Gas safety
A landlord gas safety certificate should be made available to your tenants. Inspections must take place annually and be completed by an approved engineer. You can check if an engineer is registered on the gas safe register.
A carbon monoxide (CO) detector must be fitted in a room used for living accommodation where there is a fixed combustion appliance (other than a gas cooker) in this room in your rented property. This includes a solid fuel appliance, such as coal fire, and a gas boiler for heating and / or hot water. CO alarms must be regularly tested and where your tenant reports that it is not working, this check and any necessary repairs and or replacement must be undertaken as soon as is reasonably practicable.
Government advice for landlords on the Smoke and CO Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022.
Electrical safety and performance
Landlords are legally required to have a electrical inspection certification report (EICR) carried out on all rented properties.
Landlords - your electrical safety obligations.
The Health and Safety Executive provides information on maintaining electrical equipment safely.
Energy performance certificates should be available to your tenants.
Tenancy agreements and deposit protection
We recommend that a tenancy agreement is drawn up between you and the tenants. All deposits must be registered straight away with one of the three Government backed schemes. Landlords and agents should familiarise themselves with the small number of permitted fees.
The following links will help you understand why a tenancy agreement is needed and what must be included in it, as well as a template to use.
Tenancy agreements a guide for landlords.
Deposit protection schemes - you must protect a deposit and provide proof of deposit protection to your tenant.
Property inspections
It is good practice to inspect your rented properties on a regular basis. This should be done at least 2 times a year.
Download a copy of the inspection template (Word, 10KB).
Refuse storage, disposal and bin storage
We promote responsible waste disposal. Waste accumulations and pest problems are a frequent reason for complaints. Landlords are asked to inform tenants of the recycling, bulk waste and standard waste collections. Tenants should have the right facilities; make sure refuse collection arrangements are appropriate for the property. You should also check your bin day so your waste or recycling is collected on the right day.
Make sure you and your tenants are aware of your responsibilities.
Fire safety information
If your property is inspected, officers will be looking into a number of fire safety aspects such as whether a smoke detector is on each floor. These should be mains operated.
For further advice on fire standards in houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) see the HMO fire standards guide (PDF, 290KB). This guidance is to help you comply with the legal requirements with regards to fire safety.
You can find out more about fire safety on the London Fire Brigade website.
Houses in multiple occupation (HMO)
Anyone who owns or manages an HMO which is occupied by 5 or more people needs a mandatory licence.
HMOs of 3 or 4 people will need to meet certain HMO safety standards. Anyone wanting to set up an HMO of any size will need to apply for planning permission.
For guidance on HMO space standards and the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) please see the HMO standards document (PDF, 334KB). You can also view our page on the rating system and why it's needed.
Visit our HMO web pages for more information.
Space standards for single family dwellings
Find out more about the space standards for single family dwellings (PDF, 84KB).
Landlord accreditation
The London Landlord Accreditation Scheme (LLAS) provides training and ongoing professional development for landlords.
Website: www.londonlandlords.org.uk
Twitter: @LLAS_UKLAP
The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) also runs an accreditation scheme with a branch in Croydon.
Website: www.nrla.org.uk
Twitter: @NRLAssociation
Right to rent
Private landlords must check the immigration status of prospective tenants and lodgers before they move in, to avoid liability for a civil penalty. This is called the tenant’s ‘right to rent’.
Services and initiatives for private landlords and agents
Due to increasing demand for accommodation and a shortage of social housing in the borough, we need landlords and agents within the M25 including Kent and Sussex to work with us as part of our housing solutions strategy.
We can provide a seamless lettings service to accommodate your needs free of charge, offer a range of generous monetary incentives, deposit bonds and all legal documentation such as tenancy agreements.
More information about this service can be found on the housing initiatives web pages.
Contact us via email landlords@croydon.gov.uk or call 020 8726 6789.
Useful contacts and websites
| HMO team | hmo@croydon.gov.uk |
| Land Registry | www.landregistry.gov.uk |
| Mayor of London landlord and letting agent checker | https://www.london.gov.uk/rogue-landlord-checker |
| Pest control team | Pest control services |
| Pollution team | pollution@croydon.gov.uk |
| Private sector housing enforcement team | hsg-privatehousing@croydon.gov.uk |
| Thames Water | 0800 3169800 |
| Waste Management (Croydon) | adminwasteservices@croydon.gov.uk |
| Bin deliveries: new builds and planning | newbuildbins@croydon.gov.uk |
| Valuation Office (council tax band queries) | www.voa.gov.uk |
Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms
The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide (England) Regulations 2015 (2015 Regulations) and the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (2022 Regulations) introduce duties on a landlord (some exemptions exist) to ensure smoke alarms are fitted in all private rented accommodation and carbon monoxide alarms where there is any type of fixed combustion application, such as solid fuel combustion appliances or gas boilers (applies to gas boilers fitted from the beginning of October 2022).
Landlords are required to ensure that all smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are in working order at the start of the tenancy. If a tenant (or a tenant's nominated representative) reports that an alarm may not be in proper working order and is found not to be, the alarm must be repaired or replaced as soon as reasonably practicable.
For those premises that require a property licence (houses in multiple occupation subject to mandatory licensing), the 2015 Regulations amend existing requirements to make compliance with the regulations a mandatory licence condition.
It is our responsibility to ensure compliance which includes the use of a remedial notice and, if that is not complied with, to carrying out the works in default. Additionally, where we are satisfied that a landlord has not complied with a remedial notice, a penalty charge notice, with a penalty of up to £5,000, can be issued. The option of taking a criminal prosecution in a magistrates court is not available. The penalty sums received can be used for any of our functions.
The 2015 Regulations require that we must prepare and publish a statement of principles which we are required to follow in determining the amount of penalty charge.
Determining the penalty and banding the offence
The policy for determining the penalty and banding of the offence covers:
- steps to decide what is the most appropriate sanction(s) to be taken against an offending landlord or property agent
- steps for setting the level of the penalty where the sanction includes a financial penalty
Read the determining the penalty and banding the offence policy (PDF, 2.4MB).