In Leeds County Council and Broadley the Court of Appeal held that a tenant who had abandoned a property without proper notice was “the owner” of the dwelling within s.6 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (“the 1992 Act”) and therefore liable for Council Tax. The tenancy was a periodic tenancy and the council …
Council Tax liability when the Tenant has gone AWOL Read More »
Over the Christmas period we received a few calls about how to complete a Section 8 and 21 notice and how to gain possession once the notice has expired. Consequently, we will write 3 blog posts on: how to complete a section 8; how to complete a section 21; and how to gain possession on …
With the raft of new responsibilities for Landlords set out in legislation such as the Immigration Act 2016 and the impending legislation under the Housing and Planning Act 2016, there has never been more for a Landlord to do in letting their property. There are many Landlords that have other jobs that take up the …
We start this blog with a Happy New Year to all our readers! 2017 is a busy year for the Residential Landlord and Tenant sector so we have taken the liberty of summarising some of the key events we expect to see this year. In April and June 2016, we wrote a few blogs on …
At this time of year, we often receive calls from landlords or their agents about problems they are facing in gaining access to rental properties. The Basics Legally, when a landlord lets a property he gives the tenant exclusive possession of that property subject to any rights of entry provided for in the tenancy agreement …
In Helix 3D Ltd v Dunedin Industrial Property, the High Court decided that something had gone wrong with the drafting of an option agreement, interpreting it in the tenant’s favour on the basis that it was otherwise unlikely that the tenant would be able to exercise the option and that such an outcome could not …
Our office will close at 4pm on December 22nd for the holiday season but, telephone and helpline enquiries will be answered until 5.30pm. Email helpline enquiries will also be answered on December 23rd. The office will then open with a skeleton staff on December 28th from 9am until 5.30pm; but will be closed on January …
The court was asked to rule on the proper interpretation of a rent review clause in a lease and found for the landlord in Elmfield Road Ltd v Trillium (Prime) Property. The term of the lease was 25 years from 25 March 1985 with rent reviews every five years. The annual rent payable started at …
Where the police forcibly removed a Licensee from a property, the Court of Appeal held in Gibson v Douglas 2016, that the Licensor and her son were not guilty of unlawful eviction although they refused to say whether or not the eviction was in fact unlawful. Mr Gibson had been Mrs Douglas’ lodger for some …
AirBnB has announced that lettings in London will no longer exceed 90 days per calendar year pursuant to Section 44 of the Deregulation Act 2015. We have previously blogged on Long Leases and AirBnB. Section 25 of the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1973 provides that the use of residential premises for temporary sleeping …
Last year the government published a technical discussion paper on extending the mandatory licensing of houses in multiple occupation (HMO). The government’s proposals are designed to increase the number of properties that will be subject to mandatory licensing. They are: • To remove the storey rule so all houses with 5 or more people from …
Helpline subscribers can now access the new Section 8 notice on the document vault, for non-subscribers, the notice is available here. Numerous blogs on the new provisions of the Immigration Act 2016 can be found on our website. On 1 December 2016, some of those provisions regarding eviction will come into force. The Secretary of …
In the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement of last week, Philip Hammond announced: “In the private rental market, letting agents are currently able to charge unregulated fees to tenants. We have seen these fees spiral, often to hundreds of pounds. This is wrong. Landlords appoint letting agents and landlords should meet their fees. So I can announce …
Thank you to our friends at Nearly Legal for notifying us of the latest update to the prescribed form of the section 8 notice. This comes in the form of The Assured Tenancies and Agricultural Occupancies (Forms) (England) (Amendment No. 2) Regulations 2016 The changes are to take account of the new ground 7B seeking …
Where rented properties are infested with Rats or other pests it is not always the landlord’s responsibility to deal with them. The starting point is that in relation to furnished lettings, there is at common law an implied condition that a property will be free from pest infestation at the commencement of the tenancy. If …
During the Christmas period PainSmith will close on December 22nd 2016 at 4pm but if you email us or telephone that day helpline calls will still be answered; as will all email helpline queries on December 23rd 2016. The office opens again on December 28th 2016 from 9am until 5.30pm; but will be closed on …
PainSmith Solicitors,
1 Mansfield Business Park,
Station Approach,
Lymington Bottom Road,
Medstead, Hampshire
GU34 5PZ
Authorised and Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA Number 562686)
Painsmith Solicitors Limited trading as Painsmith Solicitors, Director: Marveen Smith. Registered No. 07617210.
