Mayor of London and GLA elections:
You will need to bring a photo ID to vote at a polling station in the GLA and Mayoral elections on 2 May.
Landlord information pack
Guidance for landlords on safety and standards, as well as contact details for further support.
Gas safety
A landlord gas safety certificate should be made available to your tenants. Inspections must take place annually and be completed by an approved Gas Safe registered. engineer.
It is possible to check if an engineer is registered on the Gas Safe register website.
A carbon monoxide (CO) detector must be fitted in a room used for living accommodation where there is a fixed combustion appliance (other than a gas cooker) in this room in your rented property. This includes a solid fuel appliance, such as coal fire, and a gas boiler for heating and / or hot water. CO alarms must be regularly tested and where your tenant reports that it is not working, this check and any necessary repairs and or replacement must be undertaken as soon as is reasonably practicable.
Government advice for landlords on the Smoke and CO Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022.
Electrical safety and performance
From 1 June 2020 landlords are legally required to have a electrical inspection certification report (EICR) carried out on all rented properties.
Landlords - your electrical safety obligations.
The Health and Safety Executive provides information on maintaining electrical equipment safely.
Energy performance certificates should be available to your tenants.
Tenancy agreements and deposit protection
The council recommends that a tenancy agreement is drawn up between you and the tenants. All deposits must be registered straight away with one of the three Government backed schemes. Landlords and agents should familiarise themselves with the small number of permitted fees. Below are links for help understanding why a tenancy agreement is needed and what must be included in it, as well as a template to use.
Tenancy agreements a guide for landlords
Deposit protection schemes - you must protect a deposit and provide proof of deposit protection to your tenant.
Property maintenance information
Property inspections – during licensing landlords were required to provide evidence of property inspections (expectation for a minimum of 2 a year). A copy of the inspection template is available to download below.
Refuse storage, disposal and bin storage
The council promotes responsible waste disposal. Waste accumulations and pest problems are a frequent reason for complaints. Landlords are asked to inform tenants of the recycling, bulk waste and standard waste collections. Tenants should have the right facilities, so and make sure refuse collection arrangements are appropriate for the property. You should also check your bin day so your waste or recycling is collected on the right day.
Make sure you and your tenants are aware of your responsibilities.
Fire safety information
Fire safety information - during the inspection, officers will be looking into a number of fire safety aspects such as whether a smoke detector is on each floor (these should be mains operated).
For further advice please see HMO fire standards guide available to download below. This guidance sets to help landlords, owners, agents etc. in complying with the legal requirements with regards to fire safety.
Make sure you are aware of your responsibilities as a landlord.
Support when dealing with antisocial behaviour
To support Croydon landlords having to deal with antisocial behaviour (ASB) we have produced an ASB guide for landlords and dealing with ASB flowchart, both are available to download below.
Houses in multiple occupation (HMO)
Anyone who owns or manages an HMO which is occupied by 5 or more persons needs a mandatory licence.
Anyone who owns or manages an HMO which is occupied by 3 or more persons and does not meet the mandatory licensing criteria will need to meet certain HMO safety standards and where a scheme is in operation, a Croydon private rented property licence. Anyone wanting to set up an HMO will need to apply for planning permission.
For guidance on HMO space standards and Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) please see the HMO standards document available to download below.
Visit our HMO web pages for more information.
Landlord accreditation
The London Landlord Accreditation Scheme (LLAS) provides training and on-going professional development for landlords.
Website: www.londonlandlords.org.uk . You can also follow them on Twitter @LLAS_UKLAP
The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) also runs an accreditation scheme with a branch in Croydon.
Website: www.nrla.org.uk
Right to rent
Private landlords must check the immigration status of prospective tenants and lodgers before they move in, to avoid liability for a civil penalty. This is called the tenant’s ‘right to rent’. More information is available to download below.
Letting services and initiatives for private landlords and agents
Due to increasing demand for accommodation and a shortage of social housing in the borough, we need landlords and agents within the M25 including Kent and Sussex to work with us as part of our housing solutions strategy.
We can provide a seamless lettings service to accommodate your needs free of charge, offer a range of generous monetary incentives, deposit bonds and all legal documentation such as tenancy agreements.
More information about this service can be found on the housing initiatives web pages
Contact us via email landlords@croydon.gov.uk or call 020 8726 6789.
Useful contacts and websites
| Anti-social behaviour team | asbteam@croydon.gov.uk |
| Croydon private rented property licensing admin team | propertylicensing@croydon.gov.uk |
| HMO team | hmo@croydon.gov.uk |
| Land Registry | www.landregistry.gov.uk |
| Mayor of London Landlord and Letting Agent Checker | https://www.london.gov.uk/rogue-landlord-checker |
| Pest control team | Pest control services |
| Pollution team | pollution@croydon.gov.uk |
| Selective licensing & enforcement team | hsg-privatehousing@croydon.gov.uk |
| Thames Water | 0800 3169800 |
| Waste Management (Croydon) | adminwasteservices@croydon.gov.uk |
| Bin deliveries New builds / planning | newbuildbins@croydon.gov.uk |
| Valuation Office (council tax band queries) | www.voa.gov.uk |
Advice sheets
Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in private rented properties
The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide (England) Regulations 2015 (2015 Regulations) and the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (2022 Regulations) introduce duties on a landlord (some exemptions exist) to ensure smoke alarms are fitted in all private rented accommodation and carbon monoxide alarms where there is any type of fixed combustion application, such as solid fuel combustion appliances or gas boilers. [Gas boilers from the beginning of October 2022].
Landlords are required to ensure that all smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are in working order at the start of the tenancy. From October 2022 this now requires that when a tenant (or a tenant's nominated representative) reports that an alarm may not be in proper working order and is found not to be, the alarm must be repaired or replaced as soon as reasonably practicable.
For those premises that require a property licence (houses in multiple occupation subject to mandatory licensing and premises subject to selective licensing), the 2015 Regulations amend existing requirements to make compliance with the Regulations a mandatory licence condition.
It is the responsibility of the council to ensure compliance which includes the use of a remedial notice and, if that is not complied with, to carrying out the works in default. Additionally, where the council is satisfied that a landlord has not complied with a remedial notice, a penalty charge notice, with a penalty of up to £5,000, can be issued. The option of taking a criminal prosecution in a magistrates court is not available. The sums received by the local authority can be used for any of its functions.
The 2015 Regulations require that the council must prepare and publish a statement of principles which it is required to follow in determining the amount of penalty charge
Determining the Penalty and Banding the Offence
From the 1st February 2021 Croydon Council have adopted the new version of the policy Determining the Penalty and banding the Offence (PDF, 2.4MB).
The policy covers:
- ‘Determining the Penalty’ steps to determine what is the most appropriate sanction(s) to be taken against an offending landlord or property agent
- ‘Banding the Offence to set the Level of the Financial Penalty’ steps where the sanction includes a Financial Penalty to determine the level of the penalty
NEW Help improve this site by giving feedback Show Hide
Feedback
Send feedback directly to the content team using our website feedback form
You can also join our user research group to receive invites to activities and surveys to help shape future improvements to the site.