More than a decade after setting up SpareRoom.co.uk, founder Rupert Hunt is using his own site to find housemates to share his East London home. The six-bedroom, five-floor Georgian house in Spitalfields – complete with a grand piano, taxidermy bear and Aga – has been Rupert’s home since 2013. It’s in prime celeb spotting territory […]

I am a private landlord working abroad but will return to live in my flat in mid-March. I have issued an S21 and the AST expires on 02 February. My tenant, who is on benefits, has approached the local authority (Hounslow) to be rehoused only to be told they will act only after a court […]

I rented a property privately and have since moved. The landlord of the previous property went into the property several times without permission while I was moving things to the new property. How do I stand in retrospect to complain about this, as it was upsetting to know he had entered while the house was […]

I’m one of the many ‘accidental landlords’ with a single property that was my primary residence until a work relocation abroad. That prompted a period of rental at the aforementioned and with emotional ties to the property now severed (i.e., no longer a home) I am in the process of withdrawing equity to purchase a […]

We live in a largish development of flats, town houses and commercial properties. The owners of the freehold have approached the leaseholders about the possibility of purchasing a share of the freehold. Alternatively the freehold will be sold at auction. Some of the leaseholders are interested, but would like to understand the implications. We will […]

This free eBook has been written for commercial landlords, property lawyers, commercial agents and landowners. Find out all the details on the eviction of squatters, trespassers and activists in our free eBook, covering eviction via a writ of possession or by Common Law. Simply enter your details in the form below and we will email […]

LANDLORDS IN ENGLAND GET READY FOR RIGHT TO RENT Landlords are being reminded that there is less than a month to go before ‘Right to Rent’ goes live across England. The new law means that from 1 February 2016, landlords will have to carry out quick and simple checks to ensure potential tenants have the […]

A fifth of tenants consider cost-effective central heating to be a must, according to a new study. As the winter weather worsens, it is not only home owners who are concerned about the increasing costs of keeping warm. Double glazing is seen as the top priority for the next rental home for 80% of tenants, […]

The Housing minister, Brandon Lewis, opposed a clause in the new Housing and Planning Bill that would have required all letting agents to carry Client Money Protection insurance. Teresa Pearce, Labour MP for Erith and Thamesmead, who proposed the clause indicating that there was industry support said,”The new clause is designed to protect both parties […]

I have one property I let out, which was recently becoming vacant. After working with a single agent and them not finding tenants I went to other agents. After a few days the original agent notified me that they had interested tenants who had given them a ‘Holding Deposit’. The agent requested we notified the […]

Grateful for some advice on a situation that has occurred. I use a managing agent to manage a property about an hour from me. Its a studio flat. The previous tenant was evicted due to rent arrears. Luckily I had RGI and eventually they paid out and managed the legal aspect. I had to attend […]

I have received last month a letter from Mortgage Express re my Repayment Strategy for on or before 2032!! I ignored the letter, and now received another letter reminding me to send in the form back all questions answered! They called me last month but I told them I was busy and blocked their number. […]

Lord Howard Flight a Tory Peer and former Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury has written in the website “conservativehome – the home of conservatism” criticising the sudden attack on Buy to Let by his own party. These attacks include the restriction of mortgage interest relief and a 3% Stamp Duty surcharge on second homes […]

Good morning and a Happy New Year to you all! Now that our first working day of the year is out of the way, I am now making a start on my number one major project of 2016: rent increases. I have not increased rents during a agreement in over 25 years, but occasionally make […]

I bought a property at auction in August 2015 which included 6 existing tenants. Some of the tenants have remained in the property on their existing tenancy agreements and as these expire, I will offer them new tenancies or continue on their existing agreement as a periodic tenancy. The tenancy agreement (AST) is very short […]

The Housing and Planning Bill is currently making its way through Parliament following a Government consultation on ‘Tackling rogue landlords and improving the private rental sector’. They are proposing a blacklist of persistent rogue landlords and letting agents. In response, Paul Shamplina, Founder of Landlord Action, is calling for a blacklist of persistent rogue tenants […]

I have a tenant who is a single lady on a fixed 12 month agreement who has lived in the property for 2 years. My husband called at the property early this morning to look at her shower and she told him she was happy for him to let himself in as she would be […]

I own a freehold petrol station and MOT garage, the long term tenant is now gone and its vacant, I have plans to redevelop it however the planning I have achieved so far is not particularly profitable. I am keen to transfer it to a LTD company. My questions are as follows: 1. If I […]

Four days following the annual gas cert and boiler service (no problems found) a tenant notified me the heating had stopped working. I got the gasman back out and he found it was working fine. Few hours later tenant called gasman direct to say it wasn’t working again. Gasman revisited and concluded it must be […]

I purchased a leasehold apartment in central London two years ago. At the time, the apartment was near derelict. The lease says structural changes need the permission of the freeholder without this permission being unreasonably withheld. Shortly after purchasing, I contacted the freeholder with the planned changes I wanted to make. These included removing three […]

We are property investors between Salisbury and Southampton and we wrote to Mr Rob Marris (Labour MP Wolverhampton South West) who spoke in the House on Clause 24. We own seven houses which are let to families with children and we pride ourselves on the standard of accommodation. We like to refurbish the properties either […]