Page 767 – Property118

Can I claim money from my landlady?

17th December 2014

My landlady left me without heating from the 23rd October to the 27th Nov. Granted she did have a man come out to look and it didn’t work.  My question is can I claim compensation from her toward my electric bill? For 46 days I had no heating or hot water! We are a family […]

January is the most popular renewal date for Landlords Insurance

16th December 2014

Please make sure you save money this year on your Landlords Insurance and let us know your renewal date. The bigger our landlords insurance buying group becomes the more negotiating power we gain. We are now at the stage where we can GUARANTEE to beat any like for like quotation for landlords insurance. Operated on […]

landlord action

Retaliatory Evictions Report

16th December 2014

After Paul Shamplina and Landlord action helped provided evidence, the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for the Private Rented Sector recently concluded its inquiry into Sarah Teather MP’s Tenancies (Reform) Bill addressing the problem of retaliatory evictions. Whilst the Bill failed to make progress at Second Reading, the measures within it are included in an […]

How well do you know the person who owes you rent?

16th December 2014

If you do find that you need to recover rent arrears from a tenant, whether commercial or residential, the more you know about them, the more likely your action is to be successful.  With residential rent arrears you will need to obtain a CCJ (county court judgment) and then transfer it to the High Court […]

Tenants have no hot water or heating – their fault, my problem!

15th December 2014

I have tenants who would not allow access for replacing a back boiler with new combi boiler and extra radiators.  Guess what …………. now the boiler is not working and they have no heating/hot water and the engineer cannot fit a new system until March due to work load. If this cannot be repaired and a […]

Expanding my BTL portfolio – thoughts please?

15th December 2014

I am currently living and renting in Cambridge.  I have a flat in Scotland with no mortgage valued at around £65k, rental is £480 pcm and I have £50k of savings. I cannot afford to buy a place in Cambridge as my income is only £21k from my job, so I was thinking to get […]

Would you ask freeholders permission if you were me?

14th December 2014

I have a top floor flat and urgently need a new boiler as its broke down and the tenants are getting a bit grumpy.  I’ve arranged this to be done but they need to erect scaffolding to access the flue as the building is quite high. My question is do I need the freeholders or […]

Flying freehold – advice requested

14th December 2014

I am looking at (cash sale at auction) a terraced property converted into flats with a ‘flying freehold’.  The first and second floor bathroom overhangs on next door. Owned by housing association and which they converted with a shared garden (no division wall in the rear garden between the two properties). They are selling one […]

Mortgage delay caused by a tree

13th December 2014

We are re-mortgaging an ex-council flat which has a very large conifer tree standing within 10 metres of the property.  The lenders’ valuer has asked for a report on the possible damage by root action and/or falling, but I cannot find a tree specialist to prepare a report for me. They are either too busy, […]

Leasehold advice please!!!!

13th December 2014

I own the leasehold of a top floor flat in a house converted into two flats, the other flat is now up for sale.  If I purchase it and become the leaseholder of both flats how do I go about purchasing the freehold? How does owning both flats effect my statuary rights? Does the freeholder […]

Capital Gains Tax liability after Split

13th December 2014

I know I need to get professional advise on this but just wondering if anyone has any ideas in the meantime.  Myself and my ‘now’ ex purchased a house 14 years ago for £280K – we also added to the mortgage an additional £80K as the house required replumbing/rewiring/new windows etc. We split up 3 […]

Had a CCJ demanding 3 times the deposit

13th December 2014

Stupidly, and I mean very stupidly, did not put a tenants deposit in a deposit protection scheme.  They have just told me they are emigrating to Australia and have said in an mail that they are not going to be paying the last months rent. Now to top it off they have issued a CCJ […]

What are reasonable tenant fees from letting agents – £600?

12th December 2014

My son is moving from one rented property to another and after receiving the contract is horrified by the agencies fees he’s being asked to sign up to. For his previous rentals the only fee he paid was an admin/credit check fee normally around £250, and so he had no reason to assume this wasn’t […]

You could be liable for your tenants water debt from 1st January 2015 unless you act!

12th December 2014

From 1st January 2015 there will be an obligation on all landlords with properties in the Welsh Water and Dee Valley Water areas to share certain information about their tenants with their water company. The majority of properties affected are in Wales, but these Water Authority areas also cover parts of Cheshire, Merseyside, Herefordshire, Shropshire […]

Bank of England and Monetary Policy Committee reform transparancy

12th December 2014

The Bank of England has announced a raft of transparency, accountability and governance reforms to fulfill its mission to “promote the good of the people of the United Kingdom by maintaining monetary and financial stability.” This follows an independent report by former Federal Reserve Board Governor Kevin Warsh. The news that most people will be […]

Help For Tenants – NO FEES!

11th December 2014

Both landlords and tenants have rights. At Property118 we provide FREE help for landlords and tenants in dispute. Perhaps more importantly though, our impartial mediation seeks win/win solutions for both landlords and tenants. Please don’t risk cutting off your nose to spite your face – read on. Very few landlords are outright criminals but sadly, […]

Perfect Tenant Seeks New Home In East London

11th December 2014

We have 18 properties in and around East, South & North London and the Home Counties, of which 11 are housing benefit tenants who we’ve never had problems with all these years bar one.  Any day of the week we would accept a Housing Benefit Tenant and would love to accommodate our cleaner’s cousin who […]

Possession Order – tenant gone but not paid monies. What now?

11th December 2014

I secured a Possession Order in October, the tenant moved out in the final hour, but has not paid the monies owed and adjudged on the possession order standing at £2755.48. The background of this individual is very complex, he is a very wealthy man, but none of it is straight forward and, never having […]

Tenant check-out delay

10th December 2014

My tenants are on a periodic tenancy agreement, rolling monthly. Beginning of Dec ’14 I gave them three months notice to vacate by March. They managed to find a place quickly and then gave me one months notice to say that they will vacate on the 14th Jan 15. In the notice they stated the […]

landlord action

Landlords are losing thousands as court delays become critical

10th December 2014

Under-resourced county courts are exasperated by the number of possession claims being put forward, resulting in costly delays for landlords.  It has become such a problem in the last three months, that chasing up cases with the courts is now a full-time role for one member of our in-house legal team. The vast majority of […]

Good news for developers as Pickles cuts Section 106 payments

10th December 2014

The government has confirmed that the development of 10 houses or less will be exempt from section 106 affordable housing contributions. (A lower threshold will apply in designated areas, such as National Parks). Eric Pickles, the Communities Secretary, said “Small builders are being hammered by charges, which have undermined the building industry, cut jobs and […]