legal

Slow court system isn’t doing landlords any favours

Upad is backing a campaign to improve the current tenant eviction system: ‘Rebalancing the Law’. The campaign, spearheaded by Landlord Action and backed by the Residential Landlords Association, the Southern Landlord Association and Mike Weatherley MP, endeavours to drive for speedier court action for landlords with problem tenants by presenting Parliament with a petition showing just how... Read more

Posted by Sue @ Upad on October 7th, 2010 in Evicting Tenants

4546080239_a61b0b39f6_m

Tenants protected from landlord repossessions

Tenants are now protected against sudden eviction if their landlord defaults on a mortgage on their home. Under the Mortgage Repossessions (Protection of Tenants etc) Act 2010, which came into force on 1st October, the courts have the power to delay repossession proceedings to allow tenants time to find a new home. Lenders must now inform tenants in writing that their home is to be... Read more

Posted by Sue @ Upad on October 6th, 2010 in Evicting Tenants, Landlord Legislation, Mortgages

female silhoutte

Landlord Nightmares: My tenant was a prostitute

Karen has been sharing her experiences of working as a letting agent... When I worked as a letting agent way back when, one of the properties I managed was rented by a woman who worked as a prostitute. She worked from home and when we found out what she was up to, we had to do something about it. The woman in question was always a bit of a funny one: very demanding and slightly bizarre. But... Read more

Posted by Dan @ Upad on September 22nd, 2010 in Evicting Tenants, Property Management

858831657_cbe94c5dc6_m

Ask Upad : Can I evict my tenant for smoking?

Q: My AST clearly states no smoking in the house. I went round to do routine maintenance last week (with the tenant's prior knowledge), only to find him sitting smoking in the kitchen. I reminded him he's in breach of his lease. His reaction was "what are you going to do about it?" Well, what can I do about it? In practise, probably nothing at the moment. He's ignored the clause in the lease.... Read more

Posted by Sue @ Upad on September 16th, 2010 in Ask Upad, Evicting Tenants, Property Management

Comments Off

Comments Off

Landlord-Action

How do I manage LHA tenancies?

I have lost money on the last LHA tenancies I’ve taken on. I just served Sec 8 on the last one who owes me £1800 and I’m not confident of any recovery. Local Authority seems always to side with tenant so I’m not going to take on any more. Do you have have any tips on creating & managing successful LHA tenancies? To fully answer this question would take at least a few hours. However, our... Read more

Posted by Landlord Action on August 30th, 2010 in Evicting Tenants, Property Rental, Rent Arrears

Comments Off

Comments Off

Landlord-Action

ITV Tonight “Nightmare Tenants” featuring Landlord Action

Landlord Action founder, Paul Shamplina, will be featuring on ITV Tonight Programme, ‘Nightmare Tenants’, tonight (Thursday 26th August) at 7.30pm. Mr Shamplina will be exposing rogue tenants and showing live cases, where desperate landlords are owed thousands of pounds in unpaid rent by rogue tenants. The programme is a stark warning to landlords about the dangers of letting their... Read more

Posted by Landlord Action on August 26th, 2010 in Evicting Tenants, Rent Arrears

1749725842_40665fbe86_m

Tenant view: The sitting tenant hokey cokey

Dan, who helps Sue with writing and marketing at Upad, writes about his experiences as a tenant. My last landlords were nice people, I got on well with them and I was sorry when they decided they were going to sell up. We came to an agreement that meant that I would stay, still get two months notice and cooperate with them on viewings. As it turned out, I was in the flat for about six months... Read more

Posted by Dan @ Upad on August 24th, 2010 in Evicting Tenants, Finding Tenants, Tenant Rights

Landlord-Action

My tenant’s left owing me rent: what do I do?

Realistically, what are your options if your tenant does a runner leaving the property in a poor state and owing rent? In a perfect world, landlords will have completed thorough due diligence on the tenant prior to the start of the tenancy. Using a reputable tenant referencing company to obtain a report on your tenant is a must. It is also important to gather key documents prior to the... Read more

Posted by Landlord Action on August 23rd, 2010 in Evicting Tenants, Property Rental, Rent Arrears

Comments Off

Comments Off

Landlord-Action

How could we make referencing more accurate?

Why doesn't somebody in the letting industry run a database where comments about tenants and landlords can be made so as to make referencing more meaningful? This can be quite difficult since there must be some sort of control and regulation to avoid abuse. Before we know it, there could be tenants and/or landlords suing each other for defamation. However, Landlord Action do flag up serial... Read more

Posted by Landlord Action on August 16th, 2010 in Evicting Tenants, Property Rental, Rent Arrears

Comments Off

Comments Off

Landlord-Action

How do I ask my tenants to leave if they’re not paying rent?

The best way to go about asking a tenant to leave is by following the letter of the law. At Landlord Action, we strongly advise against taking shortcuts because this is likely to cause landlords more problems at a later stage. When one of our landlords wants a tenant to leave, depending on the circumstances (for example, there might be rent arrears, the property may be damaged, the tenant... Read more

Posted by Landlord Action on August 10th, 2010 in Evicting Tenants, Rent Arrears

Comments Off

Comments Off

Landlord-Action

What if my tenant stops paying rent?

I have houses - no debts, old family properties. For the first time ever I have someone not paying rent. Should I get solicitor and go to court? This is an option, however, the reason that my business partner and I founded Landlord Action over 10 years ago is because we felt that solicitor's fees were too high and they always took too long to take action. Back then, nobody seemed to be aware... Read more

Posted by Landlord Action on August 5th, 2010 in Evicting Tenants, Property Rental, Rent Arrears

Comments Off

Comments Off

little houses

Rent Arrears down in Q2

The National Landlords Association (NLA) has reported a 3.5% decrease in arrears owed to landlords in the second quarter in comparison to January to March. 21% of landlords surveyed said they has experienced rent arrears. That’s down from 24.5% in the first quarter. Whilst it’s encouraging, it does mean that one in 5 landlords was affected. Perhaps more encouragingly, the average amount... Read more

Posted by Dan @ Upad on July 31st, 2010 in Evicting Tenants, Property Management, Rent Arrears, Tips for New Landlords

Landlord-Action

Tenant’s left cash and belongings behind : should I be worried?

My tenant’s left, owing more rent than their deposit covers. They’ve also left belongings behind and some cash. Can I keep/sell those to cover the shortfall? In the ten years that Landlord Action has been trading, we have never heard of a tenant leaving cash, or indeed anything of significant value that would warrant selling the items to cover a shortfall – that would be a first.... Read more

Posted by Landlord Action on July 30th, 2010 in Evicting Tenants, Property Rental, Rent Arrears

Comments Off

Comments Off

Landlord-Action

What do I do if my tenant always pays the rent late?

My tenant pays really slowly every month. She’s never more than a month behind, but she always pays late. Is there anything I can do? In this scenario, we serve a Section 8 Notice under grounds 10 and 11. However, the issue with this is that these grounds are not mandatory grounds for possession – they are discretionary. The reason we have to go under these grounds is because, technically,... Read more

Posted by Landlord Action on July 26th, 2010 in Evicting Tenants, Property Rental, Rent Arrears

NEWER NEWS