New guidance explaining the recent changes in law for Landlords and Tenants has been released by The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government.
A copy of the full guidance can be found at https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus.
A non-exhaustive summary is provided below;
Landlords and tenants should follow government advice regarding strict separation.
If an urgent risk is identified by a tenant, they should allow access to the property by the landlord.
Urgent health and safety issues are defined whereby the tenants’ ability to live safely and maintain their mental and physical health in the property is affected.
Examples are below:
The guidance for tenants: –
NOBODY CAN BE REMOVED FROM THEIR HOME BECAUSE OF THE VIRUS
The guidance for landlords: –
NOBODY CAN BE REMOVED FROM THEIR HOME BECAUSE OF THE VIRUS
Repairs for Landlords
Upon receipt of a letter of claim we recommend:
If the answer is “yes” to the above, then consider whether the repairs can be carried out at a later date to avoid risk to your employees and to the tenant/household. Also consider;
IT IS IMPORTANT TO ENSURE GOVERNMENT GUIDELINES ARE FOLLOWED TO KEEP ALL PARTIES SAFE, ENSURE OBLIGATIONS ARE MET AND MAINTAIN THE LANDLORD AND TENANT RELATIONSHIP.
THE GAS SAFE WEBSITE ADVISES ALL GAS ENGINEERS HAVE SUSPENDED ROUTINE INSPECTIONS AND WILL ONLY CARRY OUT HIGH RISK SCENARIOS.
This guidance is subject to updates, so please refer to https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus for further updates.