The other day a professional letting agent told me that if more than four people sharing a house are joint tenants on a single AST, the tenants after the fourth named person are not legally obliged to pay the rent! e.g. 6 people on the AST, this would apply to the people named 5th and […]

After emailing our agent for months to fix issue in the flat, they have replied and it will be fixed and added at the end of their email to ask if we did receive the section 21. I have never been advised that we were been evicted and the section has never been received. I […]

I’m currently being bombarded with student accommodation investment opportunities.  Do they deliver the guaranteed returns promised and what risks come with the investment. Have heard of developers in this market leaving investors out of pocket, what safeguard are there. How many of you out there are already investing in student accommodation? Mike

Dear readers, I am a current tenant who is settling to terminate a 6 month contract with the landlord due to the property’s unsuitable conditions for myself. I have found a replacement tenant and will surrender my tenancy once the landlord approves the new tenant. I am aware there will be deductions made from my […]

If you have obtained a CCJ against your tenant for rent arrears (either online or via your local county court) and they still haven’t paid, you can use High Court Enforcement Officers “HCEO’s” to enforce it.  This is done by transferring the County Court judgment up to the High Court for enforcement under a writ […]

Probably a straightforward question about rent reviews when a property is let under the usual AST: 1. If the tenancy has moved into “periodic” mode after the initial lease period, is it possible to undertake a rent review without instigating a new lease? 2. When writing a new lease, is it possible to write in […]

I own a 2 bed end of terrace house in south-east London, which in my opinion is ripe to convert into a HMO. The property currently achieves a gross rental yield ~7% with a single dwelling occupier but having spent a great deal of time researching local demand I think with a substantial investment (loft/side […]

Just in the process of buying a property where the tenant wishes to stay on.  The current agent has less than favourable terms so am wondering how easy it is to get the tenants current deposit moved to a new deposit scheme of my choice. With regards to the AST I am not so worried about, […]

Hells Bells!  The effort that went into this video is incredible and is a “must watch” for any AC/DC fan and anybody who’s into property, music, lighting or just the Halloween spirit. The owners of the house do this for fun, it’s not a business. They don’t annoy the neighbours by screaming the music out, […]

Andrew Haldane. the Chief Economist for the Bank of England, has caused concern in markets today with his pessimistic outlook on the world economy and how it could slow the UK’s recovery. Sterling has dropped 0.5% against the US Dollar and share trading has been volatile. Mr Haldane said, “Let me now add three flies […]

I have a property, which I rent out, most of the tenants have moved out, however there is one left, she has a small child as well. She has a AST contract with me for 6 months, there is 4 months left on it. She owes some arrears (a months worth)  I want to repair […]

Our tenant of 11 years has given one months notice which is up soon.  Apart from some clothes and other personal belongings she has removed all her furniture to the new cottage she has purchased. She told us she would be moving her stuff out gradually and we were fine with that as she had […]

Having moved into new build properties I now have to use agents for letting as the usual route – spare room etc do not cover the high rent I am now charging (do not have the tenants to pay the higher value).  I’ve seen a number agents and it’s just dawned on me that my […]

I’m sure you’re all already aware, but there’s a bit crack down at the moment on CO alarms and it’s currently up for discussion whether landlords should be providing these to tenants by law.  For those of you who don’t know, every year in the UK, more than 200 people go to hospital with suspected […]

If your mortgage is with any of the following lenders you may be in a position to increase your gearing to 85% LTV ……….. and best of all, WITHOUT refinancing!  The Mortgage Works BM Solutions Leeds Building Society Godiva Platform Mortgage Trust Kent Reliance Keystone Virgin Money Shawbrook Bank Woolwich Nat West Kensington There may […]

One landlord got hot under the collar when he received a call from his young tenants to say his property had burnt to the ground, because they had enjoyed an amorous evening. They had been enjoying a romantic evening and once they had adjourned for ‘desert’ they forgot about the candles they had lit for […]

Enfield – the selective licensing judgement given in the High Court is to be appealed by Mr Regas  To quote him “we are still challenging the selective licensing scheme for non-HMOs.” Enfield Landlords and interested parties should note ………. We are organising a meeting for landlords and managing agents for a more detailed update, question […]

We bought a newly built flat in October 2012 and rented it from November 2012. Problems with the drainage appeared immediately.   The tenant decided to stop paying the rent in February of this year because of a sewage smell in the flat. Since this is a new build, the problem is covered by the […]

Much has been said recently regarding the so called ‘Speedy Evictions’ offered by High Court Enforcement Officers (HCEO) and I thought it sensible to give you an honest insight of this service.  OK, first things first is why would you need to use an HCEO? Unfortunately, due to significant cuts in the Court Service the […]

Just suppose that taking tenants with pets was an insurable risk! Would pet owners pay for the policy? I met with our insurance partners yesterday and discussed the dilemma’s that many landlords have over whether to accept tenants with pets or not. We reckon that if demand is high enough we persuade a major insurer to create […]

Having been a landlord for over 25 years, as you can probably guess I’ve read more than my fair share of guides written to help landlords to understand buy-to-let, I’ve even written a few of my own!  From time to time I am invited to review guides written by other people, the latest coming from […]