Ask Nik: “I’ve purchased a tenanted property - what do I need to do?”
Question from a landlord:
Hi Nik,
I’ve recently purchased a property that has tenants in place. I don’t have any previous experience as a landlord and I’m not sure what I need to do straight away. Is there anything urgent I should be aware of?
Thanks,
Geraldine.
Nik’s reply:
Hi Geraldine,
Thanks for your message – and welcome to the world of being a landlord.
The first thing I’d flag is your legal responsibility around property condition, which kicks in the moment ownership transfers to you – whether you realise there’s a problem or not.
Under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, if the previous landlord was aware of any repairs or issues that made the property unfit for human habitation, you are legally considered to be aware of them from the date the ownership changed. The idea is that tenants shouldn’t be left in limbo or have to start from scratch just because there’s a new name on the paperwork.
So, if a tenant had reported a dodgy boiler, faulty electrics or damp to the previous owner and nothing was done, and you now unknowingly sit on it for months, a court could later decide the property was unfit during that time – and potentially order you to pay the tenant rent back for that entire period.
I suggest you carry out an inspection as soon as possible. Don’t just look around – speak to the tenants and ask if they’ve raised anything previously too. Some issues won’t be visible and will only present themselves when used, e.g. an appliance.
Here at CPS Homes, we perform regular inspections as standard on our fully managed service. We record what we see and what tenants report(or don’t report!), so if a query ever comes up months later, our landlords are protected by a clear paper trail. It’s a simple but powerful way to prevent future headaches.
Another legal requirement that often catches new landlords out: within 14 days of becoming the new landlord, you must formally notify the tenants in writing that the ownership has changed. If you don’t, you lose the ability to serve a ‘no-fault’ possession notice later on – so it’s more than just a nicety. We do this automatically for every landlord on our fully managed service, but it’s one of those details that’s easy to miss when you’re juggling everything yourself.
We’ve put together a full explainer on the ins and outs of notice rules here: A comprehensive guide to serving tenant notices.
A few other important things to tick off:
- Register with Rent Smart Wales as the new landlord (you’ll also need a licence if you intend to manage it yourself).
- Confirm gas, electric and EPC certificates are all valid and up-to-date – and that they’ve been provided to the tenants.
- Make sure tenants have your bank details for ongoing rent payments, if the account has changed.
If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed, don’t worry – this is exactly the sort of situation where many landlords hand the reins to us. We take care of compliance, inspections, tenant comms, repairs and all the day-to-day management so you don’t have to stress about missing a deadline or making a costly mistake.
If you’d like a chat about how we might help with your purchased property, just drop me a line. No pressure – just friendly advice.
All the best,
Nik
Director of Operations
CPS Homes
P.S. and a slight disclaimer: this isn’t legal advice – it’s just an honest, considered, best-of-my-knowledge answer.
Got a lettings question on your mind? Fire it my way. I’ll always reply privately, and I pick one each month to feature here – always anonymously.
The information contained within this article was correct at the date of publishing and is not guaranteed to remain correct in the present day.
