What Certificates Do Landlords Need?
The 8 Safety Certificates Required by Landlords in Scotland:
- EICR – Electrical Installation Condition Report
- CP12 – Gas Safety Certificate
- LRA – Legionella Risk Assessment Certificate
- EPC – Energy Performance Certificate
- PAT – Portable Appliance Testing
- BS 5266 Emergency Lighting Certificate *HMO Only
- Portable Fire Extinguisher Report *HMO Only
1. EICR – Electrical Installation Condition Report
An EICR – Electrical Installation Condition Report – is a formal document produced following a qualified electrician’s inspection of a property’s electrical installation.
The EICR will give details of the property’s electrical installation, noting any damage, deterioration, defects, and/or conditions that may give rise to danger, along with notes detailing recommended improvements.
Q: What Certificates Do Landlords Need?
A: To ensure the safety of your tenants, your rental property must have an EICR completed BEFORE tenants move in. EICR certificates expire after a maximum of 5 years, although, depending on the quality of the property’s electrical installation, a competent electrician may advise an inspection to take place sooner than 5 years.
Our electricians can perform remedial works to bring a property’s installation up to the UK standard, or, if you’d prefer, you could arrange these remedial works with another contractor of your preference.
To learn about EICRs, and how Quinnergy can save you time and money, check out this article.
Watch this video to see our EICR process in action.
Related Article: Unsatisfactory EICR Certificate – 4 SHOCKING Reasons Your Property Might Fail
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2. CP12 – Gas Safety Certificate
A Gas Safety Certificate – CP12 Report – is a formal document produced following an inspection of a property’s gas installation. This certificate proves that a property’s boiler and gas system is being maintained, is safe, and in line with British standards.
Q: What Certificates Do Landlords Need?
A:All rental homes in Scotland must have a valid gas safety certificate completed by a Gas Safe Registered Engineer.
Landlord Gas Safety Certificates expire after 12 months, but should be kept for at least 2 years. Gas safety certificates MUST be renewed before the 12-month expiry date.
The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 enables landlords to have their gas safety check up to 2 months before the date of expiry of the previous certificate, and still retain the original deadline date, as if the check had been carried out exactly 12 months after the previous check.
The UK Gas Safe Register doesn’t provide a standard form for gas safety certificates, so documentation and paperwork will vary depending on the landlord compliance company you choose to work with.
Our certificates are presented in the most accessible format for quickly viewing key information.
To learn more about Landlord Gas Safety Certificates, and how Quinnergy can save you time and money, check out this article.
To see our Gas Engineers performing a gas safety inspection in a Scottish rental property, watch this video on YouTube.
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3. LRA – Legionella Risk Assessment Certificate
Legionnaires’ disease is a serious type of pneumonia caused by the bacterium Legionella pneumophila,
Legionella bacteria are found naturally in water, but they can grow and multiply in warm, stagnant water, such as:
- Water tanks
- Large plumbing systems
- Humidifiers
- Taps and showers that are not used often
People can get Legionnaires’ disease by breathing in small droplets of water that contain the bacteria. If conditions are favourable, legionella bacteria may grow, increasing the risk to your tenants of contracting Legionnaires’ disease.
Q: What Certificates Do Landlords Need?
A: Landlords, as duty-holders, should keep records of all inspections, and actions taken to prevent outbreak of legionnaries’ disease in their properties. Landlords are not required to obtain a certificate for their Legionella risk assessment, but it is a good idea to keep records of all inspections and actions taken. This will help to demonstrate that they have taken reasonable steps to control the risk of Legionnaires’ disease.
If a tenant becomes ill with Legionnaires’ disease, the landlord could be held criminally liable if they can be shown to have been negligent in their duty to control the risk of the disease. This could result in a fine or even imprisonment.
There is no legislation which directs landlords to have a legionella risk assessment completed every X amount of years, but landlords do have a legal responsibility to ensure the health and safety tenants by keeping the property safe and free from health hazards like legionnaires’ disease.
The recurrence rate of legionella risk assessments in Scottish properties is different for every property, but we’d would advise any duty-holder managing a rental property to have an LRA done every year to stay on the safe side; bacteria grows fast!
Here’s an official publication from the UK Health and Safety Executive regarding the control of Legionellosis bacteria in water systems: Link to Article
Watch our legionella risk assessment video to learn more about our Legionella Risk Assessment service for landlords.
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4. EPC – Energy Performance Certificate
An EPC Rating, short for Energy Performance Certificate Rating, is a report issued by a Domestic Energy Assessor (DEA) after they have conducted a formal evaluation of how energy efficient a building is. The EPC Rating rates a building’s energy efficiency on a scale from A (very efficient) to G (inefficient).
A property’s EPC Rating gives owners an indication of how costly it will be to power and heat the property, and roughly what its carbon dioxide emissions will be.
An EPC report includes helpful suggestions to improve a property’s energy efficiency, which can lead to a higher EPC Rating, indicating increased energy efficiency.
Q: What Certificates Do Landlords Need?
A: By law, all landlords and letting agents must have an EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) in place for any property that they advertise for rent.
An EPC remains valid for 10 years, although it’s advised to renew your EPC after the completion of works which are likely to affect your property’s EPC rating (eg: upgrading to double-glazed windows, changing your heating system, switching to energy efficient lighting, etc).
After 10 years, another energy efficiency assessment must be arranged to produce a new EPC Certificate.
The Scottish Government plans to introduce new regulations from 2025, with EPC requirements for rental properties in Scotland as follows :
– any property marketed for private rent as of 2025 must have an EPC rating of C or above
– all properties actively rented in the private sector must have an EPC rating of C or above by 2028
These regulations aim to improve the energy efficiency of homes and reduce carbon emissions in line with Scotland’s climate change targets.
To learn more about our EPC inspection process, read our article, or watch our video on YouTube.
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5. PAT – Portable Appliance Testing
Private landlords in Scotland are required, by law, to ensure their rental property, and the appliances within it, meet the repairing standard outlined in The Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 at the start of a tenancy, and throughout a tenancy.
All appliances provided by the landlord under the tenancy MUST be in a reasonable state of repair and in proper working order.
Q: What Certificates Do Landlords Need?
A: Landlords are required to obtain a PAT certificate before entering into a tenancy agreement, and provide it to the tenant upon entering into a new tenancy agreement or upon completion of a new PAT certificate. Landlords must keep the PAT certificate for 6 years following the date of the appliance inspection.
A PAT certificate expires 5 years after the date of inspection, but landlords must keep PAT certificates for 6 years.
There is no mandatory inspection rate, although landlords have a legal duty to ensure their appliances are in a reasonable state of repair, and in proper working order throughout the duration of the tenancy.
A lot can happen in 5 years–that’s over 260 weeks!–which is why we usually advise to have portable appliances in rental properties tested every year.
To learn more about our PAT process, check outour video on YouTube.
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6. Smoke Alarm & Heat Alarm Certificate – BS 5839 Report
ALL HOMES in Scotland must be fitted with a satisfactory fire detection & warning system in order to meet the tolerable standard.
Q: What Certificates Do Landlords Need?
A: As a landlord, you must should have a certificate that verifies their property’s compliance with the necessary smoke and heat alarm requirements. This certificate ensures that the alarms are not only installed to a satisfactory standard but also fully compliant with the regulations applicable to landlords.
All homes in Scotland require a minimum of:
1 smoke alarm in every living-room
1 smoke alarm in every hallway/landing
1 heat alarm in every kitchen
- Smoke Alarm Requirements – Non-HMO
Landlords of properties that are not HMO (House in Multiple Occupation) are legally required to have their smoke and heat alarms checked once every 10 years. However, it is recommended to have them checked every year. Smoke and heat alarms can stop working unexpectedly, and this may not be noticed until it is too late.
- Smoke Alarm Requirements – HMO
Landlords of properties that are HMO are legally required to have their smoke and heat alarms checked every year. This is because HMO properties have more occupants, and there is a greater risk of fire.
To learn more about Fire Safety Requirements for Landlords, watch our video on YouTube.
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7. Emergency Lighting Certificate – BS 5266 Report *HMO Only
The law surrounding emergency lighting in HMOs is multi-layered, variable-dependent, and technical, so rather than bore you with legal jargon, we’ll summarise, in a general sense, what is required of landlords managing HMO properties.
The most essential emergency lighting requirements for HMO Properties in Scotland are:
- HMOs must have emergency fire exit signage, clearly visible, directing tenants toward the nearest, or only fire exit, and;
- HMOs must have emergency lighting which adequately illuminates all fire exit routes in the property in the event of a power cut.
The legislation applies much like common sense here: If it seems inadequate, it probably is.
Q: What Certificates Do Landlords Need?
A: Although emergency lighting certificates aren’t listed in any single piece of UK legislation, landlords are required to have the emergency lighting in their HMO fully tested every year, and functional operation should be tested at least every month. The results of these inspections must be recorded in accordance with British Standards BS EN 50172:2004 / BS 5266-1-8:2004.
Depending on the size and locality of the HMO, Emergency Lighting should last a total of 1-3 hours when disconnected from the mains power.
Landlords have a general duty to mitigate all reasonably foreseeable fire risks within their HMO property, and any defects in a property’s emergency lighting system should be addressed and repaired as soon as reasonably possible.
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8. Portable Fire Extinguisher Certificate – BS 5306 Report *HMO Only
Fire extinguishers are probably one of the most undervalued safety precautions out there, but they’re doubtlessly one of the first things your tenants would scramble to find if a small fire broke out in your HMO property.
Fire Extinguishers should therefore be located in an easily visible and accessible location, preferably wall-mounted, that’s less than 30 metres from potential fire-sources.
Q: What Certificates Do Landlords Need?
A: HMOs in Scotland are legally required to contain appropriate means for fighting fire which is subject to a regular schedule of maintenance. Failure on either of these points is a criminal offence. Most inspectors will offer certificates as validation that a property’s fire fighting equipment is present, positioned adequately, and in good working order. Fire extinguisher servicing is important to ensure the reliability and effectiveness of fire extinguishers in your HMO.
Most HMOs in Scotland will require at least one fire extinguisher in the main hallway, and one fire blanket in the kitchen.
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Summary
ensuring the safety of rental properties in Scotland involves obtaining a range of essential safety certificates that comply with UK and Scottish laws. These certificates are crucial not only for legal compliance but also for the well-being of both landlords and tenants.
Here’s a quick recap of the 8 safety certificates required by landlords in Scotland:
- Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR): This report ensures the safety of the property’s electrical installation and should be completed before tenants move in.
- Gas Safety Certificate (CP12): This certificate is mandatory for all rental homes and shows that the gas systems are safe to operate. Gas safety inspections must be carried out annually.
- Legionella Risk Assessment Certificate (LRA): Landlords must conduct regular assessments to prevent the risk of Legionnaires’ disease.
- Energy Performance Certificate (EPC): This certificate is a legal requirement for all rental properties and indicates their energy efficiency and carbon emissions.
- Portable Appliance Testing (PAT): This testing ensures that appliances provided by the landlord are in safe working order, and should be completed regularly.
- Smoke Alarm & Heat Alarm Certificate:All homes must have adequate fire detection and warning systems. Certificates verify compliance.
- Emergency Lighting Certificate: In HMOs (Houses in Multiple Occupation), emergency lighting must be present and tested annually.
- Portable Fire Extinguisher Certificate:In HMOs, fire extinguishers must be present, well-maintained, and validated through certificates.
These certificates are essential not only for legal compliance but also for ensuring the safety and well-being of tenants. Keeping these certifications up to date and conducting regular inspections and maintenance is crucial for landlords to fulfill their duty of care to their tenants.
At Quinnergy, we provide services to help landlords manage these certifications efficiently, saving both time and money.
We hope we’ve helped you understand what certificates landlords need in Scotland.
If you have any questions about landlord compliance, Quinnergy has the answers; give us a call to see how we can make your life easier: 01355 201206
