Hi all Your help would be greatly appreciated. I am currently an owner occupier and own one property only which I have owned for almost 3 years. I bought the property when I was single and I have since become married. I still own the property in my own name. My spouse and I put […]

Letting a property on a 3 of even 5 year contract to the local authority may seem like an attractive idea for some landlords. As well as helping to ease the chronic public sector housing shortage, the landlord benefits from a guaranteed rent paid into their account every month without fail for the period of […]

Under permitted development rules there are clear defined guidelines for side and rear extensions. Front extensions are normally NOT allowed, except where the dwelling does not front a highway or is a substantial distance from the highway. Our local planning dept has refused our application quoting in their opinion we are not a substantial distance […]

I have a tenant who has just moved into my property. When I agreed to let her have the house, she said that her boss would act as guarantor. I sent her boss the guarantor paperwork to sign and he has asked that the paperwork be addressed to his company and that his name should […]

I have decided to take my old letting agency to court and really needing peoples advice and opinions. I moved into a property October 2012 at that point I was heavily pregnant. As soon as I moved into the property issues with the boiler began. Each time I phoned the agency they promised to get […]

Nooooo, here we go again! Not another mis-selling scandal aimed at Mortgage Advisers!!! Following the loss of a case in the High Court against West Bromwich Mortgage Company it appears that it is now perfectly legal for mortgage lenders to increase their Tracker Mortgage margins, despite Offer Letters and KFI’s stating the margin applies “to […]

I have a tenant who is now more than 3 months rent in arrears. AST start date 6th August 2013. I issued a S8 AND S21 (and delivered and witnessed) on 5th November 2014 – he now owes more than he did – do I need to reissue the S8 ? He will not respond […]

I’m about to rent a commercial property to run an out of school club. Who is responsible for the fire safety equipment, eg, fire alarm, fire exits and smoke alarms. There is a rented flat over the premises that someone else rents at present. Any answers or where to go for answers would be much […]

I have just purchased a 2-bed terrace house with a tenant in place. There is one bathroom on the first floor and a kitchen on the ground floor. The tenant needs just the ground floor. Can I put a shower room in ground floor and rent this to him and fit a small kitchenette on […]

My flat in 2001 cost £190k. It has been rented most of the last 12 years and yields about £900pcm. I still owe £40k on a variable rate interest-only mortgage which is due in August 2015. Market value is £300k. Keeping the flat was meant to provide retirement income instead of committing to a pension […]

I have a tenant who has handed in her notice and is due to leave this Friday. She has now informed the managing agent that she can’t move out as the house she is moving into is not available until 16 Feb. Rent has always been paid on time. She is willing to pay rent […]

I currently own 2 small flats in a block of 8. The block of flats is at the head of a cul-de-sac of semi detached, detached houses and bungalows. Built approx 30 years ago. Two of my properties are ground floor at the front of the property. There are communal grounds at the front directly […]

I’m currently renting in an expensive area down South where I will never be able to afford to buy a place for myself. Obviously I am not hugely enjoying spending so much on rent when there is the potential to buy property instead. I was thinking of buying somewhere near my hometown in the North […]

On Monday 2nd February at 7.30pm, the BBC’s Inside Out programme featured “Buy to Let Pitfalls”, with the focus on landlords that have entered into the sector to provide a pension for themselves, but run into difficulties. The show featured a landlord whose portfolio of housing benefit tenants is causing him to scale back his […]

I have a 75 year lease on a flat which is being run as a buy to let. I have entered into negotiations with the landlord to try and achieve a lease extension.  The landlord has a supplied a completly new draft lease for consideration. My old lease lease does not require me to get […]

I recently moved home and am looking to rent out my previous property. Given that I have moved over 200 miles away it was not a viable option for me to manage the property myself, so I joined a highly-recommended online letting agency. After a short while, a couple (both in their late 20’s) expressed […]

I thought I had the base covered where in my lease it states ” the tenant agrees the landlord reserves the right to appoint cleaners if he feels that the property has not been cleaned to an acceptable standard, such costs being borne by the tenant” Looks pretty clear cut to me. Tenant and landlord […]

I have just bought my first property to rent. The first floor windows need replacing. The current windows have a top opener only and is about 20% of the total. I have heard that I may need to have bottom openers which allow fire escape? Can I replace like for like or do I need […]

Hi, Probably been answered before however …. Deposit wasn’t protected, but the tenant decided to use the deposit in lieu of the last months rent. It seems I reluctantly agreed. at least that is what he is saying.  I am in the middle of court proceedings after asking him to leave for sub-letting the property, […]

For my main job (nothing to do with property) I work through my own limited company, taking around £8k in wages per year and £30k in dividends. This is just enough to keep me out of the higher tax bracket. Over a few years this has left me with enough money sitting in my company’s […]

I have a tenant that stays in a room on a separate AST. Their contract comes to an end on 31st January 2015 and a signed contract for 1st Feb 2015 to 31st July 2015 was signed on 8th December 2014. Prescribed information on Tenant Renewal My question is when do I have to reissue […]