Gold Standard Charter: The standards

The landlord/managing agent standard

The landlord/managing agent standard has the following requirements:

1. Must meet the fit and proper person criteria (as defined in the Housing Act 2004)
2. Have a valid property licence
3. Comply with licensing conditions set out in the property licence
4. Have continued compliance with maximum occupancy conditions set on the licence
5. Current and valid membership of an approved accreditation scheme
6. Signed up to a deposit/redress scheme (if deposits taken)
7. Willing to accept tenants in receipt of benefits
8. Protect tenants against harassment or illegal eviction
9. Provide an opportunity for the tenant to carry out a joint inventory inspection and walkthrough at the start and end of the tenancy, alternatively where a walkthrough is not possible, the tenant must be given the opportunity to verify and agree with any inventory report provided
10. The managing agent must be a member of a recognized redress scheme. (Managing Agents only)
11. If the managing agent holds client funds, they must be a member of a client money protection scheme(Managing Agents only)
12. The agent must publish and display the correct prescribed information about landlord and tenant fees on their website and in their office, respectively, for prospective clients to view(Managing Agents only)

Approved accreditation schemes include:

• London Landlord Accreditation Scheme (LLAS)
• National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA)
• UK Association of Letting Agents (UKALA)
• ARLA Propertymark
• Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
• Safeagent

The tenancy standard

The tenancy standard requires that tenancies must include:

1. A written rental agreement: this must always be provided before the tenant occupies the property and must include the following:
   • The rent and key terms
   • Frequency of payment
   • The period of tenancy or licence
   • Information regarding the deposit and how the deposit is protected
   • A clear description of which party is responsible for paying; council tax, utility bills, phone, broadband, satellite TV or other media services and any other regular charges known to affect the letting
   • An explanation of how any rent increases will be imposed including a statement making clear what notice the landlord must give the tenant before the rent increase will take effect
   • The period of notice required and how the letting will be terminated
   • Include an anti-social behaviour clause which would effectively aid legal termination of a tenancy, should the tenant be proved to be behaving repeatedly in an anti- social way
2. A cleaning contract with a suitable contractor to clean the common parts of the building/HMO regularly. (Does not apply to Selective Licence properties or HMO properties let on a single contract)
3. A schedule of conditions and/or inventory appropriate to the property concerned.
4. A copy of the contract and associated paperwork should be kept by the landlord and a copy given to the tenant. The agreement must be signed and dated by both parties.
5. Third Parties: in the letting of flats and other dwellings where the landlord does not control the whole building, this standard requires that the landlord takes all reasonable steps to ensure that the duties falling on parties outside the letting agreement, for example management companies, are discharged properly, in a timely fashion and that the landlord will pay service and other charges when requested.
6. Copies of all relevant certificates for the property, which must be given to the tenant every time a new certificate is issued (in compliance with relevant legislation).
7. Contact details for the landlord/agent/manager given to tenants with a written procedure for reporting disrepairs with timescales for responses from the agent/landlord depending on severity of the problem (i.e. urgent issues such as leaks or items that could be considered to be dangerous, to be dealt with within 24 hours or 3 working days depending on the severity of the problem. These include, but are not limited to, the failure of core facilities in the property such as the provision of heating, hot water, broken windows and doors, electrical problems. Other issues should be dealt with as soon as possible but no later than within 14 days, unless agreed in writing with the private sector housing team
8. Reasonable notice of access: except in case of an emergency, landlords should give the tenant at least 24 hours’ notice, in writing or by the residents preferred means and stating reasons when access to the property is required by the landlord, contractor or agent
9. Information supplied by the council re council services and waste collections etc.
10. Provide security of tenure by giving the tenant the choice of a fixed term tenancy of up to five years for security, or a ‘periodic tenancy’ for flexibility after the initial six or twelve months of the tenancy has ended successfully

The property standard

The property standard requires that properties must:

1. Have landlords insurance in place for the building fixtures, making clear to the tenants the need to insure their contents
2. Have adequate fire protection to meet BS 5839 part 6 2019+A1:2020 Fire Standard (and a Fire Safety Risk Assessment for Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO)
3. Have appropriate waste storage arrangements
4. Be free from category 1 hazards (No imminent risks to health, safety and welfare within the dwelling)
5. Be free from significant category 2 hazards (No medium-term risks to health, safety and welfare within the dwelling)
6. Have a gas service and repair contract (when there are gas appliances in the property)
7. Have reasonably modern facilities and services meeting Decent Home Standard
8. Provide a reasonable degree of thermal comfort i.e. EPC certificate with a rating of C and above and have adequate heating in all rooms i.e. capable of achieving temperatures of between 18 and 21oc if the outside temperature is - 1oc, without unreasonably high fuel costs. (This may necessitate works to improve the energy efficiency rating of the property)
9. Have valid gas safety certificates
10. Have valid fire alarm test certificates
11. Have adequate security measures installed i.e. sound and secure windows, frames and glazing with locks. External doors must be sound and secure with adequate locks to comply with BS 3621
12. If previous occupants have not surrendered keys to the property entrance door, or to the doors of dwellings within an HMO, the licence holder must ensure that the relevant locks are changed, before new occupants move in
13. Be in a good state of decoration at the beginning of the tenancy with clean floor coverings throughout
14. Appliances provided by the landlord or managing agent must be provided in a good state of repair and clean with appropriate certificates for gas appliances and PAT testing for electrical appliances