As a landlord, it’s important to take out landlord insurance to protect your property. Household emergencies happen frequently, so always safeguard your investment.

Here are five ways to protect your property:

Make sure all gas appliances are safe

The Gas Safety (installation and Use) Regulations 1998 require landlords to provide gas appliances that are safe. Therefore you must have all equipment checked by a Gas Safe Registered engineer and obtain an annual CP12 certificate (which proves your appliances have been inspected). Make sure all tenants know how to use the appliances in your property and leave them an emergency number – just in case.

Fit smoke alarms

According to the government, you’re more than twice as likely to die in a fire at home if you don’t have a fire alarm. Therefore you must install a fire detector on every floor and ask your tenants to test them weekly.  Some fire and safety services in England will even fit the alarm for you, so don’t hesitate to seek help and advice. Ionisation alarms are the cheapest, but optical alarms are more affective at detecting slow-burning fires – the choice is yours.

Protect against thieves

Whether your property is in an urban or rural area, you must protect against thieves. Install locks on every door and invest in door chains for extra security. Put padlocks on shed, garages and gates and make sure the relevant keys are provided. Have your windows double-glazed and put up a burglar alarm – just in case.

Make the relevant repairs

Tenants have the right to live in a house in a good state of repair, so make sure everything is working properly. Fix faulty electrics as soon as you notice a problem and get your boiler checked annually. People die every year from fires and gas leaks, so take out boiler cover for landlords and protect your premises.

Before you rent out your property, ensure everything’s working properly and abide by all the rules and regulations.

Follow diynewbie on twitter