Holiday Let Rules And Regulations

A fire risk assessment will need to be carried out for any property serving as a holiday let accommodation for paying guests.

There will be other things you might have to consider when it comes to fire safety in your property, however part of the reason why thousands of owners trust us to take the hassle out of holiday letting is that we can provide clear and simple information. We’ll run you through the steps of how to reduce any potential risk in your home and guide you on what to expect.

HM Government Fire Risk Assessment

If you would like any advice or further information on ways in which you can reduce the risk of fire in your holiday property then speak with us today, we’d be happy to help, and we will put you in touch with the right people to make sure you’re properly covered.

The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 outline the duties of landlords to ensure gas appliances, fittings and chimneys/flues provided for tenants are safe.

Your responsibilities if you let a property equipped with gas appliances are:

Maintenance: pipework, appliances and chimney/flues need to be maintained safely. Gas appliances should be serviced in accordance with the frequency given in the manufacturer’s instructions. If these are not available, you should ask a Gas Safe registered engineer to service them annually.

Gas safety checks: An annual gas safety check should be carried out on each gas appliance/flue. This will ensure gas appliances and fittings are safe to use. There is a legal requirement on you to have all gas appliances safety checked by a registered engineer annually and you also need to maintain gas pipework and flues in a safe condition. This is UK law.

Records: A record of the annual gas safety check should be provided to your existing tenants within 28 days of completion, or to new tenants upon the start of their tenancy. If the rental period is less than 28 days at a time you may display a copy of the record in a prominent position within the dwelling. You’ll need to keep copies of the record for at least 2 years.

Last, but certainly not least, make sure anyone carrying out gas work on your property is Gas Safe registered – this is not only the law but the most important step to ensuring the safety of your tenants.

For more key information on short-term lets, you can also check out the download from the Gas Safe Register website.

Furniture has to comply with the The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988. Fire resistant labels are required on sofas, easy chairs, beds, mattresses, headboards and any piece of furniture that has foam interior.

The purpose of the act is to encourage and set levels of fire resistance for domestic upholstered furniture, furnishings and other products containing upholstery. Display labelling is required to indicate the ignition resistance of each item of furniture and needs to be attached to all new furniture at the point of sale. Some items are excluded, but it’s always worth checking which items need to have the correct labelling and thus making sure they conform. The regulations apply only to upholstered furniture supplied for domestic use, a type of use that implies a low fire hazard. Most holiday lets are regarded as constituting domestic use and, therefore, are covered by the regulations.

If you provide self-catering accommodation that contains upholstered furniture, the legislation applies to you. All furniture (new and second-hand) in your self-catering accommodation that is covered by the regulations must comply with certain safety tests.

Different types of accommodation require different levels of conformity. Hotels, for example, where furniture designed to cope with a greater fire hazard (e.g. hotel beds and chairs) is available and may be offered to you by some retailers. When re-equipping your self-catering property, it will normally be for you to decide whether or not you require the new furniture to meet these higher fire resistance standards. If in any doubt, check with your local fire authority.

A hot tub is a desirable addition to your holiday home’s garden. Owners have a duty to assess hot tub health risks and comply with the Health and Safety Executive “guidance” on how to clean and maintain a hot tub.

This post explains further with a link to the guidance.

Have you taken safeguards to limit the risk of slips and trips in your holiday home? Fatal accidents happen, especially when guests are in unfamiliar surroundings.

You have a responsibility to ensure the safety of holidaymakers and employees. Regularly inspect your floors, rugs, mats, carpets and check for trip hazards. Check handrails are securely fitted, lighting is adequate and water spillages are minimised on bathroom floors.

Not forgetting external paths, the driveway, patios, steps, and decking are free of defects and slip hazards.

Your changeover checklist should have a procedure to identify hazards, so they can be rectified as soon as possible and be prevented from happening.

Do I need a special TV licence?

If you offer short-stay accommodation to overnight visitors, whether in serviced or self-catering accommodation, and you provide a device on which your guests can view TV programmes, you need to apply for a ‘Hotel and Mobile Units Television Licence’ (hotel licence). It should be noted that a licence is required regardless of whether the TV programmes are viewed through a TV, computer, mobile phone, games console, digital box, DVD/VHS recorder or any other device.

Despite its name, the hotel licence encompasses accommodation ranging from hotels, guesthouses, bed and breakfasts and inns to holiday cottages, flats and chalets through to camping and caravan sites and narrowboats.

The TV Licensing Authority says that you should always take out a hotel licence if you are providing televisions for the use of paying guests. While staying on your property, guests are not covered by their home licence, with one exception: long-term hotel residents.

All letting properties must have adequate buildings and contents insurance as well as public liability insurance with a £2,000,000 minimum level of cover. We would recommend getting your insurance from holiday letting insurance experts.

Below are some recommended holiday home insurers:

Boshers Holiday Home Insurance: https://www.boshers.co.uk/holiday-home-insurance/

Schofields Insurance: https://www.schofields.ltd.uk/

We have a dedicated network of tradespeople who we regularly contract out to.

No matter what your need, we will have someone on hand to help you out, and fix issues or provide a service at your property, whether it be routine or emergency.

We’ve built up this network for the benefit of our owners and if you let your holiday property with us, then you will immediately benefit from any and all of this expertise. You never know when you might need it.

Get the most from your holiday home and help your property reach its true booking potential.