It is important to know whether you have an HMO or not. There are some rather important consequences. For example: All HMO landlords have to comply with the special management regulations (and can be prosecuted and fined if they don’t), and the property may need to be licensed. The rules on HMOs changed in 2006…
Every now and again I get rung up by journalists or BBC researchers, wanting stories about the ‘enormous problem’ of squatters. It makes a good headline and you can do a nice ‘indignant of Tunbridge Wells’ article about how dreadful it all is. Reluctantly I have to tell them that I hear very few stories…
Tenant rights I sometimes get contacted by landlords in a panic. “My tenant will have been in the property for three years next month – should I evict her to prevent her having the right to buy me out?” Or sometimes its the tenants, thinking that they are entitled to claim ownership or charge their…
As discussed by Ben in his post on harassment, many landlords are outraged when a TRO tells them their conduct is illegal. “Its my house isn’t it, so why can’t I go in when I like?” is a common response. But what they don’t realise is that it isn’t their house any more. We have…
Landlord s21 notices – are rent arrears necessary? I am prompted to write this Urban Myth post as it seems, from reading comments on the internet, that Ms Butler, the landlord in a tent, may have given this as the reason why she was couldn’t serve a section 21 notice on her tenant. Irrespective of…
Section 21 notices I’m not quite sure where this urban myth comes from, but I have heard it from quite a few people. Section 21, you will remember, is the section of the Housing Act 1988 which says that if you serve a notice on your tenant, giving all the proper information (as set out…
This is an urban myth which perhaps should be real but isn’t. Unfortunately you can have a proper legal tenancy without there being any paperwork at all. They are sometimes called oral tenancies. Oral tenancies An oral tenancy is where the tenant just goes in on a verbal agreement and a handshake (and sometimes not…
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