I am fully aware that tenants that are under an AST have to have there deposit protected in a deposit protection scheme, but does the same procedure apply to lodgers living in rented accommodation?  In HMOS does the deposit need to be protected regardless of if he is a live in or live out landlord? […]

What are the advantages / disadvantages of furnished or unfurnished buy to let?  We have just sold our furnished buy to let and are considering reinvesting the money (what is left after CGT!) in a new buy to let in an area nearer home. We were initially a student let, which meant we provided everything, […]

My husband and I are about to split up. We own a portfolio of buy-to let properties, with all of the houses in joint names.  I am looking for any advice regarding the pros and cons of divorce. My initial questions are: If we divorce, do we have to split the assets there and then, […]

Please can someone give my advice, my boyfriend is living below a guy who is a nightmare.   The tenant above had a party from 10.00 pm to 6.00am and a environmental order was sent out, which my boyfriend received. He gave it to the guy upstairs and it has been down hill since then. […]

Hello Fellow Landlords  I have a tenant for over 4 years. He is a single dad with three teenage boys and has been a good paying tenant however; he has the house in a absolute tip. He has requested three times for me to replace the existing kitchen and I have ignored his plea, so […]

The letting agent has registered the deposit with MyDeposits.  The assured shorthold tenancy agreement, with them, ends in September and will become a statutory periodic tenancy. I do not have a Deposit Protection Certificate as the agent took the deposit. How do I make a deduction from the deposit in the event of a dispute? […]

Hi to my fellow members,  I have just sent my first ever N5B form today (fingers crossed!) and was wondering on average how long will it take for the court to send the claim to the tenants? Thanks Sanjay

I was renting a property as we were renovating our own property. We took very good care of the house and had it professionally cleaned before we handed it back to the estate agency, who was happy but requested that the external drains be cleaned and the grass cut. Both were done.  After that began […]

My tenant has been in my property for over two years now. Never the tidiest of girls but has a good job and always paid rent on time but I arrange to access each year with gas engineer for annual service.   This year there were worrying signs of disorder. There’s obviously new man been […]

BACKGROUND:  During a redevelopment about 20 years ago these terraced properties had an ‘outrigger’ extension added to the rear. Ownership of the outrigger itself is divided; the upper floor forms a dressing room in my ‘let’ property (I own the ‘flying freehold’). The ground floor forms a bathroom for the neighbouring property. Subsidence is causing […]

I recall reading something about some new legislation that was coming into force around October (though I cannot find it!) regarding anyone acting as an agent would need to register with a professional body (like The Property Ombudsman) and have Indemnity insurance.  Is this true? The reason why I am asking is that I rent […]

The second strongest performing area for buy-to-let investments in terms of rental returns, Manchester is quickly establishing itself as one of the UK’s most popular investment capitals. The city is already posting average annual rents of £8,316 and with year-on-year rental growth currently standing at 5% these returns are set to only further grow. Manchester […]

I have just found out, after signing a contract with an estate agent, that they have found someone to rent it for three years instead of a year. I was happy with a three year tenancy but unbeknown to me they taking their fees upfront fee so I wont receive any rent for 5 months! […]

I can’t quite believe that I am asking what is the fairest way of taking the first month’s rent and deposit, as it seems so simple, but here goes.  Some tenants moved into my very nice flat last week, having only paid a holding fee (normally about a third of the rent), for which I […]

I became a member today and, although I have read many articles, this is my first post. Can I say, in opening, what a valuable resource this is.  I have one BTL property near Barnsley which is an old (1885) terrace. I bought the property in November 2013 with tenants already in situ. The Home Buyers […]

Hello I am a regular reader but this is my first post. We have recently purchased an ex LA (local authority) first floor flat in a 4 storey block of 8 in London. Ours and one other are private, the rest are still LA. The flat underneath us is vacant and we have just had […]

I am new to BTL and have a question about the concept of releasing equity. My situation is the following:  I own a three bedroom house which I bought six months ago with a residential mortgage with Nationwide. The mortgage has 2 year fixed interest rate and is for £188K which is 80% of the purchase […]

I live in a block of flats where we manage the maintenance and upkeep of the building in house.  However, one of the flats has had a really bad leak and they are on the ground floor and its leaking into the garage. This flat is tenanted, and so the estate agent is managing it […]

I’m thinking about getting a flat with the sole intent of handing it over to a managing agent for the use of a short term serviced apartment.  Will I be able to get a normal buy to let mortgage for this? Thanks Craig

I’m looking at buying a two bedroomed Victorian terraced house in NN1.  My plan is to refurbish but nothing major as it has central heating, double glazing etc but currently unlettable due to kitchen condition. It needs re-plastering, decorating, carpets etc and a new kitchen. I will then let as a small unlicensed 4 bed […]

Bradford Council are forcing me to put an LD3 interlinked fire detection system in a 2 bed back to back house. I believe this is unnecessary. I have checked LACORS and RLA guidance and think the council is just trying to push this through. As far as I can tell the requirement only comes in […]