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I am often asked why a landlord should employ an agent when letting property. To my mind the answer is a combination of saving you time, aggravation and quite possibly substantial amounts of money. It all begins with finding the right tenant. You may well be quite happy to advertise your property, arrange and conduct viewings and make follow up calls to ascertain whether the person liked the property and if not why not. Once you find someone who is interested there are the referencing and tenant checks to carry out. The problem is that it can become difficult not to get emotionally involved with…

Let’s start with a couple of definitions: MEES – Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard. EPC – Energy Performance Certificate. Since October 2008, landlords in England and Wales offering property for rent have been required by law to provide prospective tenants with an Energy Performance Certificate for their property. The certificate must be provided free either when or before any written information about the property is provided to prospective tenants or a viewing is conducted. From 1st April 2018 MEES come into operation requiring landlords of all rented property in England and Wales to ensure that their properties reach an EPC of at least a rating of E before granting a new…

The BBC recently carried out a survey via their Affordable Living UK Facebook group to find out whether tenants of private landlords felt they were receiving a positive or negative experience. Here is a summary of the major conclusions. The Pros: • Flexibility. We live in a gig economy and many people rely on short term employment or freelance work. The flexibility of being able to move to a new home in a new area at relatively short notice is a positive boon to many young people. • No maintenance responsibilities. This appeared high on a lot of people’s agendas. The fact is that if the…

I recently learnt of a private landlord who had a tenant who suddenly stopped paying the rent. After four months the landlord consulted a solicitor who informed him that a successful eviction process could take a further nine months. Obviously not receiving income for such a long period of time would be detrimental to the landlord, especially as, in this case, he had a mortgage to pay on the property. Unfortunately, a tenant who stops paying the rent is not an uncommon occurrence. I would regard the solicitor’s estimate of nine months is pessimistic, however, and the eviction process could well be completed much sooner than that. One important…