Entries by Joanna Plane

Who does what? A quick guide to landlords’ and tenants’ responsibilities

Both landlords and tenants have responsibilities and being clear about them is important. Keep to your obligations and you won’t go far wrong. There are a couple of areas where there is the possibility of confusion, and legislation is always changing. This quick guide should help to clarify the current situation. Tenants’ responsibilities A lot […]

We’ve been celebrating!

Shocking, eh? But we have been working very hard and we deserve a bit of a knees-up every now and then. The summer party has become a regular event, and this one was the best yet. As well as learning the fine art of mixing a great cocktail, some of our braver souls took to […]

Many hands make light work / weight!

Here at Legal for Landlords, one of our core values is to be supportive. That’s not just for our customers – we believe in supporting each other as well. Right now, members of our team are taking part in a ‘Biggest Loser’ competition – yes, a lot of us are trying to lose a few […]

Slowly but surely – and with your help, we’ll make it

It’s years now since the idea of the paperless office was first mentioned, but few organisations have actually achieved it. However, LegalforLandlords really do care about the environment and reducing our carbon footprint. Slowly, but surely, we’re transitioning into a paperless office. Consumption of paper is definitely down and a few more trees can breathe […]

Employee of the Month – meet our inspiring colleagues

It’s always good when effort is appreciated. Each month members of the team vote for the colleague they believe deserves to be given our Employee of the Month award. It’s a tough one to win because you need a substantial number of votes to secure the award. You really have to have delivered an outstanding […]

Are You Sure You’re Insured?

Specialist Landlord Insurance and Why You Need It. If you’re the kind of person who’s willing to risk everything, who isn’t bothered about huge financial losses or who can pay out on claims for damages without worrying, you might think landlord insurance is unnecessary. But if you’re like most people, it’s something you need to […]

Deposits – the most common cause of upset

Let’s talk straight – a deposit is not the landlord’s money. Nor is it a way to ease the cash flow in a letting agency. It’s the tenant’s money. End of. Which is why the Government have made it a legal requirement that it’s protected in a tenancy deposit scheme. Yes, at the end of […]

Are there benefits to tenants on benefits?

We’d be guilty of gross over-simplification if we said ‘no’. The truth is that tenants in receipt of benefits are as diverse as the rest of the population, and you could find that the most reliable and careful tenant you ever have is someone whose rent is paid from their housing allowance. In addition, benefits […]

Referencing – top of the landlord’s priority list

Any management book will give you the basic guidance about prioritising the important stuff. But when you’re putting your to-do list in order, you need to look at things from different angles or you could end up losing out. As a letting agent, you might think the most important thing is a responsive, attractive website […]

Telling it like it is

Warrington-based LegalforLandlords is following its successful relocation and rebrand with a move to a bold, upfront tone of voice. Its new campaign aims to present facts and figures as a wake-up call to those sleepwalking through the property rental sector. The key messages apply to both letting agents and to landlords of all sizes, but particularly to those more […]

Lessons from Rio

We’ve seen some marvellous sporting achievements at the Rio Olympics. We’ve seen scenes of joy and despair. Yes, we’ve seen the ugly face of cheating and corruption, but we’ve also seen the best of the human condition, and importantly, we’ve seen the power of determination. No one who has stepped onto the podium has had […]

How to have a good tenant/landlord relationship

The recipe for successful letting is getting good tenants and keeping them. One of the main ingredients for this retention is a good tenant/landlord relationship. Good tenant/landlord relations can take the stress out of letting and positively impact the arrangement for both parties. A good tenant/landlord relationship can ensure that buy-to-lets have high occupancy rates, […]

Top Marks for Student Lettings?

Renting to students was traditionally seen as a no go area for many landlords.  Students were often viewed by many landlords as a high-risk tenant with the potential to cause trouble.  However, the steady growth in the student buy-to-let sector over recent years has many landlords reassessing this situation.  Student numbers are at an all […]

Letting Agents and Customer Service

Letting agents often get a bad rap for their customer service.  Media reports over the last few months have portrayed letting agents in a negative light.  Stories have abounded on letting agent’s poor customer service, lack of compliance with their legal obligations and even criminal activity!  These reports, coupled with recent criticism by MPs over […]

Strengthening the team at LegalforLandlords

Warrington-based experts on the property rental sector, LegalforLandlords are delighted to introduce two new members of their team. Gareth Samples, Chairman of Nessa Asset Management, joined in November as a non-executive director. Formerly MD of BriefYourMarket.com, which saw massive growth under his leadership, Gareth has a wealth of property knowledge and was previously with Your […]

Tenancy Agreements: the bedrock of successful letting.

Property experts agree that a comprehensive written tenancy agreement is the basis for a successful landlord/tenant relationship. A tenancy agreement is the contract between a landlord and tenant that can either be a written or a verbal agreement. In essence it sets out the terms of the renting arrangement. At present, there is no legal […]

The Changing World of Estate & Letting Agents

Recently, there has much debate on the future of traditional estate and letting agents in the wake of the online property market revolution.   The emergence of online portals has caused many to predict the demise of the high street estate and letting agent.  Property pundits predict that by 2020 50% of all property transitions will […]

Void Periods: how you can avoid them.

Void periods are inevitable.  A void period when your property is unoccupied with no rental income will happen to most landlords during the lifetime of their investment.  Yet excessive or lengthy void periods can significantly impact the viability of your investment.  Many property experts agree that landlords should never take for granted that their property […]

Life after Brexit: yes but most certainly not as we know it.

It’s nearly a week since our seismic decision to leave the EU and the initial aftershock of Brexit has been significant. The Prime Minster has stepped down, the pound has plummeted and millions has been wiped off the London stock exchange. In the wake of this financial volatility what does Brexit hold for landlords and […]

Another stamp on the buy-to-let market?

So has the market spoken? The recent buy-to-let market’s dramatic rise and fall with the introduction of new stamp duty rates for landlords certainly indicates it has. Whilst we are just getting our heads around the impending new tax arrangements, aspiring landlords or those seeking to increase their portfolio will now have to contend with […]