A Landlord has a duty of care to ensure that tenants are safe when occupying a rental property. This duty of care includes fire safety and providing a property which has the means to detect fires and a means of escape from fire. The duty of care and the actions a Landlord must take are dependent on the type of rental property; for example, the actions required for a property occupied by a single family are different to that required for a home in multiple occupancy (a shared house). The duty of care remains with the Landlord, regardless of whether the Landlord employs an agent to manage the property. The Landlord must ensure that any agent hired to manage their property carries out the relevant duties on behalf of the Landlord.

All furniture and furnishings that are provided in a rental property should comply with the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988.  The Regulations set the levels of fire resistance for domestic upholstered furniture, furnishings and other products containing upholstery.  To ensure that they comply with the Regulation, a Landlord must ensure that all of their furniture is "fire resistant", otherwise they will be committing a criminal offence. This Regulation is enforced by local Trading Standards Officers and Landlords can be fined up to £5,000 and sent to prison for six months.

Absconding tenants are an inevitable fact for any long-term landlord.  The chances are that if you are planning to invest in property over the long term you will be faced with this situation.  This inevitability makes it essential that you, as a landlord, equip yourself to deal with this situation.  This article aims to explain what an absconding tenant is; how to deal with this situation and how to be proactive and protect yourself and minimise your risk.

This article is designed to provide brief information on the Gas Safety Regulations 1998 and its implications for all rental properties.  Landlords who rent property for terms of less than seven years must be aware of this legislation and ensure it is complied with.

• Properties which are covered by the legislation include:
• residential premises provided for rent by local authorities, housing associations, private sector landlords, housing co-operatives, hostels;
• rooms let in bed-sit accommodation, private households, bed and breakfast accommodation and hotels;
• rented holiday accommodation such as chalets, cottages, flats, caravans and narrow boats on inland waterways.