A tenant who wants to leave early rarely picks a convenient moment. A new job in another city, a relationship that has ended, a first home finally bought: the reasons are usually perfectly human, and the message tends to arrive with a hopeful request to be gone in a fortnight. Your mortgage lender, sadly, has not been told about the new job.
Few things test a landlord’s patience like a tenant who will not let anyone in. The gas safety check is due, a leak needs looking at or an inspection is overdue, and every appointment gets cancelled or simply ignored. The deadline on that gas certificate, unfortunately, does not move just because the front door stays shut.
Two landlords own similar flats on the same street. One visits every six weeks, sends reminder texts about the state of the kitchen and photographs each room on the way round. The other has not set foot inside since the tenant moved in three years ago. Both think they are being reasonable. Both are storing up problems.
A landlord in Leeds recently lost a £900 deposit claim for a ruined carpet. The carpet really was ruined. The problem was that the check-in report had no date, no photographs and no tenant signature, so the adjudicator had no way of knowing what the carpet looked like on day one. The deposit went back to the tenant in full.
The tenant hasn’t paid rent in six weeks. Their phone goes to voicemail, and a neighbour says nobody has come or gone for a month. You let yourself in for an inspection and the flat looks half-emptied: nothing in the fridge, a few bits of furniture, some boxes in the bedroom. It looks, for all the world, like they have gone.
Guarantors are another way landlords can protect themselves and increase their financial security. In many cases, they work perfectly fine. But they aren’t always the best or most suitable option.
Damp and mould problems in a rental property aren’t just a cosmetic issue. Government guidance treats these problems as a serious health risk, especially for children, older people, and vulnerable tenants.
Selective licensing(per its name) only applies to a selection of properties. It’s entirely different from mandatory HMO licensing additional licensing, but it isn’t optional if it applies to your rental property.
As private landlords will likely know by now, the Renter’s Rights Act increases your responsibilities and duties. Rules, practices, and statutory timeframes will soon mean that landlords have to work harder to stay compliant.
