With home owners increasingly deciding to rent out their homes instead of placing them in the buyer's market, new landlords need to be aware of the requirements of renting out their property.

Here's what is required to become a law-abiding landlord:

Talk to your lender - your mortgage lender should be informed that you are renting out your home. Some lenders are bound to be dead against the idea.

Insurance – You require specialized landlord's insurance on your property, when renting. If not the furniture, the building at least, should be insured.

Tenancy deposit scheme – Being a legal requirement, tenancy deposit schemes cannot be ignored. For all tenancy agreements chalked out post April 2007, landlords are required to secure their tenant's deposit through a government authorized scheme. Within 14 days of receiving the deposit amount , the landlord has to inform the tenant of how it is protected. Three schemes are available for the landlords:

Gas certificate - A new Corgi certificate is required each year, a copy must be left with your tenants for the sake of keeping records. Get in touch with a certified, Corgi registered gas engineer, to obtain one.

Energy Performance Certificate - Landlords have to make an energy efficiency performance certificate available to prospective tenants as part of the lettings process.

The certificate, is valid for 10 years. It rates the energy efficiency of a property on a scale of A-G(A being the most energy efficient homes), and makes recommendations for improvement.

Landlords however, are under no obligation to implement any recommendation in the EPC or undertake changes to make the rented property more energy efficient. Yet, keep in mind that tenants may use the certificate to help them select which property to rent, which will obviously tilt the scales in favor of higher rated properties.

The EPC is mandatory by law when a building is constructed, sold or put up for rent. EPC's can only be obtained after a survey by an 'accredited' Domestic Energy Assessor. They collect standard information on the property such as its size, the construction process and the hot water and heating systems, it includes. However there is no shortage of companies qualified to produce EPC's.

Tax return – Since you are now running a business, a tax return has to be filed. Rely on a well-experienced accountant for advise and processing of the paperwork involved.