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Question Title: Fire and furniture
| Question: 376 |
| I have been asked to find a tenant for a flat owned by an academic who is going on sabbatical for 6 months in the United States. I have looked at the property and whilst I don't think I will have any difficulty letting it, a good deal of the furniture doesn't have any fire safety display labels. What can be done ?
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| Answer: |
| It is the view of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister that a private landlord or owner, letting a single dwelling, who lets his property on a one-off short-term basis whilst, for example, he is temporarily working away from home, is not a commercial landlord and therefore not a 'supplier in the course of business' as defined in the Regulations. On the other hand, a much longer let or series of lets, where the landlord views the property's primary purpose as a source of income rather than his residence, is likely to be classified as a business supply and such lettings would then come under the Regulations. Private landlords who let a second home, or own one or more properties specifically for the purpose of letting must comply with the Regulations. However, an agent when acting for a private landlord is subject to the Regulations, even if the landlord is not; this is a seemingly unfair distinction that arises in the Regulations. But it has been suggested that an agent acting only in the capacity of introducing suitable tenants to a landlord (and taking no part in the preparation of an inventory or day-to-day management) is not carrying out a 'supply' and is thus exempted from the Regulations. Where agents wish to gain relief from the Regulations in this way, it is important that there is no inference of 'supply' on the part of the agent and so any tenancy agreement (or other contract for the letting of the property, including the furniture) should be drawn directly between the client landlord and the tenant. For more information see Letting Factsheet 3.
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References:
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Pages:
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Hyperlinks:
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Letting Handbook |
Chapter 8 |
letting-handbook-and-factsheets.html
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Letting Factsheet No 3 |
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factsheet-3
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For more information, discuss on the Forum
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