Landlord Solicitors in Southampton
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Property Dispute Solicitors for Landlords
Difficult Tenants can cause a lot of stress and worry for Landlords. Most often, it is where Tenants have failed to pay for their rent or have caused considerable damage to the property. Our expert Landlord Solicitors can help landlords by resolving disputes through Alternative Dispute Resolution or eviction.
ADR is often the cheapest and most recommended course of action to take where disputes have occurred. We can contact your tenant on your behalf to arrange mediation, or write a letter before action, which often results in what you want to achieve.
If you are looking to evict your tenant, you may require an extra pair of hands. There are certain requirements of landlords when issuing Section 8 notices and Section 21 notices. Failing to complete the proper procedure can result in your notice being invalid and your tenant remaining to occupy the property.
Know your rights
The rights of landlords are governed by the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. Reading it yourself may lead to some questions unless you’re acquainted with the law from professional experience, however, is always a good idea to be aware of your rights and legal responsibilities.
The Right to Increase Rent
You can increase the rent under certain rules, which cannot be done arbitrarily. Depending on the type of tenancy, determines when and how often you can increase the rent.
Typically, rent increases can occur once a year, where a fixed-term tenancy has come to an end, but this will require the tenant to agree. Most landlords detail this in the tenancy agreement, where they will provide a percentage of what the increase will go up when the annual review takes place. You can increase the rent to whatever you want, but the law advises that the increase should be ‘fair and realistic’. For 12-month tenancy agreements, you will need to give the tenant 6 months’ notice for rent increases.
The Right to Access the Property
All tenants have the right to ‘quiet enjoyment’. This means that you cannot visit the property unannounced and requires 24 – 48 hours’ notice that should be stipulated within the tenancy agreement.
However, in the exceptional event of an emergency, you are allowed access to the property. These emergencies typically involve immediate attention following damage to the property reported by neighbours. For instance, where a neighbour below the rented property has reported leaks, and the tenant is unreachable, you can access the property to turn off the water, however, you must attempt to contact the tenant first.
The Right to Repair
Of course, carrying out repairs is an essential part of landlord responsibilities, but believe it or not, can often cause disputes where tenants are being difficult over when it can be done. As we previously mentioned, you will need to give the tenant 24 – 48 hours’ notice and are legally obliged to carry out that work once the notice period has finished. We recommend giving tenants a specific date and time to carry out the work, which also goes for property inspections.
The Right to Possess the Property
You can possess your property at the end of a fixed-term tenancy agreement after you have provided the tenant with sufficient notice observed by the tenancy agreement. The standard notice period is 2 months.
If you want to evict a tenant during the tenancy, you will need to have grounds for doing so. The only reason you can do this is if they have broken the terms of the tenancy, for which you will need to issue a Section 8 notice.
Where the tenancy agreement has come to an end, you can evict tenants for any reason with a Section 21 notice.
The Right to Sell
You can sell the property when the tenancy agreement has finished unless you sell to a buyer as an investment. The buyer will need to agree to buy the property with the tenant remaining to occupy as a resident. Should you just want to sell the property without the tenant living in the property, you will need to follow the procedure for Section 21 notices.
FAQ’s
I need help with drafting a tenancy agreement, can you help?
We often help landlords with drafting a tenancy agreement, it is probably the most important part of being a landlord to cover yourself in a contract. We will do all of the hard work for you and will liaise with you to tailor the terms around your individual needs, whilst advising you on what you can and cannot include.
My tenant has left some belongings on the property, what should I do?
Landlords are not allowed to dispose of or sell any items left behind by the tenant. You can, however, charge the tenant for removing the items. This can be invoiced directly to them or deducted, within a reasonable amount, from their deposit.
You can dispose of any goods, providing that you have followed the correct procedure. Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 guides what to do with items left behind by a tenant. Firstly, you will need to issue a notice to collect the goods with details of the following:
- Where the goods are being kept
- Where sale of the items will take place
- If sold, the sale and storage costs will be deducted from the proceeds of sale
- A list of the goods
You should allow 14 days or more as a reasonable notice before commencing with the sale or disposal of goods.
I want to sell my occupied property, can you help?
Sure, we can. There is a small fee for occupied properties as it requires more work, and you can receive a free no-obligation quote from one of our Conveyancing Solicitors. For more info, please visit Residential Conveyancing or call 023 8023 4433 to get started.
FAQ’s
I need help with drafting a tenancy agreement, can you help?
We often help landlords with drafting a tenancy agreement, it is probably the most important part of being a landlord to cover yourself in a contract. We will do all of the hard work for you and will liaise with you to tailor the terms around your individual needs, whilst advising you on what you can and cannot include.
My tenant has left some belongings on the property, what should I do?
Landlords are not allowed to dispose of or sell any items left behind by the tenant. You can, however, charge the tenant for removing the items. This can be invoiced directly to them or deducted, within a reasonable amount, from their deposit.
You can dispose of any goods, providing that you have followed the correct procedure. Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 guides what to do with items left behind by a tenant. Firstly, you will need to issue a notice to collect the goods with details of the following:
- Where the goods are being kept
- Where sale of the items will take place
- If sold, the sale and storage costs will be deducted from the proceeds of sale
- A list of the goods
You should allow 14 days or more as a reasonable notice before commencing with the sale or disposal of goods.
I want to sell my occupied property, can you help?
Sure, we can. There is a small fee for occupied properties as it requires more work, and you can receive a free no-obligation quote from one of our Conveyancing Solicitors. For more info, please visit Residential Conveyancing or call 023 8023 4433 to get started.
