Our Environmental Health team can give advice about your tenancy rights and responsibilities.
Tenancy Information
Tenancy Information Notice
A landlord must provide a tenant with a free tenancy information notice within 28 days of a private tenancy starting. This notice will provide important information about the tenancy, including the amount of rent payable and the rights and responsibilities of both landlords and tenants to help avoid disputes.
Notice of Variation
A landlord must also provide a tenant with a notice of variation if there are any changes to the information contained in the original tenancy information notice. The landlord must provide this within 28 days of any changes made and must be free of charge.
If a tenant in a tenancy which began before 1st April 2023 feels they have not been given certain information about their tenancy, the landlord must provide it to them.
For more help, visit Housing Advice NI
Landlord Registration
All private landlords must register with the Department for Communities. The registration lasts three years, and landlords must renew it after that.
If a landlord doesn’t register or gives false information, they may get a fine of up to £500. They may also face court action and a fine of up to £2,500.
For advice, visit https://landlordregistrationni.gov.uk/home or call 0300 200 7821.
Tenancy Deposit Scheme
If you pay a deposit when you rent a home, it must be protected by an approved scheme.
Deposit taken after 1st April 2023
Landlords now have up to 28 days to protect a tenancy deposit and up to 35 days of receipt of the deposit to give required written information about the deposit scheme to the tenant.
If a landlord doesn’t protect your deposit, they could be fined up to three times the amount of the deposit or taken to court.
The approved schemes in Northern Ireland are:
My Deposits
Tel: 0333 321 9403 www.mydepositsni.co.uk
TDS Northern Ireland
Tel: 0300 037 3700 www.tdsnorthernireland.com
At the end of the tenancy, any disagreement about the return of some or all of the deposit, will be dealt with by the schemes’ dispute resolution mechanism.
More information is also available on NI Direct website.
Fitness of Rented Properties
Properties built before 1945
Under the Private Tenancies (NI) Order 2006, the landlord of a private rented property which was built before 1st January 1945, with a tenancy commencing after 1st April 2007 must apply for a fitness inspection within 28 days of a tenancy commencing (unless exemptions apply).
For further information contact us.
Unfitness & Disrepair
Environmental Health Officers can inspect any private rented property which is not a House of Multiple Occupation (HMO), to assess fitness and disrepair. These visits may be as the result of an application from the landlord or the tenant.
If the property is Unfit, a Notice of Unfitness can be served on the landlord.
If the property is Fit, but items of disrepair are found, a Notice of Disrepair can be served on the landlord.
These notices will detail the improvement works required to bring the property up to standard.
Abatement Notices
Environmental Health Officers may also serve an abatement notice under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act (NI) 2011 when they find anything which is a Statutory Nuisance or which is Prejudicial to the Health of the tenant.
When a landlord receives an abatement notice, they may be able to recover some of the cost from the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE).
Harassment and Unlawful Eviction
Harassment
You can only be made to leave your home if a court order is issued.
We can:
- Give advice to landlords and tenants
- Investigate complaints about harassment or illegal eviction
- Take legal action if needed
- Harassment means any action to force you to leave your home, such as:
- Turning off water, gas or electricity
- Entering your home without permission
- Making threats or refusing repairs
- Visiting without warning, especially late at night
- Keep a record of any incidents, including the date, time, and what happened.
Unlawful Eviction
This happens if a landlord removes you from your home without a court order. For example:
- Changing the locks
- Physically removing you
- Blocking access to your home
- A landlord must give you a Notice to Quit before applying for a court order.
Notice periods:
- 4 weeks if you rented your home for less than a year
- 8 weeks if you rented your home for 1 to 10 years
- 12 weeks if you rented your home for 10 years or more
For advice, visit Housing Advice NI.
Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs)
All HMOs must be licensed by the local council.
Belfast City Council runs the NI HMO scheme for all Northern Ireland councils.
You can apply for a licence online or at your council office.
Applications must include all required documentation and the appropriate fee.
The Smoke, Heat and Carbon Monoxide Alarms for Private Rented Tenancies Regulations (NI) 2024
Landlord’s Responsibilities
Landlords must install and keep in proper working order, sufficient alarms for detecting smoke, heat and carbon monoxide within any property that they rent out to tenants. Additionally, any alarm within the property must be repaired or replaced once a landlord has been informed it has become faulty.
A landlord has ultimate responsibility to ensure the property is compliant, even when someone, such as an agent, has been engaged to act on their behalf.
Tenant’s Responsibilities
Tenants must report any faults to the landlord and are responsible for repairing or replacing alarms if they have been damaged by any person living at or visiting the property. Tenants have a duty to permit reasonable access to a landlord, or persons authorised by the landlord to inspect the property and carry out any necessary work.
Requirement for Alarms & Installation
A landlord must have within the property a minimum of:
1 x Smoke Alarm in:
- the room which is most frequently used by the occupants for general daytime living purposes (normally the living room/lounge), and
- in every circulation space (halls, stairs, landing or corridor)
1 x heat alarm installed in:
- in every kitchen
1 x carbon monoxide alarm installed in:
- any room or circulation space of the property which contains a flue (including a chimney of an open fire that has not been put beyond use) and/or a fixed combustion appliance.
Fixed combustion appliance includes a fixed apparatus where fuel of any type is burned to generate heat and includes boilers, fires (including open fires), heaters and stoves fuelled by solid fuel, oil or gas, but excludes a gas cooker or a gas oven.
Location of Alarms
Heat and Smoke Alarms
The layout and design of a property will determine where the alarms should be located but the following guidelines should be followed:
- in an open plan lounge room which contains a kitchen, one heat alarm can cover the whole room provided it can be located where it is no more than 7.5 metres from any point in the room.
- if the heat alarm is more than 7.5 metres from any point in the room then a smoke alarm must also be installed.
- where the proximity of an open fireplace would make a smoke alarm impracticable, a heat alarm may be fitted.
Smoke and Heat alarms (mains wired, battery, or a combination of both) either pre-existing or new, must be installed on the ceiling and be interlinked.
They must be installed and maintained in accordance with British Standards BS 5839-6(b).
Carbon Monoxide Alarms
Carbon monoxide alarms (mains wired or sealed battery) can be either ceiling or wall mounted depending on the manufacturer’s instructions. They do not need to be interlinked.
They must be installed and maintained in accordance with British Standards BS EN 50292(c).
All Battery Powered Alarms should be tamper-proof units with long life batteries.
All Mains Wired Alarms must be installed by a competent electrician who should be registered with a recognised electrical trade body.
Communal Areas
The Private Tenancies Regulations do not cover alarms located in communal or common areas within an apartment block or flats. These areas are subject to Building Control Regulations and appropriate advice should be sought.
The Electrical Safety Standards for Private Tenancies Regulations (NI) 2024
What must landlords do
Landlords must ensure that every “electrical installation” (i.e., fixed cables/equipment on the consumer’s side of the electricity supply meter) is inspected and tested by a “qualified person”.
Inspections/tests must take place at regular intervals — defined as no more than 5 years between inspections (unless the previous report specifies a shorter interval)
After each inspection/test: the landlord must obtain a written report (or certificate) from the qualified person which sets out the condition and gives a date for the next inspection.
Reporting & sharing obligations
The landlord must supply a copy of the inspection report to:
- the existing tenant within 28 days of the inspection/test.
- a new tenant before they occupy the premises.
- a prospective tenant within 28 days of a written request.
- the relevant district council within 7 days of a written request.
The landlord must keep a copy of the report until the next inspection is due.
Dampness in homes
Dampness in a home has a number of possible repercussions.
Walls and floors which are damp will be colder than dryer structures. This will make it more difficult to heat, increasing the fuel/energy required to heat a property.
The structural damage caused by dampness and rot may become a safety risk, and any resulting mould or fungal growth may adversely impact the respiratory system of the occupants.
Main causes of dampness or ingress of water into a property are:
- Penetrating Dampness - water/rain seeps in through a defective part of the structure such as a wall, roof or chimney.
- Rising Dampness - Moisture seeps up through the floor and walls where there is a defective damp proof course or no damp proof course exists.
- Leaking pipes - a defect in a water or drainage pipe, may be leaking internally.
These types of dampness can be remedied with structural repairs.
Condensation dampness
This occurs when warm and humid air in a home meets a colder surface or becomes trapped.
The warm air holds onto large amounts of moisture
The water in the warm air condenses on the colder surface, and small water droplets form. This in itself may damage the surface of the wall, but more often, mould spores grow here due to the moist surface. This mould can grow on any surface – fabrics, furniture, clothing or other stored items.
Reduce the risk of condensation dampness and mould forming by following these tips:
- Dry clothes outside and vent Tumble Dryers to the outside air.
- Open windows or use a mechanical extractor in the kitchen/bathroom to remove steam from cooking/washing.
- Use a mechanical dehumidifier unit or absorber gels to remove moisture from the air in spaces prone to condensation.
- Keep kitchen and bathroom doors closed.
- Wipe off any condensed water which may be visible on walls, windows or surfaces.
- Maintain a warm indoor temperature.
- Clean mould growth by wiping the affected surface with a cloth and mild bleach solution - you don't want to over-wet the surface or damage the finish/paint.
- Paint affected walls with an antifungal treatment which can prevent the further regrowth of mould.
- Keep external cold walls free from furniture – sofas, wardrobes etc.
If you suspect that your home is being affected by dampness, please contact us to discuss.
Contact Details
Email: ehealth@nmandd.org
Telephone: 0330 137 4024