LandlordExpert.co.uk

With savers suffering dismal returns on their accounts, buy-to-let is once more a lucrative option.

Good rental yields and positive house price outlook bringing investors back to buy to let

Renting has become a way of life for hundreds of thousands of young professionals. For many, it’s not a predicament they wish to be in.

''New Landlord' KIT

'Getting a Buy To Let Mortgage'

'How To Set Up a Tenancy'

'Your Rights As a Landlord'

'General Tips and Advice'

'Fulfilling Your Landlord Safety Obligations'

'Landlord Repairs Obligations'

'Things You Should Seriously Consider'

'Rental Income & Landlord Tax Obligations'

'When Should You Evict a Tenant?'

'Financing Repairs & Renovations'

'Attracting Tenants'

'No letting Agents' KIT

General Tips & Advice

Maintenance of The Property

Avoiding Void Periods

Collecting Rent

Checking Your Tenant

Advertising Your Rental Property

Setting the Rent

Preparing Your Property For Rent

Introduction - Role of Letting Agents

Most Downloaded Documents

Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement - England

Latest FAQ's LIVE

Shop

I bought a lovely 2 bed maisonette with a small shop underneath the whole block is grade 2 listed love the history. The shop has not been used for approx 9 years and I am thinking of getting it up and running and renting it out. Well I've found out quite a lot about being a landlord and my hubby who runs his own business has been a huge help doing all maintenance work, but I don't have a clue about the ins and outs of renting a shop. Any advice would be great....

More of a question

Can anyone tell me if there are plans to request new tenants have their electrical items safety tested before taking residency and putting their items ...

Breach of contract?

I rented out my property for the first time in February this year, and have had nothing but trouble from the letting agents ever since. They have gone from innefficient to incompetent and are now ignoring me completely. I signed up for this arrangement for 12months and am stuck for another 8. So far, they have failed to identify key safety issues with the property, delayed the tenant moving in, claim to have fixed the electricals but left wiring exposed, hired shoddy contractors and haven't sent me my statements (although they have sent me statements for other properties!) I am sure they are breaching their contract left, right and centre, and the tenant is refusing to deal with them anymore because they are so useless and will only speak directly to me...so, PLEASE can anyone advise me how I can get rid of them before I lose my tenant, or worse my mind!?...

deposit scheme

Hello, I have a property where I did not register the deposit into the protected deposit scheme. The contract ran our a few years ago ...

Tenant negligence over a faulty boiler

The tenant let me know the boiler was faulty, but not immediately. She wanted to meet the gas engineer herself at her flat, but didn't make the appointment. In the meantime she was continuously resetting the boiler. Because of this, I was advised the only viable option was to replace the boiler....

Tenant and property in decline

Dear Sir/Madam I have a long standing elderly tenant who is no longer looking after himself or the property. This is suffering badly. I don't know who ...

Mrs Beatrice Straker

Am I legally allowed to accept rent from a tenant who I have asked to leave via repossession order....

Fire in garden - who is liable

Fire in garden damaged 2 neighbours cars. Who is responsible?...

water damage in ground floor flat from water pipe in upstairs loft

I own a ground floor flat, the flat above had a burst pipe in the loft while the tenant was in NZ in January. despite many attemps I was unable to get throught to the landlord of the upstairs property until the following morning. he came out a week later and told me to obtain quotes and send them to him. I contacted 6 local traders, 4 came to look at the damage and only 2 quotes were submitted which i forwarded. As I have had no contact from the landlord i sent him a text last week and he is now insisting that his tenant arranges another contracter to look at the damage. The landlord will not give me any contact details other than his mobile number and he advised that he is no longer at the previous address I had. In addition to this his property in general is poorly maintained which impacts on my ability to maintain my property. ...

selling property

I am a landlord and want to sell my property, my tennant has until july before the lease runs out and i need to know ...

Joint Landlord

Good morning, I'm currently renting my property as a joint landlord with my "ex" wife, I want to move back in to the house later in ...

PAT TESTING

Is it a legal requirement for Landlords of HMO's to have all electrical appliances PAT Tested?...

Heating

I currently run central heating at HMO from October to end of April unless unusually cold in May. My tenants can no longer control heating themselves due to misuse. ie heating on in July to dry clothes and on 24/7 in cold spells - some tenats complaining of being too hot and having windows open When heating has been turned up full blast by others. Others moaning not on enough but not willing to pay extra rent to compensate excessive bills. Am I right in closing heating down as info I have read seems to indicate tenants should have access to turn on and off at will but I have tried that and it is open for misuse. I am trying to provide affordable rents in comfortable environment but wonder if I could be enforced to give access to heating controls....

Advice please

Estate agent gone bust and being chased by a third party...

evicting a tenant - stuck, she won't move out.

I'm stuck with a tenant. I want to sell the flat, but had to take it off the market (agent said the only thing that will help me sell is to evict that tenant). In the meantime I want to rent the flat out through a management agency as I am not a professional landlord and cannot keep up with the legal side, also, I am about to adopt 2 little children from that neighbourhood and cannot manage it personally anymore. Additionally, I had to take her to court for rent arrears last year and she only paid it at the last possible minute. Financially I am very worried as there are many costs involved in the flat and I was hoping to sell it at this stage, not be stuck with a tenant and unable to sell. ...

Condensation in property, tenant threatening environmental health

due to the condensation the the property, my tenants are threatening to call environmental health and demanding that i pay to redecorate and that i replace their mattress. unsure of my rights and responsibilities?...

Mr Johnson

Deposit paid to tenant without my consent....

Mrs D Pattison

Hi there, I rented my house out through a letting agency which now after finally getting non paying tenants out of the property I am ...

problems evicting long term tenant (maybe assured tenant)

tenant moved into property in 1995 no copys of any tenant agreements tenant claiming to have "sitting tenant" type rights....

Deposit dispute

Hi there, We're disputing the deposit with our latest tenant. Before they moved in, the previous tenants had the flat professionally cleaned and they had the ...

Eviction

End of shorthold tenancy approaching - non-paying/late paying tenants - when to serve the section 21?...

Deposit Protection scheme

How does the dps decide if there is a dispute, my tenant left my property in a mess stole all curtains and white goods ( no inventory but photo s taken ) general mess, would like to know what happens in a dispute of deposit kept....

Landlord registration

Do I need to register as a landlord in England ?...

Tax question

What's the tax obligation for a property partially used as our home and partially let out?...

tenants not ventilating property

we have a two bedroom flat which we have rented out for over ten years and up till now have never had any problems with ...

My letting agent is no longer trading.

My tenant is due to renew her Extension Agreement in May. Is the original Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement still valid?. Also my tenant's guarnator has left the UK but she has paid her rent each month for the last two years. Does she need a new guarantor?...

garden repairs

request for new shed...

Tenancy Agreement dispute with letting agent

I let a property through a well known central London estate agent in September 2012. The let was for 2 years with a 1 year ...

Taking over landlord responsibilities from an agent.

I am currently letting a property through an agent and would like to dispense with his services. The contract with the tenant was setup ...

How to avoid paying the long term empty property premium

Ok so I know that this is intended to encourage landlords to redevelop old properties and put them back into use but what if it cant be done. Are there ways to avoid paying the premium ?...

Help needed with shambolic property management company

Hi, When I met my now wife, she was living in a two bedroom flat that she'd owned for the previous three years or so...we tried ...

Never Ending Maintenance - What Can I do?

Tenant has been in the property 6 months and has already commanded more maintenance on the property than I have needed to do in 5 years. The list is endless, but the majority is utterly trivial points. It's costing a fortune, how can I stop this cycle with this difficult tenant?...

1st time Landlord

I am looking to purchase a property as a buy to let for my son and 5 friends, Uni students. I have been told that ...

Sharon Venneear

Social Security Administration Act 1992...

I am out of the country and the tenant is ignoring my emails.

I rented out my 2 bed flat as a one bed flat - kept the 2nd room for myself with my stuff in it but included in the contract that i'll only stay their for a maximum of 7 days in a year unless otherwise agreed. We signed a one year lease with an option for either party to terminate after 6 months. I am not happy with the tenant and want to do that but he is ignorinng my emails....

Utilities Company Tariff Query

I am a landlord and I have a query concerning the energy supply to my property which I'm hoping someone might be able to advise me on....

deposit scheme

Hi, I have had tennants for 2 and half years now, they handed notice a month ago and left on the 1st march, leaving the house ...

Broken Lease

6 month contract - left after 1 month - no notice given. Letting agent refuses to try and chase tenant and has only relisted property...

New Flooring

Tenants have asked us to 'make a donation' towards new flooring....

TENANT DISPUTE - DEPOSIT PLUS

tENENT LEFT IN jULY 2012, had cats in property against explicit AST saying no animals, house left dirty not even hoovered or wiped down, cats caused damage and items missing. When told there would be deductions from deposit and case referred to DPS tenent made counter claims for alledged disrepair and on 5th March 13 filed court action against me as Landlord....

House let by letting agency to tennants who turned my house into a canabis farm

Hi there, wonder if you can help please? My house was let out by my letting agents to tennants who turned it into a canabis ...

Notice to Quit

My tenants have always been in arrears with their rent. They are now £391.44 in arrears (which is more than the Bond I ...

mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR)

I have condensation on sash windows and some damp in one bedroom that has 2 external walls, is it worth installing a mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) system as a longer term solution? Thanks ...

Deposit dispute

I have employed an agent to find me tenants after an extensive refurbishment of the flat....

shared tenancy, housing benefit

Hope someone can advise me. I have recently bought a property which is shared by three elderly brothers. one is 59 and on job seekers. the other two are over 65 and retired.Up to now ...

Help required regarding rental flat

No heating No hot water 2 yr contract...

Unfair Renewal Fee

Lettings Agent charging renewal fee for current tenant referred to me by previous tenant....

Putting tenant in one property before moving them into another & risks involved.

How to safely/legally structure this temporary housing....

electric has been condemed unable to rewire does tennant have to leave

...

Letting Agency charging for maintenance work with out authorisation

I have received two invoices for work that I did not authorise. Should I pay for this?...

Agent closed down and did not register deposit

The agent i used did not register my tenants deposit as instructed so i'm wondering...... where do i stand ??...

Tenants split up, how to remove one from agreement

Can anyone give me some advice on how to go about the paperwork side of dealing with tenents splitting up and one moving out. they ...

Use of Landlord Expert landlords association logo

As a member of Landlord Expert landlords association, can I use your logo on my business card? Thanks...

Possession proceedings and money order

My tenant, having been issued a Section 8 notice, has informed estate agents of their intention to leave, but not me as landlord. They ...

What do I do next please?

I have given a section 21 notice to our tenant, stating we require possession of the property 31st March 2013. ...

Tenant seeks bond return via county court

Through naivety as I only own one property that I let and manage it myself, I did not place the bond in the correct scheme ...

Agents commission

I an very new at this and trusted my agency way too much; they found a tenant, said he wanted to move straight in and that he cued out ok so I agreed. They signed the contract in my name and only sent me a copy and his band and contact number after I 'd asked for it several times. A while later, again after me repeatedly asking for it, they sent me his statement and I as shocked to see he was overdrawn a few thousands of pounds. I said at the time that, had I been made aware of it at the time, I would not have agreed to let him the flat. I had since tried to access the flat in order to inspect it but the tenant had prevented me and so butane the agency advised me to terminate the tenancy after 6 months, as the first opportunity, since the agreement was for 12. Now the agency dies not want to return the commission for the extra 6 months which they originally charged me for (they charged 12 months) even though it turned out the flat was only let for 6! An I likely to win this money back if I take them to small claims court ? ...

Reserve Fund

How much is reasonable ?...

Broken window

hi my tenants have broken aquired a broken window- they claim to be unaware how it happened and are now claiming it is my responsibility and are refusing to pay, the agents i have employed are less than helpful and have told me it is my responsibility... please help my head is wrecked....

Terminating a letting agreement with an Agency

I would like to take over the complete management of my property now, formerly the Agents were charging 10 % for looking after the paperwork, while we looked after the property maintenance, safety certificates etc....