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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

First off I want to thank you for being such a great resource. I have been lurking on here for a long time to help set up my business! I specialise in converting 3 bedroom houses, into 6 studio, HMO rooms. Each room has their own en-suite and kitchenette (microwave and fridge) – the finishing […]

We have recently purchased a very dilapidated house which we have fully renovated and are currently letting.  Does anyone know if we can offset the renovation costs against rental income? All the work completed was necessary to make the house liveable and lettable ! Martin

I am a private landlord in Tower Hamlets London. I am becoming increasingly confused about various HMO statuses and legal requirements and can’t seem to find answers anywhere on the Internet. I have tied calling my local authority but I just keep getting an answer machine.  My property is a 3 bedroomed Victorian Terrace house. […]

I have a tenant who initially was given a six month tenancy, thereafter the new tenancy was given with a twelve month period.  Within a couple of days of the new tenancy, the tenant requested I change the tenancy to six months because of work commitments, hence the new tenancy for six months was put […]

I have just refurbished my first 3 bed house bought on BTL mortgage. The property is, in Croydon (Article 4 area) a prospective tenant has just approach me wanting to rent it with 2 other friends. Do I sign AST just with him, or joint AST with 3 people. As an “inexperienced” landlord, renting a property […]

In brief:  Three years ago I bought a flat from developer in a refurbished building, developer owns the Freehold and the managing agency. First 2 years paid the ground rent and maintenance fee on demand. Managing Agent was ok…a bit disorganised but ok. Year 3 did not receive a request for ground rent and maintenance. […]

I let a property out to a tenant who had no deposit but had a guarantee bond provided from the council.  This bond covers damage up to a certain amount and contains helpful clauses such as ……….. “The council will use all reasonable endeavours to ensure that the tenant is fully advised of her responsibilities […]

My existing tenants have been on a periodic tenancy for the last 2 years since their first AST expired, do I still have to serve them with a Section 21 notice if I want them to quit my property or will a two month written notice do?  Can I give this notice by email as […]

I purchased a property in 2011 at auction,The solicitor was unable to locate the leaseholder.Recently I remortgaged and this time she was able to contact and yesterday I received this response.  We can confirm the ground rent is not up to date and have been informed we can only claim a maximum of six years. […]

I represent my sister who lives overseas but rents out a property in the UK. I read that an overseas address is not valid in respect to any financial matter between landlord and tenant as far as the Court is concerned. I am named on the Tenancy Agreement as the Representative.  I have sent, as […]

I own, outright, a flat in Suffolk. I asked LLoyds Bank for a 70% remortgage (approx £34,500).   All seems to be going well, although long winded. A few months ago I made a three year guaranteed rental agreement with Genesis, a housing association. I assume they sublet for social housing or similar. Lloyds bank […]