Letting Your PCC House

To Let Or Not?

Generally, and provided you are able to secure a responsible tenant, the letting of a vacant PCC house provides a welcome source of income for a PCC. The first call on the rent will be the maintenance of the property itself. To ensure it remains an income-generating asset a proper regime of maintenance, repair and improvement is important.

To Use A Lettings Agent Or Not?

Lettings agents usually charge between 10 and 12 per cent of the income generated through rent as a management fee if they are managing the property for you. This may seem considerable but it can provide a great deal of reassurance:

• They provide a professional management service and will ensure you are complying with all necessary regulations on time
• They will, to an extent, remove a management headache for you
• They tend to find better tenants for the properties they provide a management service for
• Lettings under managed tenancies tend to start more quickly and often at higher rents which can off-set the cost of the management fee
• They tend to have access to a wider range of clients
• They will collect keys and provide an inventory service
• They will secure the deposit
• They will provide up to date documentation which will be important, especially when you require possession of the property

Various options are open to you and it will be useful to discuss these with local agents if you are thinking of letting your PCC house.

Rent

Because the work of the Board of Finance and PCCs is covered by Charity Law it is important to ensure you obtain the best possible rent for a property. If you are in doubt do obtain legal advice.

Lettings Legislation And Safety Regulations

There are key safety regulations and landlord responsibilities you must follow when letting out a property.

1. Gas safety. A Gas Safety Record will ensure all gas appliances, pipes and flues are in safe working order. The check must be carried out by a qualified Gas Safe Register engineer every 12 months.
2. Furniture. If you are furnishing your rented property, you must ensure that all furnishings comply with the relevant regulations.
3. Electrical safety standards. Regulations require landlords to have the electrical installations in their properties inspected and tested by a person who is qualified and competent, at least once every 5 years. Landlords have to provide a copy of the electrical safety report to their tenants, and to their local authority if requested. The Regulations came into force on 1 June 2020 and form part of the Government Department’s wider work to improve safety in all residential premises and particularly in the private rented sector.
4. Tenancy Deposit Scheme. Landlords and letting agents are required to register a tenant’s deposit with an approved Tenancy Deposit Scheme. A Tenancy Deposit Scheme protects the tenant’s money and can help to resolve any disputes at the end of the tenancy.
5. Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). This is a report detailing the energy efficiency of the property. It gives a property an energy efficiency rating from A (most efficient) to G (least efficient) and is valid for 10 years. You are required to have a valid EPC for a property before it is let.
6. Legionella. As a landlord you have a duty of care to your tenants to make sure your water supply is working properly to protect them from Legionella.
7. Smoke Alarms and Carbon Monoxide Alarms. Regulations require all landlords to fit at least one smoke alarm on every storey of their properties. If any room contains a solid fuel burning appliance, such as a wood burning stove, a coal fire, an open fire or where biomass is used as fuel, a carbon monoxide alarm has to be present. Alarms must be checked on the first day of any new tenancy but it is then the responsibility of the tenant to regularly check the alarms are in working order.
8. The How to Rent Guide. New tenants must receive a Department of Local Government and Communities “How to Rent Guide” at the start of their tenancy and the tenant has to confirm in writing they have been provided with this. The Guide is available via gov.uk
9. Right to Rent checks. These were introduced in 2016 and require landlords to obtain an acceptable proof of residency or risk a fine.
10. Landlord details. Your tenant must be provided with the landlord’s full name and address, or details of the letting agent.

Repairs

Landlords are responsible for most repairs to the exterior or structure of a property. This means that any problems with the roof, chimneys, walls, guttering and drains will be the responsibility of the PCC. These could include a cracked window, a faulty boiler, a leak in the kitchen or a leaky seal in the window. Landlords are also responsible for keeping the equipment for supplying water, gas and electricity in safe working order.

The Tenancy Agreement

The tenancy agreement will likely be considered an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST). There are certain rights you and your tenant have under an AST, as well as common clauses you will come across that will apply to most tenancies.

1. What is an Assured Shorthold Tenancy? It is an agreement between a tenant and a landlord for living in a rented property and provides for a tenant to live in the property for a fixed term. This is usually 6 or 12 months, after which time the landlord can either claim back possession of their property, renew the tenancy or allow it to become a periodic tenancy (also known as a rolling contract) assuming the correct procedure has been followed.
2. What happens at the end of a fixed terms? An AST becomes a periodic tenancy after the fixed term ends, even if it isn’t mentioned in the agreement. Renewing the contract gives the tenant and landlord further security, as the landlord cannot evict the tenant with a Section 21 notice until the renewed fixed term ends and the tenant agrees to stay and pay rent for that fixed term.
3. What terms does the AST need to describe? You are strongly advised to ensure there is a written agreement for any tenancy. This should include the tenancy start and end dates, the rent and due date, the length of the agreement, the property and landlord address, the name of all people involved in the agreement and any occupants, the deposit and relevant deposit scheme, the utility and other bills the tenant is responsible for, details of the property’s condition, responsibility for maintenance and repair and any rent review or break clause dates. The agreement should also preclude subletting and consider clauses on smoking, decoration and pets.

Ending A Tenancy

As a landlord you can take back a property without giving any reason if you have either:

• a periodic tenancy
• a fixed-term tenancy that has ended

To do this, both of the following must apply:

• you have protected the tenant’s deposit in a deposit protection scheme
• the date you require the tenant to leave is at least 6 months after the original tenancy began (i.e. the date the tenant moved in)

You must give written notice that you want the property back (a ‘notice to quit’). You must give the following notice to a tenant:

• 2 months if you gave notice before 26 March 2020
• 3 months if you gave notice between 26 March 2020 and 28 August 2020*
• 6 months if you give you notice on or after 29 August 2020*

(*These changes are because of coronavirus.)

The notice must tell the tenant the date they have to leave.

Further advice can be obtained from:
Gov.uk – How to Let
Gov.uk – Coronavirus Covid-19 Guidance for Landlords and Tenants

We also strongly advise you to contact the Estates Team before letting a property for the first time, so we can check any special provisions in the trust deed for the property which may need to be complied with. In the unlikely event of a parish needing to instigate action to claim possession of a property, please contact the Estates Department and speak to either the Estates Secretary or the Estates & Trusts Officer in the first instance to discuss the procedure to be followed.