Renting my flat out for the first time - what do I need to know?

[leamington66]

I am about to rent out my apartment and have never done this before. I will use an agent but what do I need to know before I do this? Its completely new to me and there must be pitfalls I need to avoid?

Thank you. I think all safety labels are attached. I hadn't thought about PAT testing but I can arrange.
I am sad to be leaving but I do accept it is just an asset.

I dont know if the rules are the same l over the country but in Scotland I was told that anything left in the flat I was responsible for. E.g if I left a sofa and beds, I was responsible for replacing them if they broke/needed replacing due to wear and tear etc so keep that in mind if you're leaving behind older furniture that might not last long but would be expensive to replace. I was told the other option was that i could give the furniture to the tennants so that it was their responsibility but they could then obviously take it with them when they moved.

Keep ALL receipts, no matter how small for when you pay your taxes at the end of the financial year. This includes expenses getting the flat ready to rent out eg pat testing. If youre going to be abroad you might find it easier to get an accountant to help with your self assessment.

I paid extra for emergency cover with my insurance to cover a call out for eg a burst pipe as it was much cheaper than doing it via the letting agent. If you do this make sure the letting agent amd/or tenants have the emergency number.

A good letting agent should be able to advice you about things that need done like pat testing etc. I'm in Scotland so potentially rules may be different but I also had to get an environmental survey, linked smoke alarms etc so was quite a bit of work!