Void property turnaround: a practical checklist

General information, not legal advice. Rules change, so check the sources below or take advice for your situation.

A void is a home between tenancies. The aim is simple: get it safe, clean and ready to let as quickly as the work allows, without missing a check the law requires before the next tenant moves in. This checklist covers England. Your own void standard, lettable standard or housing provider’s specification comes first.

1. On the first visit

• Read the meters and photograph them. Note who supplies gas and electricity.
• Photograph every room, and the outside, before anything is touched.
• Check the home is secure: locks, windows and any boarding. Change or re-key the locks if your policy requires it.
• Look for anything urgent: leaks, signs of damp and mould, damaged electrics, missing alarms, or gas appliances that look unsafe.
• Note anything left behind for clearance, and anything that needs specialist removal.

2. Scope the work

• Walk the home against your void standard and write a scope: repairs, clearance, cleaning, decoration, flooring and any upgrades.
• Agree the scope and the target date with the landlord or housing officer before work starts.
• Order long-lead items (kitchen units, doors, flooring) early.

3. Repairs and making good

• Fix leaks and any cause of damp first, then deal with the damage they caused.
• Repair or replace doors, ironmongery, kitchen units, sanitaryware and flooring to the agreed standard.
• Make good plaster and joinery before decoration.

4. The safety checks the law requires

These apply to landlords letting homes in England. Check which apply to you and keep the records.

Gas. Under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, a landlord must:

• keep gas appliances, fittings and flues they provide in a safe condition, with work and checks done by a Gas Safe registered engineer;
• have each appliance and flue safety-checked at least every 12 months, and for a new tenancy, within the 12 months before it starts;
• keep a record of each check, and give the tenant a copy before they move in, or to existing tenants within 28 days of the check.

Electrics. The electrical safety standards regulations apply to private landlords, and since 1 November 2025 to social landlords too. A landlord must:

• have the electrical installation inspected and tested by a qualified person at least every 5 years, and get a report (usually an Electrical Installation Condition Report, EICR);
• give a copy of the report to existing tenants within 28 days of the inspection, and to a prospective tenant within 28 days of them asking for it;
• complete any remedial or further investigation work the report requires within 28 days, or sooner if the report says so.

Social landlords must also have any electrical equipment they provide checked at least every 5 years. For social housing tenancies granted after 1 December 2025 the rules apply now. For older social tenancies they apply from 1 May 2026, with the first inspections due before 1 November 2026.

Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. Since 1 October 2022 these rules apply to both private and social landlords. A landlord must:

• fit at least one smoke alarm on every storey with a room used as living accommodation;
• fit a carbon monoxide alarm in every room used as living accommodation that has a fixed combustion appliance (any fixed appliance that burns fuel for heat, except gas cookers);
• check each alarm is working on the day a new tenancy begins, and keep a record of the check;
• repair or replace alarms once told they are faulty.

Licensed HMOs are covered by similar requirements through their licence conditions.

5. Clean, decorate and finish

• Clean throughout, including inside units, appliances the landlord provides, windows and the bathroom.
• Decorate to the agreed standard.
• Fit flooring where your standard includes it.

6. Hand back

• A final walk-round against the scope, with photographs.
• Hand over keys, meter readings, the gas safety record, the electrical report and the alarm check record.
• List anything outside the scope that you spotted, so the landlord can decide.

If you need a contractor for void turnarounds, tell us the address, your void standard and your target date when you request a quote.

Topics: Voids, Landlords, Social housing, Regulations

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