I have always found the holding deposit (an initial retainer paid to the landlord or agent to reserve a tenancy) is a very useful device to commit the tenant to your letting. But is it legal to withhold the advance deposit you take from a prospective tenant if they back out?In my experience a pro
What do I need to do when I protect my tenant/s deposit? If you take a deposit from your tenant/s you MUST protect the deposit and serve your tenants with the correct documentation within 30 days or face having to pay a fine and the prospect that you cannot use the s21 evict
I am revisiting ITZA in the light of an experience I am enduring concerning some tenants that are inexperienced of rent review. Tenant contention is that an ITZA adopted/agreed for a previous review should be used again for a current review.Unless the ITZA is documented in a binding agreement, th
Basically, what is known as a Calderbank offer is a 'without prejudice;' offer to settle a dispute to avoid the extra costs and associated risks of a full referral.From Calderbank v Calderbank [1976] and originally confined mainly to family property disputes, an offer of settlement made before th
According to research from the NLA, 4 in 10 landlords are either seriously considering forming a limited company or looking into the option in the coming months.Can you - and more importantly should you - set up a company to pay less tax? Heres my complete guide on becoming incorporated.<stron
What heating system should you use in your rental property? Is there a heating system that could solve landlords condensation claims problems?Its one of the most important questions to ask when letting a property for the first time. Whatever system you choose carries implications for the ef
The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) and the National Landlords Association (NLA) have called on the classified online listings service Gumtree to issue clear guidance over possible scams involving bogus letting scams.The warning has been issued to Gumtree by the NLA and the RLA after f
At rent review, the phrase 'going to arbitration' is often bandied about during negotiations as a means for one party to get its own way. Whether or not the parties can agree the rent without involving the dispute resolution procedure, it is common for a represented or experienced party to inv
From the 1st of October 2015 it became a statutory requirement that landlords issue all new tenants after that date with the latest edition of a Government publication The How to Rent Guide�, along with a current Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) and a current Gas Safety
Councillors have labelled a proposed voluntary landlord initiative to raise standards in North East Lincolnshire, “a waste of time”.
A leading Scots letting agent has warned that policies which seek to undermine the PRS are damaging tenants’ wellbeing.
Landlords could get longer to replace gas boilers if the government makes an expected announcement to allow their sale beyond 2035.
Wales and the North East are the best areas for hard-hit buy-to-let investors looking for above-inflation returns.
The average number of available rental properties at letting agencies jumped to a two-year high last November.
With the new year now upon us there’s no better time for landlords to start preparing for the wide-ranging legislation change on the cards for 2025.
A TikTok video on upcoming rules around tenants’ ability to keep pets has garnered more than two million views.
A letting agent has slammed Shelter’s campaign to highlight Section 21 eviction cases as “absurd sensationalism”.
Landlords who complained about a missing letting agent have discovered that he had been jailed for assaulting a sex worker.
More money will be spent persuading landlords not to evict tenants as part of a huge cash boost to help prevent homelessness.
More landlords in Wirral could have to pay for a selective licence under plans being drawn up by the local council.
Rents charged for new tenancies across the UK continue to rise as landlords seek to offset higher costs and supply continue to be weak, latest Government data shows.
Councils will be given more power to force landlords to rent out vacant residential properties as part of the government’s English Devolution white paper.
Letting agents have slammed plans to ease licensing rules that will mean local councils can introduce large selective schemes without government approval.
Ealing Council has ramped up its crackdown on rogue landlords with a rigorous programme of HMO inspections.
Local authorities will no longer have to ask the Secretary of State for permission to introduced selective licensing schemes in England and Northern Ireland, it has been revealed.
Economic headwinds are set to shrink purchases in the buy-to-let market by 7% next year to £9 billion, predicts UK Finance.
Landlords in Norwich are chasing thousands of pounds in rent payments from a letting agency which appears to have gone under.
Hundreds of tenants have staged a protest in central London calling for the government to introduce rent controls.
One of the UK’s larger national parks is planning to stop any new homes that are built within it being used as holiday/short lets or second homes.
A crucial task for landlords and agents is to correctly serve statutory notices and other documents
Property experts are pondering what the government might name new tenancies created by the Renters’ Rights Bill.
A district council has come up with a set of exceptional circumstances to help decide when to give the go-ahead to new HMOs.
A landlord in Liverpool has secured £2.3 million to refinance eight student HMOs within the city and unusually has gone public about the deal.
A letting agent has criticised police who failed to act when vandals threw a brick through one of his tenant’s windows.
The never-ending onslaught of landlords, including the abolition of Section 21, tough EPC rules, and changes to stamp duty, have left landlords fed up and thinking of throwing in the towel.
A tenants’ champion has slammed energy companies for failing to help renters with energy bill problems at HMOs.
Northwood letting agency in Romford has gone bust, leaving angry landlords out of pocket.
Most landlords who voted Labour wouldn’t do it again, a new survey from buy-to-lender Landbay has found.
Surveyors are the latest group to report a cooling rental market in the UK, with a slowing in demand among tenants for the first time since 2020.
Reading Council has given the go-ahead for an additional licensing scheme in the town – and defended the rising costs set to hit landlords.
Generation Rent has urged renters to get more MPs backing amendments to the Renters’ Rights Bill.
Rental growth in the UK has dropped to 3.9%, its lowest level in more than three years and down from 9.1% a year ago.
