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 […]

Hi all This is a problem which occurs quite regularly; we do some work in a house and the tenants ask for a rent reduction while it is going on. The current scenario is this: We are changing a 4-bed, 1 bathroom house into a 6-bedroom, 2 bathroom house. Phase 1 is converting a large, […]

If you have a website or a blog which uses WordPress I would really appreciate you getting in touch.  We have already developed one plugin – the UK Property Research Tool and we’re looking into two others; 1) A Stamp Duty Calculator based on recent changes 2) A Buy to Let Mortgage Quotation plugin. If […]

We are delighted to announce a new joint venture with Hawkins Ryan Solicitors.  Lots of the questions posted on Property118 are about buying, selling and owning properties in the most tax efficient manner. It appears to be quite rare for conveyancing solicitors to advise their clients on the most tax efficient property ownership structure and […]

I’ve worked out that if I’d have had the Platinum version of Landlord Emergency Cover I’ve just taken out on two of my properties over the last 12 months it would have cost me £139.98 and saved me £1,100 and a whole load of stress. The Housing Charity “Shelter” seem to believe that whenever a […]

I currently own a Buy-to-Let house in which I have a tenant. This property has a BTL mortgage on it. I have just been offered the option to purchase a more attractive property in the same village and wish to do this, also on a BTL basis. However, I will need to sell the current […]

I have registered the same contract with MyDeposits for several years. It’s four sharers in a jointly & severally liable 12 month contract. Each year I pay to renew the deposit registration covering four named sharers for 12 months in line with the contract even though no sharer moves out at this point. During the […]

HMRC has released proposals detailing the Capital Gains Tax on non-residents expected to be confirmed during tomorrow’s Autumn Statement. Initially announced in 2013’s Finance Bill to apply from April 2015, the changes will be introduced in a spirit of ‘fairness’, while providing a much needed tax boost to the Exchequer. The Government are also cracking […]

What if………… An individual buys one property, tidies it up and lets it. Then, after only about a year decides they need to sell the property. The property has increased in value, lets say +40%, mostly due to the work done to prepare it for letting. Would HMRC be satisfied that it was simply a […]