Latest News Articles

Letting Agents and Customer Service

Letting agents often get a bad rap for their customer service.  Media reports over the last few months have portrayed letting agents in a negative light.  Stories have abounded on letting agent’s poor customer service, lack of compliance with their legal obligations and even criminal activity!  These reports, coupled with recent criticism by MPs over […]

Tenancy Agreements: the bedrock of successful letting.

Property experts agree that a comprehensive written tenancy agreement is the basis for a successful landlord/tenant relationship. A tenancy agreement is the contract between a landlord and tenant that can either be a written or a verbal agreement. In essence it sets out the terms of the renting arrangement. At present, there is no legal […]

The Changing World of Estate & Letting Agents

Recently, there has much debate on the future of traditional estate and letting agents in the wake of the online property market revolution.   The emergence of online portals has caused many to predict the demise of the high street estate and letting agent.  Property pundits predict that by 2020 50% of all property transitions will […]

It’s official, we’re a great employer!

For a good while, we’ve thought that Legalforlandlords is a great place to work. But now, we’ve got more than our own opinion to go off. On Friday 10th June, we were thrilled to win the Employer of the Year category at the Warrington Business Awards. As is normal with awards, we’ve got people to […]

Too much time spent chasing problem payers?

We’d like to offer a helping hand. We’re guessing that one of your most painful jobs is chasing unpaid rent. But if you don’t get the cash out of those troublesome tenants, both you and your landlords can end up seriously out of pocket. So, for this month only, LegalforLandlords are offering three FREE RENT RECOVERY LETTERS […]

Keeping your tenants safe – and why a failure could lead to a criminal record

We recently shared some horror stories from landlords whose tenants from hell had caused thousands of pounds’ worth of damage to properties and gave you some tips for making sure your own tenancies don’t turn into a nightmare. But it’s just as important to remember your own responsibilities for maintaining the condition and safety of […]

Cautionary Tales: our top five landlord horror stories – and how to avoid making the list

We’ve all heard stories about tenants from hell – from a raft of excuses for not paying their rent right through to leaving carnage and destruction in their wake. Here are some of the worst ones we’ve heard, and a few tips on how to avoid, and deal with, nightmare tenants. After a row with […]

The lending surge: is it all bad news for landlords?

We reported recently on the changes in stamp duty having an impact on property purchases and previously advised landlords thinking of increasing their portfolio in 2016 to buy in the first quarter in order to beat the rise. So, it’s no surprise that we saw a big jump in mortgage lending in March as landlords […]

Preparing for the worst: a few tips on how to avoid the impact of rent arrears

We know that, for landlords, tenants falling into rent arrears is one of the biggest concerns. It can have a massive impact on your finances if your tenants are not paying the rent, and although there are courses of action you can take to get the arrears repaid, or ultimately evict your non-paying tenants, this […]

Are your forms up to date?

There are a variety of forms and notices for landlords to use when tackling various tenancy issues, and there were changes for landlords last week with the government making an update to two private letting forms. These took effect on 6th April 2016, so it’s worth checking that you’re using the right versions! Changes to […]

Bank of England to tighten buy-to-let lending rules: what do you need to know?

Last week was certainly an eventful one for landlords. The hike in stamp duty on rental properties came into force on 1st April, and as expected, we saw a big spike in lending and bottlenecks delaying property purchases as buyers raced against the clock to complete their sale before the rise took effect. Earlier in […]

What effect would Brexit have on the UK property market?

The 23rd June referendum on whether the UK should leave the European Union or not is looming. Uncertainty over the future is likely to make buyers and sellers cautious pre-referendum – you may recall the property market slowed right down ahead of the General Election, particularly in affluent areas where many were concerned about the […]

When the clues are there, don’t ignore them

The courts have just awarded over £8,000 and costs to a landlord who claimed an agent had supplied unsuitable tenants. The agent had sourced references from a business with a good track record, which, although not perfect, were deemed acceptable. However, when things went wrong an argument arose as to whether all obligations had been […]

Step 3 – Bailiff