Tenants should take professional advice before renting out their homes to short-term paying guests via Airbnb, Booking.com or other internet booking sites. In a case on point, a couple who failed to take that sensible step placed themselves in jeopardy by breaching the terms of
Qualifying apartment dwellers have a right to acquire the freehold of the buildings where they live, but does that extend to the subsoil beneath the premises and the airspace above? The Court of Appeal addressed that critical issue in a guideline decision. The case concerned
Launching possession proceedings against residential tenants is a serious matter and, in order to ensure fairness, landlords are bound to comply strictly with procedural rules when embarking on such a course. In a case on point, an obvious typographical error very nearly stymied a landlord’s
Failing to licence houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) when required to do so is a criminal offence and ignorance of the law is no defence. The First-tier Tribunal (FTT) resoundingly made that point in ordering residential landlords to repay half the rent they received from
Many long leaseholders mistakenly believe that they have much the same rights as freeholders and can do pretty much what they like with their properties. As one case strikingly showed, however, ignoring the terms of your lease can put both your home and your investment
Most residential leases contain a standard covenant which requires tenants to give their landlords access to their homes for reasonable purposes, including repair and maintenance. As a matter of good manners, tenants are often asked to confirm that the date and time of such visits
Letting property to tenants on a handshake, without professional advice, is a recipe for trouble. That was certainly so in one High Court case, in which the absence of a professionally drafted tenancy agreement led to doubts as to whether the landlords or the tenants
The question of what is and is not a house in multiple occupation (HMO) is far from straightforward to answer and, as a First-tier Tribunal (FTT) decision showed, landlords who fail to take legal advice on the issue can be hit in the pocket after
