Housing standards in Salford

Salford City Council aims to ensure that landlords who provide rented accommodation in the city supply a good quality service to their tenants.

Private landlords repair responsibilities

As a landlord you have certain responsibilities and you must ensure that the accommodation you provide is free from serious hazards and the homes are fit for habitation. The property must be dry and structurally stable. The heating and hot/cold water supplies, lighting, ventilation, gas and electricity supplies, bathrooms, kitchens and drainage must be kept in good working order. This includes damp and mould, as a landlord you must treat cases of damp and mould with the utmost seriousness and act promptly to protect your tenants’ health.

Read government guidance about understanding and addressing the health risk of damp and mould in the home. It makes sure that social and private sector landlords have a thorough understanding of their legal responsibilities, and of the serious health risks that damp and mould pose.

Keep your home free from damp and mould

You must carry out repairs promptly and act immediately on urgent repairs. The how to rent a safe home guide explains tenants’ and landlords’ obligations. If you don't carry out repairs, your tenant can report this to us. We will investigate the problem and where properties are found to be in poor condition and improvements are not carried out, the council has enforcement powers under the Housing Act 2004 and other legislation to make sure landlords bring properties up to an acceptable standard.

There are a number of documents below, which you can download which prescribe certain standards that need to be achieved in private rented accommodation.

Do I need to apply for a landlord licence?

Landlords who rent out a property in certain areas of Salford, must obtain a licence from Salford City Council.

You will need a licence to rent out your property if it is in a designated selective licence scheme or the property is used as a House in Multiple Occupation visit Landlord licensing for further information.

Gas safety

You must arrange for all gas appliance and pipework to be checked annually by a Gas Safe Registered Engineer.

Electrical Safety

The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 came into force on 1 June 2020 and have applied to all tenancies from 1 April 2021.

The regulations require landlords to ensure that national standards for electrical safety are met for any properties that they let out and that electrical installations must be inspected and tested by a qualified and competent person at least every five years.

Landlords must obtain a report (usually an ‘Electrical Installation Condition Report’ or ‘EICR’) from the person conducting the inspection and test, which explains its outcomes and any investigative or remedial work required. Electrical installations are things like the wiring, plug socket, light fittings and the fuse box or consumer unit. Landlords must retain a copy of the report to give to the inspector and tester who will undertake the next inspection and test.

Salford City Council can request for the landlord to submit the electrical safety report (‘EICR’) to the authority, within seven days of having received a written request.

The requirement to have electrical installations periodically tested, was previously only applicable to ‘Houses in Multiple Occupation’ (HMO), however the regulations extend this duty to most types of privately rented accommodation.

There are also other requirements on landlords in the regulations which includes providing copies of the report from the inspector and tester to your tenants.

All landlords who are required to provide an EICR, should check on their Electrical Inspector’s specific competency to carry out inspection and testing, before engaging them to carry out an EICR. The easiest way is to check, the inspector is a member of a relevant competent person scheme and specifically registered for electrical inspection and testing, by visiting Electrical competent person website.

If the Electrical Inspector carrying out the inspection and testing work is not on competent person register, you will be required to certify their competence, which includes providing their experience, whether they have adequate insurance and hold a qualification covering the current version of the Wiring Regulations and the periodic inspection, testing and certification of electrical installations.

We must be assured that the inspector carrying out the inspection and testing of electrical installations and producing the EICR, is competent to do so. Where the council does not accept an inspection and testing report, the landlord will still need to provide a report from an inspector who is properly qualified. Salford City Council will not be liable for any additional cost for doing this and the council may also take enforcement action against a landlord because they have not provided a report to say that the electrical standards are met, from someone who is suitably qualified and competent to do this.

Salford City Council will accept an Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC) instead of an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR), in certain cases.

The council will decide on a case-by-case basis whether to accept an EIC instead of an EICR, please contact housingcompliance@salford.gov.uk if you would like to discuss this.

You can read the council enforcement policy, which explains how we deal with non-compliance

Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms

From 1 October 2022, all private and social landlords must ensure that in their rented properties there are:

Smoke alarms on every storey where there is a room used wholly or partly as living accommodation; and

Carbon monoxide alarms in any room used wholly or partly as living accommodation where a fixed combustion appliance is present (excluding gas cookers)

Ensure smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms are repaired or replaced once informed and found that they are faulty.

The Government has published detailed Guidance for Landlords and Tenants on these regulations.

Where do I complain about a rented property?

If you are a tenant and you feel that there are possible disrepair issues in your rented property, you can contact us. Please see our complain about a rented property page.

Empty Property

If you would like to tell us about an empty property you can complete our report an empty property form.

This page was last updated on 4 March 2024

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