Health & Safety Obligations For Local Authorities
The following are extracts from the direct.gov.uk website. For the full article please visit Direct.Gov.

Landlords are generally responsible for the maintenance and major repairs to a property. This includes repairs to the structure and exterior of the property, heating and hot water installations, basins, sinks, baths and other sanitary installations.

Housing Standards
A property should be safe and healthy for occupiers, so responsibility should be taken to ensure that:

» the dwelling is capable of providing adequate heating, which ideally means controllable central heating and insulation, with equipment and the fabric of the building in good repair.
» electricity and gas supplies, and the sanitation (drains, basins, sinks, baths and WCs) are in working order
» there are no fall or trip hazards
» water heating equipment is in working order
» the property is free from damp

Gas & Electrical Safety

As a landlord you must ensure that:

» all gas appliances and installations are maintained in good order
» that gas boilers get an annual safety check carried out by someone who is registered with CORGI (Council for Registered Gas Installers).
» keep a record of the safety checks, and issue it to you within 28 days of each annual check

The occupier is responsible for maintaining gas appliances which they own, or are entitled to take with them at the end of the letting.

By law, landlords must ensure that the electrical system and any electrical appliances supplied with the let such as cookers, kettles, toasters, washing machines and immersion heaters are safe to use.