What does a landlord legally need before letting?
Five things sit at the heart of it. A valid Energy Performance Certificate, which since April 2020 must be band E or better for almost all lets in England and Wales unless a registered exemption applies. An electrical installation condition report from a qualified electrician, renewed at least every five years and given to tenants within 28 days. Smoke alarms on every storey used as living accommodation. A carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a fixed combustion appliance other than a gas cooker. And an annual gas safety record where there is a gas appliance. Where the property forms part of a building with common parts, that building also needs a fire risk assessment — which is the landlord's problem in practice even where it is the freeholder's duty in law.
- EPC, band E or better, valid for ten years
- EICR renewed at least every five years
- Smoke alarms on every storey
- Carbon monoxide alarms where required
- Gas safety record annually
- Fire risk assessment for the common parts of the building
What the package covers
The package brings together the items we can deliver directly: the EPC through Team EPC, and the electrical, alarm and fire safety work through Fire Risk Specialists. Gas work is arranged separately with a Gas Safe engineer, and we will tell you honestly that we are coordinating rather than carrying it out.
- EPC survey and lodgement, with the rating checked against MEES
- EICR with a clear C1, C2 and C3 breakdown, not just a pass or fail
- Smoke and carbon monoxide alarm checks and certification
- Fire risk assessment where the property has common parts
- One folder containing every certificate and reference number
What happens if the EPC comes back below band E
You cannot legally grant or continue a tenancy on a property rated F or G without a registered exemption, and enforcement sits with local trading standards, who can issue penalties of up to £5,000 per property. This is where booking the EPC alongside everything else pays for itself: our assessor tells you on the day what is dragging the rating down and which measures move it fastest, and because we already know the electrical layout from the EICR, the advice is specific rather than generic. Most F and G properties get to E or better with straightforward work — loft insulation topped up, lighting changed, heating controls upgraded — and we will tell you the cheapest route rather than the longest.
Aligning the renewal dates
Landlord paperwork drifts. The EPC runs ten years, the EICR five, the gas record one, and the fire risk assessment on a review cycle set by the risk. Instructed piecemeal, they end up on four different dates across the year, each one a separate diary entry and a separate invoice. Instructed as a package, they start on the same date, and we hold the review dates so you get a single reminder rather than four. For anyone with more than a couple of properties, that alone is worth more than the bundle discount.
What it costs
The EPC element is £69 for a one to three bedroom flat, £89 for a house up to four bedrooms and £119 for a five to seven bedroom house, plus £7 per extension, £10 for a loft conversion and travel by zone. The EICR, alarm work and any fire risk assessment are priced on the size of the property and the number of circuits or floors involved, and quoted in writing at the same time. Booked together the package costs less than instructing each item separately. Where you have several properties, ask for portfolio pricing — the per-property rate falls with volume.
