West of England
Code of Good Management Practice
Conduct
The landlord agrees to conduct business with regard to the property and the tenancy in a courteous, reasonable and equitable manner and to answer promptly queries and issues raised by the tenant.
Inventories
The landlord agrees to ensure that an inventory is signed by both parties at the beginning of the tenancy (or as soon as practicable afterwards) and to give the tenant the opportunity both to carry out a joint inventory inspection at the outset and to discuss the inventory at the end of the tenancy
Deposits
The landlord agrees to hold deposits in accordance with an authorised Tenancy Deposit Scheme as required by the Housing Act 2004 which came in to effect on 6th April 2007. Please note that failure to comply with this legislation will prevent you from issuing a Section 21 Notice and, should the case go to court, the penalty is to pay the tenant THREE times the amount of the deposit.
Repairs and Maintenance
The landlord agrees to carry out repairs within a time period appropriate to the severity of the problem, keeping as far as is practicable to the guide timescales given below:
Guide to repair timescales once a fault has been reported
- Emergency repairs - 24 hours (Affecting health or safety e.g. major electrical fault, blocked WC)
- Urgent repairs - 5 working days (Affecting material comfort e.g. hot water, heating or fridge failure, serious roof leak)
- Other non-urgent repairs - 20 working days (For example rotting, furniture repair)
The landlord agrees to uphold as far as practicable all undertakings given on work to be completed prior to the tenant moving in, to consult the tenant when planning other major maintenance work during the tenancy and to give reasonable notice (except in emergencies) and details of any work, servicing or testing to be carried out. The landlord agrees to set up effective monitoring arrangements to check the condition of the building and installations.
Landlord's access to property and other statutory requirements
The landlord agrees to comply with all statutory obligations under housing and landlord & tenant legislation, associated regulations, Codes of Practice and British Standards including the legal requirement to gain access to the property (for inspection, repairs, monitoring or other reasons) only by prior arrangement with the tenant and having given 24 hours notice (except in emergencies).
Neighbours
The landlord agrees to take reasonable steps to minimise any nuisance, alarm, harrassment or distress that may be caused to neighbours by the way the property is used. The landlord agrees to offer occupiers of the immediately neighbouring properties a contact telephone number or address to report any problems, to ensure that "To Let" or "Let" boards are not left up as long-term advertising features, to keep the external appearance of the property in a reasonable condition and to make reasonable arrangements for the storage and disposal of refuse.