Genuinely need to get your property back. Don’t panic! There are several basic steps that you must take before serving an eviction notice on your tenant. 

Here are 3 crucial steps to help you along the way.

Step 1

You must have an Energy Performance Certificate, also known as the EPC. This has been legal requirement since April 2018.

An EPC looks at the energy proficiency of a property and provides a rating from A, most efficient, to G, least efficient.

EPC’s last for a period of 10 years and you may therefore not realise that it’s expired or that it is about to expire.

You should therefore check the date of the last EPC for your property.  As they say, time flies! If your EPC is not in date, your eviction notice will be invalid.  You could also be subject to a fine of between £500 and £5,000 from your Local Authority.

Step 2

There is a legal requirement for landlords to have the gas appliances and gas pipework checked at their properties annually.  

Even if your tenant provides their own gas appliance, as a landlord, you will still be responsible for ensuring that the associated installation and pipework are safe.

You must make sure that your gas safety certificate is up-to-date and that you have provided your tenant with a copy.  Again, failure to do so will invalidate your eviction notice.

But you should also be aware that the consequences of not having an up-to-date gas safety certificate are incredibly serious as you and your agent could face prosecution, a fine of up to £6,000 and even up to 6 months in prison.

Step 3

As a responsible landlord, you should also ensure that you have a valid landlord electrical safety certificate for your property. This is to ensure that the national standards for electrical safety are met.

However, a landlords electrical safety certificate is only valid for a period of 5 years after which it will need to be renewed.  Failing to have a valid certificate in place will not only invalidate your eviction notice but could open you up to a local authority fine of up to £30,000. Need help to evict a tenant? We offer reasonable fixed fees, and we provide full support throughout the process. Contact us if you’d like to learn more.