Waste Management in Private Rented Properties

The aim at this point is clear - you will want to make sure that your new tenants understand our collection and recycling arrangements and that the number of bins provided are adequate for the household. Contamination of recycling bins and boxes will mean that the bins aren't collected by Suez who manage our waste contract & ultimately could lead to them being taken away. Remember; landlords could be held responsible for waste clearance costs if the tenant vacates the property and leaves waste behind. We recommend the following actions:

• When you undertake an inventory at the property with your new tenant, confirm that no waste has been left at the property by the previous tenants. Photos will help avoid future disputes. We offer a bulky items collections service that could assist you in making sure the property is clear before re-letting.  
• Provide your tenants with the details of our collection service & how to contact us. Please be aware that our web pages are available in different languages - click on the globe "translate" icon in the top right and select the language you require. 
• Ensure the tenant has the correct receptacles to use our kerbside collection service. In summary this is a black bin (general waste), blue bin (recycling except glass), green box (glass bottles and jars). Green bins are available for tenants with a garden. The Council will provide an additional black bin for large households, to find out more please visit our waste management pages.
• Make clear what your responsibilities are and what your tenant's responsibilities are. The key points to cover are that you will provide the correct receptacles at the start of the tenancy, that you will provide the local kerbside collection arrangements to the tenant and that the tenant must comply with these instructions. It would be good practice to either incorporate this into a tenancy agreement or obtain a signed agreement that both parties understand the relationship and responsibilities. Consider adding the model clauses available in the downloads section to your tenancy.
• We recommend marking the bins up with your property's number to reduce the chances of the receptacles going missing.

It's strongly recommended that you carry out periodic tenancy checks . During the visit, carry out a brief check on the tenant's waste management practices, covering the following points:

• Do they still have all the right waste receptacles?
• Are they separating rubbish and recycling?
• Are there any signs of waste accumulations around the bins? Do you need to increase capacity? The Council will provide additional bins for some large households; visit our waste and recycling pages to find out more. If they are not a large household, they should be able to manage their waste using the receptacles provided. If this is not the case, you may need to consider a commercial waste contract to deal with the excess. Doncaster Council offers a commercial waste collection service and further details can be on our waste management pages . This service can also be provided by a private company but please ensure to check they have a waste carrier's licence and are authorised to transport waste.  It is not acceptable to place waste by the side of the bin when placed for collection or to store waste in the rear yard if it's not contained in the bin. Tenants could be fined for this behaviour.  
• If there are problems make reference to any relevant clauses in your tenancy agreement to encourage your tenant to comply. Consider issuing a written tenancy warning if matters don't improve.
• Provide information to the tenant concerning local household waste recycling centres (HWRC) Please be aware that landlords can't take their tenant's waste (current or previous) to HWRC's as this is classed as commercial / trade waste. 
• If the matter persists, you can make a report to the Council anonymously concerning waste problems. This is likely to result in an enforcement officer visiting to determine what steps are required to secure improvement. Use the "report it" function on our environment pages to tell us about the issue. 
• At the end of the tenancy make sure waste matters are included in your "check out" procedure. Check all the bins that you provided are still there, that the tenant takes any furniture they have brought to the property with them (unless you agree otherwise) and that the yard / garden is free from waste. We provide a bulky items collection service which could help you in removing large items which cannot be dealt with through the kerbside collection service. Remember that you could be held liable by environmental enforcement staff for waste issues during a void period. 

If you are the licensee of an HMO, there are specific waste conditions in your licence that you need to comply with by law. Failure to comply could result in a civil penalty or prosecution. You are under a general requirement, enforced through a condition to proactively comply with our waste collection scheme.  Make sure you avoid a penalty by addressing the following points:

• Plan for how waste will be stored in a neat and tidy manner. This must be within the boundary of your property unless you have specific permission from another landowner or the Council. Make sure you don't block any fire escape routes with receptacles and make sure that the passage of natural light is not obscured by the bin's storage. During tenancy check in please make all tenants aware of what the waste storage arrangements are. Consider nominating a lead tenant who will be responsible for taking the bin out and placing it back in the right location following collection.
• You must provide the correct number of receptacles for your HMO. The Council will provide an additional black bin to licensed HMOs. If this is still not sufficient for the number of tenants, you will need to pay for a commercial waste collection service. Doncaster Council offers a commercial waste collection service and further details can be on our waste management page. This service can also be provided by a private company but please ensure to check they have a waste carrier's licence and are authorised to transport waste. 
• Provide all tenant with suitable and sufficient documented waste collection information including what each bin is for, when their collection day is and where to present bins for collection. Please refer to our waste and recycling pages to find all the information your require. Our web pages are available in different languages - click on the globe "translate" icon in the top right and select the language you require. It's a good idea to print out arrangements for waste collection and leave them clearly displayed in the common parts. You could also obtain a signature from a tenant as part of your sign up process to prove they have been provided with this information and have understood it. 

There are specific conditions contained within your licence which you must comply with to avoid a civil penalty or prosecution. You need to adhere to the following concerning waste management:

• Keeping gardens and yards in a clean and tidy condition, free from refuse and litter. As the licence holder, you are responsible for the proper removal of waste stored within the cartilage of your property. We recommend that you have a condition in your tenancy agreement making clear that your tenant must not build up waste in the yard (see the downloads section for suggested wording). You will need to make scheduled visits to your property to ensure your tenant is dealing with their waste in a manner which does not put you in breach of this condition. 
• You need to ensure that the rear boundary of the property is constructed in such a manner which is deterrent to fly-tipping (we consider this to be a 1.8m boundary with lockable gate). It's important to remember that the landlord is likely to be held responsible for the clearance of fly-tipped waste on to their property during any void periods. Clearance of a large fly-tip could easily exceed the cost of boundary wall maintenance. 
• You must make provision for refuse storage (by making sure the correct bins and boxes are supplied) and collection from the property in a way which is consistent with our kerbside collection scheme. Full details can be found on our waste and recycling pages. You must provide written information to your tenant on collection days and how/ where to present their waste (to include a requirement to return the bins/boxes to the curtilage of the property on the same day as collection). Please be aware that our web pages are available in different languages - click on the globe "translate" icon in the top right and select the language you require. 
• You must retain a signed document that confirms the tenant has read and understood the information. Please beware, Council enforcement officers may ask you to produce this, so please keep it to hand with your compliance documents for the property.