Some decent cross-industry, stakeholder engagement for once, as 17 different groups and bodies engaged within the Private Rental Sector (PRS) have come up with a Code of Practice and that has to be welcomed. See a download link here: http://www.rics.org/uk/knowledge/professional-guidance/codes-of-practice/private-rented-sector-code-1st-edition/
It will take a little time to read, it will take a little longer to understand and bit longer yet to implement all of the necessary systems and safeguards laid out in the Code in some cases.
There are some 'musts' and some 'shoulds' within the code...
'Must' means it is a legal requirement, such as undertaking a gas safety check each year
'Should' means it is considered to be best practice and whilst not legally required would give rise to questions to justify why not on the part of landlords and / or agents if something were to go wrong, such as getting consents from lenders, insurers and leaseholders
I did read that if anyone is a member of any of the 17 groups that took part in this Code then you will agree to abide by it but I am unclear how that would operate in practice...maybe we will all have to sign up to new terms and conditions of membership or something like that?
Digging a little deeper:
Some things have been better clarified, such as the guidelines around which parts of a property a landlord is responsible to maintain
Some new guidance provided, such as electrical safety testing requirements
Some things will extend the level of compliance and bureaucracy a bit, such as making sure any provisions / covenants in leases reflected in the AST also
There is also an accompanying model tenancy agreement but I have yet to review this at the time of writing…the devil is always in the detail…
Having a Code is a good idea and I am pleased that there appears to have been wide industry consultation and input into drafting it. The bar has been raised a little, or at least been made more visible in places and that can only be a good thing. At first glance, it does not seem to be over the top but let us see how this plays out with real world interpretation...