Daylight Saving Time (DST) - Clocks Move Back - 31st October 2021
Daylight saving time 2021 in United Kingdom began at 01:00 on Sunday, 28 March and ends at 02:00 on Sunday, 31 October 2021.
British Summer Time, also known as Daylight Saving Time, was the idea of a builder from Kent called William Willett. Apparently, on his way home from riding his horse in Petts Wood in the early 1900s, he noticed many of the blinds and curtains in the neighbouring houses were still drawn, even though it was light. This led him to consider the idea of adapting the time to better fit daylight hours. Back then the clocks were set all year round to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), meaning it was light by 3am and dark around 9pm in the summer.
Although he was not the first person to come up with this idea, he was definitely the most determined, using his own resources to finance a pamphlet outlining his idea for adapting to daylight hours during the summer. His original proposal was for the clocks to be put forward by 80 minutes in total, in four steps of 20 minutes each Sunday at 2am during April and turned back in the same way in September. He argued that this would mean longer daylight hours for recreation, improving health and also saving the country money in lighting costs. Which in this day and age, really does make sense.
Autumn Prep for Landlords
As Autumn draws in, landlords, with the help of their letting agents, will take stock of their “to do list “ for the Autumn. The weather will change, the temperatures drop and tenants expectations are that they will have a nice, warm home to live in over the colder months.
Taking into consideration how drastically the weather can change, property managers will be ensuring that the properties they manage are “weather ready”. The following is a useful “to do list”.
1. The Boiler - Heating Supply & Hot Water
This time of year and right the way through to March and April, one of the most common concerns is heating and hot water. If the boiler has not yet been serviced, now is the ideal time diarise those appointments for Gas Safe Engineers. Whilst S11 of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1985 makes reference to the supply of heating/heating space and water, it is important to remind tenants that contractors are extremely busy this time of year, and this reactive approach can save a lot of issues. Remind them that access is important and Covid protocols will be adhered to.
Property Management preparations for Autumn
We are into the final three months of 2020 and property managers are preparing for the change in weather, being sure that landlords obligations are adhered to and that tenants’ expectations are met.As the Government announce their three tier contingency plan, some parts of the UK will be under local restrictions, therefore it is important to ensure that Covid-19 Protocols are correctly adhered to when access is required for any maintenance or repairing issue that is required.
The following tips may be useful:-
1. The Heating System. A home does not feel homely when it’s cold outside, so this is the right time to ensure that boilers are serviced and that the radiators which will have been switched off for months, are working properly. Thermostats should be set to keep pipes warm and radiators that are not working effectively, may need bleeding.
As the smell of chimney smoke lingers in the evening air, be sure that wood burners and live fires are swept regularly. The reason for this increased frequency is that creosote is is given off by burning wood, which then attaches itself to the inside of the chimney. These deposits are highly flammable, and therefore need to be removed.
For a wood burner or coal fire remember that a fire guard is a requirement.