Legal Advice for Landlords
Landlords feel beleaguered and under pressure. It is, therefore, not surprising that they are turning to specialist Landlord and Tenant Solicitors for help answering questions such as ‘Should a landlord serve a section 21 notice before the Renters' Rights Bill becomes law?’
Answering seemingly simple questions is never straightforward. Many renters will automatically say no to the issue of a Section 21 notice, whilst former landlords are likely to say yes. The answer from a Landlord and Tenant Lawyer should be a lot more nuanced. In this blog, our Landlord and Tenant Solicitors look at how taking specialist legal advice can help landlords whether the landlord is an accidental landlord of one property or has a buy-to-let property portfolio spread across London and the South East.
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For legal advice for landlords, call the experts at OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or complete our online enquiry form. Top of Form
Landlord rights
With the Renters' Rights Bill in the news, landlords can feel persecuted and made to feel like pariahs of society. As Landlord and Tenant Solicitors, we understand how landlords feel. There may be valid reasons why a landlord wants to regain possession of their property or why the mould growing in a property is not the landlord’s fault.
Many landlords feel that they have no rights or that the law is eroding their protections. Landlords do have rights and will always be protected by property law and landlord-tenant law, but the Renters' Rights Bill will undoubtedly move the goalposts.
When our property experts offer advice on landlord rights and UK landlord obligations, we look at property and landlord laws, regulations and finally, the tenancy agreement.
While a landlord may be unable to change the law or the regulatory framework, they can ensure that their relationship with their tenant is regulated by a tenancy agreement that suits their needs. If you are renting out your property for the first time or have a buy-to-let property portfolio but have been using the same type of tenancy agreement for years, we recommend that you take legal advice before you ask the tenants to sign the tenancy agreement.
If the tenancy agreement has already been signed and you now have a tenant dispute over landlord repair obligations or you are facing tenant legal action, then your first port of call should be your tenancy agreement. It's best to take legal advice on the wording of the agreement. Although you may think the agreement protects you, our lawyers may say the wording isn’t as clear-cut as you think it is, or your situation isn’t fully covered in the tenancy agreement. Alternatively, the agreement may have come to an end and been automatically converted to a rolling tenancy contract.
Property maintenance
Property maintenance is a hot topic for landlords. Whilst no tenant should live with damp and mould in a rental property, there are normally two sides to a tenant disrepair claim. Previous tenants may have lived mould-free in the property for years, but the current tenants have not heated or ventilated the property, causing the mould and a large landlord repair bill if the tenants leave. Alternatively, tenants may have Porsche-level expectations for property maintenance but only want to pay rent at a clapped-out Ford Focus rate.
Landlords often tell our team of Landlord and Tenant Lawyers that some of their tenants have unrealistic expectations as to how quickly a plumber can be dispatched to a rental property to fix a dripping tap. Sadly, as many tenants haven’t been able to afford to buy a first property, the tenant's only experience with property maintenance is calling a landlord or letting agent to fix the problem.
Landlords always need to be alert to the risk of tenant disrepair claims and take proactive steps to reduce the risk of a tenant bringing a rental property disrepair claim and asking for disrepair compensation. Those proactive steps are often common-sense actions that may not be necessary from your perspective as a landlord or DIY handyman, but they are the cheapest and quickest way to avoid tenant legal action.
Landlord property maintenance risk reduction involves simple measures such as:
- Acknowledging tenant messages about rental property so they know you have seen the message and your timescale for action. This may be the first step action, such as sending an electrician to investigate or explaining that under the tenancy agreement, the tenant is responsible for garden maintenance
- Using a letting agent with access to all the trades required to sort out urgent disrepair claims, such as a broken boiler or dodgy electrics
- Taking out specialist insurance where necessary, so if there is a drain issue, you can call the insurer
- Keeping evidence so that if you call around to look at the problem at the rental property, you keep a note of the date and take pictures. If you follow up the visit with calls to plumbers etc, then keep a note of the calls so you can counter the tenant’s complaints that you did nothing
- Check that you have complied with all the regulations. For example, check the gas safety certificate is up to date even if the tenant is reporting an electrical problem
- Don’t tell the tenant that you will have to put the rent up to fix the problem. Once the problem is sorted, you may need to do so if the tenant is paying under local rental market value, but that’s different to increasing the rent to pay for the repair
- If you are in doubt about the cause of the disrepair, then consider getting an independent report. For example, you may be loath to spend a lot on mould repairs if you think the walls will soon be covered in mould again as the tenant isn’t heating or ventilating the property
- Be dispassionate and commercial in your decision-making. If the repair cost is modest, it may be quicker and cheaper to fix the issue rather than face tenant legal action, or if you are going to seek possession, it may be cleaner to do so without the repair issue muddying the issues
- Don’t assume you know the law. Firstly, the law isn’t always straightforward, and it may not apply to your tenancy agreement, or other circumstances may be relevant. Alternatively, the law or housing regulations may have changed
- Be proactive. For example, get your lawyer to send a letter before action to your tenant setting out your position so they know you know the law and won't be railroaded into doing what the tenant wants because of unfounded fears that the tenant will soon have all the rights through the introduction of the Renters' Rights Bill
If you need landlord legal advice on the Renters' Rights Bill or your landlord obligations or rights, our Landlord and Tenant Solicitors can provide the commercial legal advice you need.
Online and London-based Landlord and Tenant Solicitors
For landlord and tenant advice call OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or complete our online enquiry form.
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