Penetrating damp, just as its name implies, is where water leaks into a building from outside the structure, through the walls or roof. Less common is where an internal leak from a water or drain pipe leaks into the structure of the building.Common causes of penetrating damp are: <ul <l
Fire Regulations in Rentals: There are several regulations relating to fire safety within rental dwellings; some affect all dwellings whereas others apply mainly to Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO).This looks complicated, but fire safety management in reality boils down t
Damp & Mould: You may have seen or heard of the 1970s TV series Rising Damp, which featured a landlord and his tenants (lodgers in this case) which rather implies that all rental properties are troubled with this kind of damp.Far from the case, but some are. In fact the
Renting Standards: Specialist residential property solicitor Amanda Sutcliffe of Bray & Bray looks at the importance of keeping a rental property in good condition.Research conducted by Endsleigh Insurance and TrustMark claimed that over 75% of landlords s
Sub-Letting Licenses: (SOLITAIRE) LIMITED Appellant and CHERRY LILIAN NORTON and other cases [2012]Landlords of leasehold buy-to-let flats are often asked to pay a fee (sub-letting licence or registration fee) to the freeholder when seeking permission to sub-let their flat,
Validity of Section 21 Notice: Amak Property Investments v Laura Sonny [2016]This case was an appeal by the tenant following a county court judgement relating to the validity of a s21 notice on the basis that the landlord had not complied with the deposit protection (MyDepo
Essential guide to rent reviews: why reading the lease is crucial for landlords and tenants to navigate rent adjustments effectively.
Tenant Agreement: The Law of Property Act 1925 talks about having a maximum of 4 tenants on an agreement. So what to do when you have 5, 6 or more tenants sharing a house?There is a common misunderstanding of the rules here. Landlords and agents sometimes think or have heard
Advance Rent: Piggot v Slaven and Johnson v. OldThere are two important cases which clarify (though not necessarily decisively) the position on landlords accepting rent payments in advance. One concerns the accepting of the final two months rent in advance, a common devi
Following some confusion and debate about a deferral for the new standards following the MEES* deadline in April 2018, the new government has confirmed that changes to the EPC rules, preventing landlords from renting out homes below rating E, will definitely be introduced from April 2018.Accordin
Responsibility for Repairs: Who is responsible and who is obliged to pay for repairs to leasehold blocks and flats? What is the procedure if repairs are unnecessarily delayed or not carried out to the leaseholders satisfaction? What is the Section 20 procedure?T
Essential guide on how to conduct a rent review, covering key clauses and best practices to protect landlord and tenant interests.
Test Case Yeomans v Newell [2016]:When a landlord is in breach of the tenancy deposit rules he or she is prevented from serving a valid s21 notice for possession proceedings. Despite the fact that the tenancy deposit legislation has been in force since April 2007, landlords
Test Case: Superstrike Ltd v Marino. RodriguesThe case involved a landlord who had taken a deposit from the tenant before the deposit protection rules came into force in April 2007, since changed by the Deregulation Act 2015 see below. When the tenancy later became a st
Test Case: Leeds City Council v Broadley [2016]This case and the subsequent High Court ruling has brought some clarification about who is liable to pay council tax, tenant or landlord, when a rental property is vacant due to a tenant vacating early, that is, before the tena
Ending a Tenancy: What are the rules governing the ending of a statutory periodic tenancy (SPT) by the tenant, especially when the periods of the tenancy are not the standard 1 month?The answer to this question is not easily defined as it is not covered by one rule or a sing
Deposit Scheme Scam: Mydeposits says it is aware of a new scam being used by a fraudulent company imitating mydeposits and targeting landlords and letting agent members of the mydeposits Custodial scheme in England & Wales.The scam uses an email which imitates one from m
Freezing Pipes: This time of year, as we head towards colder weather and freezing conditions, buy-to-let properties and indeed all rental properties are vulnerable to potentially expensive winter water damageIn this article digital inventory app developer Imfuna Le
Commercial real estate has the advantage of providing landlords with a high income return, generally a higher yield than residential property, thats providing your tenants remain, rents can be increased regularly to keep pace with inflation, and where finances are involved, interest rate
SearchFlow one of the biggest conveyancing search providers in England and Wales has over 2,500 legal clients and conducts more than 1 million searches every year. On the 17th of May SearchFlows web seminar will brings together leading lawyers and practitione
England’s new private rental portal to track landlords, properties, compliance & disputes—enhancing transparency and enforcement.
HMO numbers in England have dropped by 3% during the past 12 months many landlords offloaded their buy-to-let stock instead of negotiating more legislative hurdles. Market analysis by Octane Capital reveals that while there were 511,278 HMOs in 2019/2020, this fell to 497,884 in
Multi-millionaire landlord Fergus Wilson has vowed to appeal against a High Court ruling ordering him to pay �125,000 to Ashford Council for harassing staff. A defiant Wilson tells LandlordZONE that he continues to dispute claims and believes the authorit
Traditionally, contracts for buying and selling property always relied on the old English common law principle of caveat emptor, or let the 'buyer beware'. In other words, the seller did not need to reveal material facts (defects) about the property for sale so long as the buyer, with
Tory MPs are urging the government to cut or scrap stamp duty in a bid to save homebuyers thousands although their proposals dont extend to landlords, LandlordZONE can reveal. Kevin Hollinrake, a member of the Treasury select committee and founder of Hunters estate agent,
There are said to be over a million British houses using wood burning stoves. Some of these are in rental properties and owners and tenants will want to be aware of the law changes on wood burning which were introduced this year. You could be penalised if you own or buy a wood-b
Facebook Marketplace has come under fire once more for helping facilitate rental scams, this time during a BBC One Rip-Off Britain investigation aired this morning. The programme highlighted two examples of rental scams, both of whic
Landlord and tenant dispute specialist explores some of the key issues that the looming Renters' Rights Bill will throw up.
Landlords have claimed that HM Treasury plans to charge National Insurance (NI) on rents is a raid on millions of people’s pension
COHO founder Vann Vogstad says HMO landlords will shoulder a particularly large share of any NI levy on rental income.
London’s Westminster Council has revealed plans to renew its additional HMO licensing scheme covering many of the borough’s streets.
Landlords face paying national insurance on their rental income if plans leaked by HM Treasury this morning make it into the Autumn budget.
There will be an “unavoidable double hit” to property taxation next year when the business rates review combines with rising inflation
Spelthorne council to the south of Heathrow Airport has changed it mind on HMO 'threat' following complaints.
A landlord in London is the first in the UK to have their properties taken over ‘long-term’ by a council.
The Government has been warned that its refusal to give student landlords an exemption from plans to scrap fixed-term tenancies will see the universit
Report shows reforms will have little impact on sector if tenants are largely unaware of their new rights.
A new partnership enables landlords' tenants to move into their home more easily, it has been announced.
MSP Maggie Chapman wants an immediate introduction of rent caps to prevent 'brutal' rent rises by 'rogue landlords'.
Lodgers Limits - Is there any limit to the number of rooms I can rent out to lodgers, and are there any other implications?
John D Wood says landlords must adapt ahead of changes within the Renters' Rights Bill.
Birmingham's council says that while 40,000 landlords have licensed their properties since July 2023, too many have not.
Enforcement officers in Harlow are scouring the borough for unlicensed HMOs and unsafe properties.
Landlord couple ordered to pay their tenants back the cash after failing to get an HMO licence for a property in
Landlords in Grimsby have failed to convince council bosses to ditch a proposed selective licensing scheme in the town.
The two landlords have been banned from renting property after their legal appeal was rejected.
Why Landlords probably should be concerned about what the Renters’ Rights Bill could bring
Landlords would be exempt from Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ plans for a national property tax but could ultimately pay higher prices for homes.
Tenants at a complex of flats in Nottingham have staged a protest against their no-fault eviction after it was sold to a new owner.
Buy-to-let is bouncing back—landlords are selling fast, often above asking, with tenants in place. Portfolios sold in days, even with damage.
Rent arrears fell by 12% to £1,861 in Q2 2025 marking the first year-on-year decline in a second quarter since 2021.
Rent rises are easing across the UK official data has revealed this morning but experts warn that the private rental market continues to suffer from a
