and not have furniture.

In recent years, landlords now have to provide cooking facilities, such as a cooker. You might want to consider leaving or providing a washing machine or dishwasher as you’ll be in control of the quality and the connection of these appliances.

If your property is already furnished, you could consider leaving larger items there, but be prepared for any damage or wear and tear – or the fact it might not be to everyone’s taste or circumstances.

What happens if something gets broken or damaged?

When it comes to paying for property repairs, the sooner any damage is identified, the better chance you have of making a claim on your insurance. But it’s important to know what’s covered and what’s not.

A tenant making holes in the wall to fit a TV isn’t accidental or malicious, so this wouldn’t be covered by your insurance. The costs to make good could, however, potentially be deducted from a security deposit.

Reasonable wear and tear on carpets, paintwork and worktops is par for the course when letting a property and you’ll find guidance about this through your deposit scheme.

For insurance claims, the damage needs to be caused by a ‘specified peril’, the technical term for events such as fire, flood, escape of water and accidental or malicious damage – if your policy, like Saga’s, covers the latter.

Do I need landlord insurance?

To protect your property, yourself and your tenants, you will need landlord insurance. This is essential for things like fire, flood, escape of water and accidental damage, just like normal home insurance.

Landlord insurance needs to have extra features, such as cover to help rehouse your tenants temporarily after a major incident or help you with legal expenses to resolve disputes.

Essentially, if you own and maintain a building that someone else lives in – even if you don’t charge or only accept a ‘peppercorn rent’ from a family member – you’ll need a landlord insurance policy for that property, rather than standard home insurance cover.

You may not be considered a landlord for tax purposes, but that doesn’t mean you’re not a landlord in the eyes of your insurer.

If you’re letting a completely empty property with built-in appliances, you might only need buildings insurance. And if you’re a professional landlord with more than a few properties, you’ll likely need commercial landlord insurance.

What to do if your rental property’s unoccupied

If you’ve got landlord insurance with Saga, you do need to let our team know if the insured property is unoccupied for more than 60 days.

We know things can change quickly and that new safety regulations can mean a property is sometimes empty for longer than expected.

Our landlord insurance team will explore the cover we can offer you while the property is unoccupied. The underwriter may add a requirement to do weekly checks or might increase the excess for certain claims.

If the property is still unoccupied at renewal, we may need to change your policy to a standard home one until you have new tenants.

Let our team know as soon as the property has been let again and they’ll make sure you’re back on the right level of cover.

The last thing anyone wants is for a claim to be declined because you’re not properly protected.