How to rent – new guide just released by the government
How to Rent and How to Let guides have been updated by the government and have implications for landlords when applying for an eviction.
Tenant Stamp Duty Charge
Renters in the United Kingdom may face large penalties as a result of a little-known law that may force them to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) despite not owning their rental property.
Assignment of Tenancy – can agents and landlords charge tenants?
Assignment of Tenancy is in the limelight with a recent First-Tier Tribunal decision that could have a serious impact on agents and private landlords.
Coronavirus, Commercial Landlords and Tenants
There is essentially zero certainty as to what is currently going on in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic. One of the most turbulent and ambiguous areas of law at present is how will Commercial Landlords and Tenants be affected by the situation and the interim “relief” being introduced by the Government. The Government published the “Extra protection for businesses with ban on evictions for commercial Tenants who miss rent payments” on the 23rd of March 2020. In short, Commercial Tenants who are unable to pay rent because of Coronavirus…
Top Tips for Landlords: Complying with the new Energy efficiency legislation (EPC tests)
As if landlords didn’t have enough paperwork to worry about, as of the 1st April 2018, things got even more complicated. The minimum ratings for Energy Performance Certificates (which have been mandatory for some time) got a lot tougher, and now any rental property must achieve at least an ‘E’ rating for it to be rented out. Whereas before this only applied to new tenancies, now, it covers existing rental agreements too. That means that even if your tenants have been in your property for years, the house or flat…
Commercial landlords – What are your obligations?
If you choose to invest in commercial property rather than domestic stock and then rent it out, then, as with domestic rentals, you have to meet certain obligations to both maintain the condition of the building and to look after the interests of your tenants. If you are thinking of moving into commercial property rental is to make sure you have a good solicitor on your side – one who’s well versed in the finer points of lease negotiation, commercial property and that all-important Landlord and Tenant Act 1927. Negotiating…
Renting property – Will the slow-down of the housing market have a knock-on effect for landlords and their tenants?
For years, homeowners have come to expect that their property value will increase. But headlines predicting a housing slump are backed by figures that show a sustained slow-down of activity in the housing market and a dip in the rate of growth for house prices too. Could this also have a knock-on effect for rental prices? And what is a ‘fair rent’ for the average property? Is the housing market really slowing down? While the long feared property market crash actually hasn’t happened (and may just be the paranoid reporting…
Beware Side Letter
Although the case of Vivienne Westwood Limited v Conduit Street Development Limited is fact specific it is a crucial reminder of the care that must be taken when setting out concessionary terms in side letters between landlords and tenants. In 2009 Vivienne Westwood Limited entered into a 15 year lease of retail premises, however at the same time the parties entered into a side letter providing rent concessions. The lease provided that the annual rent payable was £110,000 with upwards only rent reviews in 2014 and 2019. Under the side…
Buy to let Landlords beware – letting prevented by lease user restriction
The Upper Tribunal has held that a flat owner was prevented from letting out their flat due to the terms of the lease restriction as to the use of the property. The landlord successfully appealed against a decision at first instance that the flat owner was not in breach of covenant. In the case of Roundlistic Limited v Jones and Seymour [2016] UKUT 325 (LC), a restrictive covenant confirmed the maisonette's use to occupation by the tenant and their family. This was held to mean meant that only the flat…
A fifth of London tenants paying over asking price
Countrywide, the UK’s largest property services group, announced that 1 in 5 tenants based in London pay over the asking price to secure their homes, by comparison with 1 in 8 tenants over the rest of the UK. London, compared to other cities in the country, has seen the largest growth in rents since 2007. Countrywide's monthly lettings index found Londoners were paying an average of £1,309 a month in the year to February, up from £1,295 the year before, £94 above the average monthly asking rent, in London. Over the…