Appliances In Rental Property - UK Landlords Article

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Appliances in Rental Property - UK Landlords

An evaluation on the inclusion or non inclusion of appliances within rental property. A article focused on those involved with the UK Buy to let market.

Author: Chris Horne

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Introduction
Typically rental accommodation is provided part furnished which means that appliances such as: washing machine, fridge, freezer and oven / hob are included. The outlay for these items doesn’t have to be huge; budget on about £1000 for basic models. What it does is give your property a broader appeal within the rental market. This is because the accommodation should be attractive to tenants without their own appliances as well as some that have their own. In the case of the latter, if they do like your place they can still take it and then opt to store or dispose of their appliances.

The other option is to go for the fully furnished option. In this scenario you would offer a full range of furniture and appliances. This package is frequently offered as a way of attracting a corporate lets where a tenant is required to move for work and does not want to got to the expense of furnishing the property for what could turn out to be a relatively short period of time.

Options
Having decided that want to furnish your accommodation with appliances, what should I look for?

Firstly, if you are looking at providing cooking facilities you have a number of options and what you opt for will depend very much on the type of property you have and the type of tenant you want to attract. I aim for the 20 to 30 something young professional market, which accounts for the highest proportion of total rental demand.

I go for a combination of hob, oven and extractor as I generally refurbish my properties before letting. This might seem extravagant to some landlords but I find that providing new well appointed accommodation will get your property let quicker and help to avoid expensive voids. Buying a combination of appliances also means that you are likely to obtain a discount for purchasing a pack rather than having to buy separate.

The drawback of providing appliances in this way is that if one fails, then it might not be possible to obtain a replacement or a matching appliance which would leave your kitchen looking like a bit of mishmash. Some landlords suggest that having freestanding units is better, as they are more easily replaced. I personally think that the aesthetic benefits of built in appliances overrides this argument, but really it’s down to personal preferences.

Where you’re letting out a micro unit in the centre of London for instance, it is likely that your tenants will not be doing a great deal of cooking and what food they do prepare is likely to just be heated through. In this situation where space is at a premium, then consider a combination cooker microwave, which are much smaller than a cooker and can either be positioned on a worktop or wall mounted to save space.

Obviously if you have just purchased a period farmhouse, the addition of an Aga would add considerably to the appeal of the property and hopefully to your rental levels. However, you should be aware that running costs and maintenance charges for these pieces of rustic nostalgia are high.

Finally, where you don’t already use gas, the fitting of even a single gas appliance will result in you having to obtain a gas safety certificate (GSC) for each year. The price of this starts at approximately £60 upwards & is a significant annual expense. Therefore, whilst it is generally recognised that gas hobs are superior to electric ones, it would be the case that if it is the only gas appliance in the property the additional costs of obtaining this certificate would not be justified. Have a look below for more details on GSC.

Washing machines are really a must for all professional tenants. Gone are the days that they were prepared to lug all their dirty washing to the nearest laundrette. Fridges and freezers are another essential. Here the main considerations are size and whether you go for two separates or a combined unit.

I would always recommend the latter. This is because it offers space saving and practical advantages. A single high level fridge freezer only takes up the same floor space as one separate fridge or freezer. In addition the fridge compartment is also at eye level, which is much easier to use than a floor level unit.

I would always recommend that you over provide in terms of space. Don’t be stingy with the size of these appliances. It will really start to annoy tenants if there is insufficient space for their food, particularly where they are paying high rents. It probably won’t be enough to force them out, but it could be a factor in them starting to look. For the sake of a few pounds, it really isn’t worth annoying your tenants.

Insurance
It is possible to get insurance for your appliances as if they go wrong it can be costly to get them fixed. Generally though it is actually cheaper to buy new after the costs of labour and replacement parts are taken into account so I wouldn’t recommend it.

Safety
You should remember that when purchasing appliances their installation will automatically mean that you are subject to the provisions of the Gas Safety (Installation & Use) Act 1988. This states that a landlord is responsible for having gas pipe work and appliances certified as being in safe working condition. The inspection process has to be carried out at least once a year and by a CORGI (Council for Registered Gas Installers) registered tradesperson.

These inspections shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours and plumbers charge either by appliance or time. Prices have doubled in the last couple of years as plumbers have cottoned on to the opportunities in the ‘buy to let’ market and the shortage of plumbers gets ever more acute. Expect to pay £60 upwards just for a boiler and gas oven to be checked. For your money you will be issued with a gas safety certificate. A copy should also be left for the tenants with one retained by the gas engineer for their records.

In fact the landlord is legally obliged to produce this record to the tenant on the grant of the tenancy and within 28 days of each annual inspection. The record must be kept for a minimum of two years from the date of the check and it must contain the following information.

* The date of the check
* The address of the installation
* The name and address of the landlord or his agent
* A description of the location of each appliance checked
* Any remedial action taken
* Confirmation that the check complies with the rules laid down in the regulations
* Name and signature of the individual who carried out the check and their company’s registration number with the health and safety executive

Landlords who fail to comply with these regulations can be held criminally liable (to say nothing of the insurance policy for the property potentially being invalidated). Just to make you aware of how seriously the courts take the matter. In 1999 a landlord was found guilty of manslaughter following a tragedy caused by non-compliance with the Regulations.

Thankfully there is as yet no legal requirement to have electrical appliances checked in the same way. However, I would recommend that this is done if there is any doubt on the safety of the device or its’ wiring.

About Author

Property Hawk a site aimed directly at UK Landlords. The site incorporates free property management software that enables landlords to track all their financial data relating to their portfolio. It allows users to print tenancy agreements and other forms FREE FOREVER. The site generates a real time rent book for each property as well as calculating a landlords tax liabilty. The service is totally free to use at http://www.propertyhawk.co.uk

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Appliances in Rental Property - UK Landlords