Avoid The Seven Biggest Mistakes Landlords Make

1. Consequences of not maintaining suitable living conditions for your tenant.

Tenants Mr & Mrs B, living in London, came across mould issues in their property. Despite ventilating the property, the mould continued to grow and needed to be dealt with by a specialist company.

The Landlord was putting off dealing with the problem, as the property was on the market for sale. However, when it came to serving the tenants a section 21 notice to vacate the property in time to sell, she was told she couldn't do so due to the tenants having reported the issue to the environment health agency, who had subsequently issued an improvement notice. The sale eventually fell through and the Landlord had to organise the mould treatment before another section 21 notice could be issued.

Solution:

As ARLA registered lettings agents acting as go-between, the mould issue would have been dealt with by GL&Co Estate Agents, who knew mould specialist contractors. Also GL&Co Estate Agents would have been able to tell the landlord she was unable to serve the section 21 notice at this time.

2. Not meeting safety standards

Part of health and safety standards are the legal requirements for landlords to maintain their tenants gas appliances.

In the case of Health and Safety Executive v Long 2011

The City of London Magistrates Court heard that on 4th March 2009 ambulance and fire crews were called to an address in Croydon, where they found several people suffering flu like symptoms and dizziness. One tenant thought he was having a heart attack.

Five residents were taken from the property to hospital suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning. Three needed specialist treatment.

The landlord, James Long, was fined £24,000 and ordered to pay costs of £6000.

To avoid this:

Using a fully managed service from a reputable letting agent has huge benefits. GL&Co Estate Agents have a dedicated team. We treat your property as our own, you can leave everything to our professional team who will keep you informed at all times. we are able to guide you through legislation that landlords must comply with and the complexities of the local lettings market.

3. Failing to use a fully managed service from your agent

Mrs T was a landlord who decided to go it alone, she used a local agent to find a tenant and managed the tenancy herself. Mrs T was frustrated that her tenant was obstructive when she tried to arrange visits to her property, when she was eventually able to gain access she was unhappy with its general state. Mrs T found the tenancy stressful and decided to sell her investment property, on serving notice to her tenant she realised that she had not lodged her deposit in a tenancy deposit scheme. This meant she was subject to a penalty three times the amount of the deposit and would also have to pay back the deposit in full as well as pay legal costs.

To avoid this:

Using a fully managed service from a reputable letting agent has huge benefits, GL&Co Estate Agents have a dedicated team. We treat your property as our own, you can leave everything to our professional team who will keep you informed at all times. we are able to guide you through tenancy deposit legislation that landlords must comply with and the complexities of the local lettings market.

4. No Professional inventory?

Mr & Mrs D let their property to a friend and didn't have a professional inventory compiled. Three years later the tenants moved on and left the property with the carpets ruined, walls badly damaged and the whole property in a very dirty condition. They tried to take monies from the tenants deposit to rectify the issues but the tenant disputed it. Mr & Mrs D took the case to the TDS for adjudication but as there was no evidence as to the condition of the property at the beginning of the tenancy the TDS ruled in favour of the tenant and they received their full deposit back. Mr & Mrs D were out of pocket in the region of £1300.

As an ARLA registered lettings agent, GL & Co Estate Agents always recommend a fully comprehensive professional inventory to be drawn up prior ot the start of a tenancy. For more information on what constitutes a fully comprehensive inventory please contact us now on 01903 744166.

5. Failure to reference applicants

Mr & Mrs W were experienced landlords, normally using a Managing Agent to look after their portfolio of properties. A friend of a friend approached them direct to rent their two bedroom cottage. As they were vaguely known to the Landlord no formal referencing was carried out. the first months rent was collected before the commencement of the tenancy. The next rent payment became due, Mr & Mrs W contacted the tenant and were advised that they had fallen on hard times and were unable to pay any more rent. It took six months for the landlord to gain possession of the property and cost them £6,000 plus solicitor and court fees.

Solution:

Contact GL&Co Estate Agents to find out more about our stringent applicant screening process and rent guarantee policies available to our landlords.

6. Not providing a professional Tenancy Agreement

Mr S had an empty annexe at his property, he put an advert on a website looking for a tenant.   He had a number of enquiries and quickly moved what he thought was a suitable tenant in without a written agreement. They agreed verbally that the rent was £850pcm and payable in advance, however after one month the tenant claimed that they agreed that the rent was £700pcm and payable in arrears.  As there was no tenancy agreement the tenant was legally able to pay at the end of the month rather than the start. It was also difficult to prove his claim that the rent was £850pcm as there was nothing written down. Mr S was unable to make any deductions at the end of tenancy as the tenant disagreed with Mr S’s claim for damage to the property and as there was no agreement stating the tenants obligations no deductions could be made.

To avoid this:

Using a reputable local agent at GL & Co Estate Agents we ensure that what could be a stressful process runs smoothly for you. We provide you with legal documentation drawn up by an independent legal advisor, specialising in the letting industry, to ensure your tenancy complies with all current regulations.

7. Not using an ARLA licenced letting agent

There is no government regulation of the letting industry. Unqualified agents cost landlords and tenants thousands of pounds and unnecessary stress each year because they don’t have protective measures in place, inexperienced unlicensed agents should be avoided and Landlords and tenants should insist on a better service. A licenced ARLA agent is qualified and required to keep up to date with the latest developments in the market and with the changing legislation affecting the lettings market.

Recent legislative changes affecting landlords include:

• HMRC allowances for Wear and Tear

• Danger do not use gas notices

• Rent repayment orders

• Right to Rent checks and Immigration Act

• Retaliatory eviction

• Smoke and Carbon Monoxide alarms

• Deposit schemes

• Gas Safety

• Section 21

To avoid this:

Use a licenced local agent. GL & Co Estate Agents we are licenced members of ARLA and our lettings team will be able to guide you through current legislation changes. A licenced firm abides by a Code of Practise and Rule of Conduct. This means you can be assured that the service you receive is to the highest standard and all enquiries will be dealt with professionally and fairly.