Library

Section 8 – Most Important Changes The Renters Rights Bill will make some major changes to the grounds in S.8. We will look at the main implications for landlords, but please be aware there are still some minor tweaks that may take place before it becomes law. The grounds not covered will be the ones…

Section 21 and Section 8  – The future? It can no longer be queried if S.21 is going to be abolished; because it is a priority of this government to remove it as quickly as possible. As I write there is a potential delay in the House of Lords as amendments are discussed, primarily relating…

Renters Rights Bill (RRB) – Is This It? Many of you will know that I stopped talking about the Renters Reform Bill (first introduced to Parliament in 2019), last year, because there was never any sign of an implementation date under the Tories. My reluctance has now diminished, as Labour has a definite and fast-moving…

Landlords – How have they changed over recent years? (My Thoughts) A lot has been written about the make up of todays landlord groups. Labour is convinced that there is no mass exodus of existing landlords, rather favouring the view that the number of landlords has not altered dramatically. If that is true, there is…

Property Dispute Resolution – Mediation or Negotiation? There is a significant and very subtle difference between these two styles that many professionals use to resolve difficult issues. Mediation starts from a point of no blame and a third party (mediator) giving both parties a fair hearing and an opportunity, in an impartial setting, to find…

Landlords – Ignore at your Peril! The Correct Insurance The other main issue that many landlords either don`t realize or worse, again choose to ignore, is informing the insurance company that the property is being rented out. The insurers may have restrictions or impose a higher charge to cover the theoretical higher risk of having…

Landlords – Ignore at your Peril! The Lenders Consent Recently, I’ve come across a couple of examples of good landlords not realizing the importance of the permissions needed before a property is let out. My example highlights an initially smooth tenancy that had no problems, but after a year things started to go wrong with…

Labour`s Manifesto intentions – Landlords how does it affect you? Whoever had won the election, properly implementing the Renters Reform Bill was always going to be a struggle given the current financial constraints of government spending. The fundamental problem with the housing market is a lack of supply of property, coupled with an abundant supply…

Potential Qualified Electrician Shortage for next phase of 5 Year updates   It is rare for me to “scaremonger”, but following a recent webinar, I thought it would be worth flagging that the next round of EICRs (Electrical Reports) will soon be due as they only have a life span of five years. The regulation…

What is a Responsible Landlord – Are you one? I`m shocked at the number of times I hear a landlord saying they are a good landlord as they haven`t put the rent up for years and they last spoke to the tenant months ago. Worse they haven`t visited the property (their property!!) since the tenants…

Referencing – Why bother? I hear this so often from landlords, as there seems to be little understanding of the huge relevance references have in helping them choose the right tenant. Coupled with this view, is the statement that “references are not worth the paper they`re written on”, which is equally off putting. I would…

Great Case Studies to Learn from!   Over the last two months I`ve had numerous cases to deal with but five in particular stand out and are worthy of noting for future landlords to be aware of.   Ground floor modern flat, Taunton area – Maintenance issue Interestingly in TPO`s (Property Ombudsman) 2022 report, maintenance…