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 […]

I am not actually a landlord, but I own my mother’s house. She is 85 years old, and my brother and his wife moved in a year ago to care for her. There is no formal agreement, or tenancy of any kind.  I offered my brother and his wife a year rent-free as they were […]

In August I explained I was renting out a fairly top end property for the area. The agents successfully referenced some new tenants and I asked if I could visit them in their current home. This was the first time I had suggested this – read it on here somewhere. But they said they weren’t […]

Our previous tenant was evicted back in 11th October 2014 for non-payment of rent leaving four thousand pounds repair bill, and no forwarding address. The property was repaired and a new tenant moved in 22nd September. The new tenant has just informed me that the previous tenant has visited the property demanding their letters, and […]

I have a tenant in possession of tenancy agreement which was signed by an estate agent. However, this company ceased trading and the property is managed by a new estate agent. Rents are regularly being paid. However, I would like to evict the tenant for maintenance purposes. Can I issue a Section 21 Notice and […]

I have a friend who has let her property for 10 years to a tenant who has now not paid the rent for over 6 months. My friend is worried about issuing the tenant with an eviction notice as the tenant’s deposit was never paid into a deposit scheme when it was introduced. My friend […]

We are using a letting agent to rent out our property. The tenants have been in for around a year and we pay for full management of the property which suits us. However the tenants are not happy with the letting agency – they have specifically asked to deal with ourselves as they have been […]

I have a protected tenant and “Southend’s Private Sector Housing Enforcement Office” are trying to get me to install fixed heating. My feeling is that this was not a requirement when the “Protected tenancy” was agreed some 30 years ago and it did not form part of the original contract. Contract Law states that they […]

I am just in the process of agreeing a mortgage on a BTL property, and had been heading for a 5 year fixed rate, as these seem such incredibly good value at the moment. But thinking of the principle of frequent refinancing to release equity, I wonder if this is a false move to fix […]