How much notice should I give to leave?

Q

I have been renting a property for the last two years and I am presently in a rollover tenancy, my initial tenancy was for six months. I pay my rent on the 15th of each month. I recently gave my landlord a month’s notice on the 25th April to move out on the 25th May, however, I have been told that it should be given on my rent due date of the 15th and I must also give two months’ notice. I really need to move out, is this correct?

Warning on electrical appliances

Landlords and Letting Agents are being advised to look at the electrical products in their properties after a number of fires have been attributed to white goods. Only last week, Dorset fire and rescue were called to a serious house fire caused by the tumble dryer

Appliances to look out for are fridge freezers, cookers, tumble dryers and washing machines (existing or recently new)

The warning comes after a continuing spate of safety alerts and product recalls. However, despite this, a large number are not registered with the manufacturer when bought by the landlords (or their agent, if they are buying on their behalf), so cannot be contacted.

HMRC warning on second homes

The HMRC have given a deadline to all property owners who received a rental income either here in the UK or abroad. This applies to any property that is not a main residence, including holiday homes. They have pledged to crack down on any buy-to-let property owners who are trying to get away with capital gains tax avoidance.

Futile Landlord Counting the Costs

A local landlord is counting the costs of his futility and refusal to play by the rules.

The Landlord had originally protected a deposit given to him by a tenant through MyDeposits; however the Landlord did not renew his membership the following year and despite MyDeposits writing to him and advising of the consequences, the landlord neither renewed nor joined another scheme.

Rent arrears and Eviction Notices on the rise

25,422 landlords sought possession of their rented properties in the second quarter of 2012, this was a slight increase from the first quarter, and steadily rising since 2010, according to the Governments quarterly Court statistics.

The rate of growth in the number of tenants in serious rent arrears is showing signs of slowing, but nevertheless up by 1.6 per cent in the third quarter of 2012. 99,000 tenants are in arrears of two months or more, the highest since 2008 and an increase of 15 per cent from the previous year.

Deposit certificate for Landlords and Tenants

Since April 2006, if a Landlord or letting agent takes a deposit from a tenant then this must be protected by law. Up until now, the penalties imposed for not doing so has been severe. Although, still severe if not protected the amended legislation has closed some loopholes, where landlords have successfully appealed against the penalties imposed on them for protecting the deposit late. Currently a deposit must be protected within 14 days from receiving the deposit late. Currently a deposit must be protected within 14 days from receiving the deposit, failure to do so means a Section 21 notice (absolutely vital if you need to evict a tenant) would not be recognised in a court of law and the tenant was entitled to three times the deposit given plus their deposit!!

Rent Arrears

Q. We have been renting out our property to the current tenants for the last 3 years. Unfortunately due to a recent job loss they are now in arrears with their rent. Thy look after the property well and have always been on time with their rent; however we are concerned that if the arrears are not paid up this will put financial burden on us as we have a mortgage to pay. Can you advise?

Property Repairs: Landlord Responsibilities

Q. Earlier this year the combination boiler in our rented house stopped working, so we had not hot water or central heating. We rang our landlord and he said it had happened before and said we needed to top up the water pressure in the boil via small tap on the boiler. We could not find this tap anywhere and called him back. He then said he was not prepared to pay a plumber to come out for such a small task and said he would come over the next day. Five days later he turned up saying he had something in his eye and had to go to hospital and could not drive. Meanwhile we had had no heating and no hot water for almost a week during one of the coldest parts of the year. Can I refuse to pay rent for those five days or reduce my rent, or even end my contract early?

Renting a Spare Room

Q. We are thinking of renting our spare room. Please can you advise of any legal implications we should be aware of, what happens if we don’t get on with the person and where do we stand with regards to declaring the income?

A. Renting out a spare room is a great way of bringing in some extra revenue and many more people are doing this now. I cannot stress enough how important it is to check the references of the lodger. This person is going to be living in you home and will have access to all your personal possessions when you are not there.

Property Abandonment

Q . We think our tenants have left without saying anything. They are still in a Tenancy Agreement, are two months in arrears and we have not been able to make contact with them. Unfortunately we do not live locally, but the neighbours who are friends of ours say they have not seen them around and having peeped through a window it looks as if most of the furniture has gone. Where do we stand legally?

Shared Accommodation Rate for Under 35s

Question:

We currently rent out a one-bedroom flat to a single person. We have always received the rent on time and the gentleman looks after the property well. Unfortunately, he was made redundant recently and will have to claim Housing Benefit whist looking for another job. My concern is that he is 31 years of age and I have been told there have been changes to the legislation on single people under the age of 35. Can you tell me what those changes are and how they will affect my tenant and us? Many thanks.

Taxman to Target Buy-to-let Landlords

HMRC have launched 12 task forces aimed at targeting landlords with 3 or more properties in 2011/12 and more in 2012/13.

The buy-to-let taskforce will specifically target tax evasion among buy-to-let landlords who own or rent out more than three properties. HMRC taskforces form part of the government's aim to raise an additional £7bn a year by 2014/15 through tackling tax evasion, avoidance and fraud.

Mike Wells director of risk and intelligence at HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), is quite clear: "If you deliberately seek to evade tax we can and will track you down and you'll face not only a heavy fine, but possibly a criminal prosecution as well."

The Task forces will gain information from:

Banks Mortgage applications
Land registry Electoral rolls
Council tax records Letting agents

Deposit Schemes

I am going through a dispute with tenants who recently moved out of a rented property I own. They have caused quite a bit of damage and I have retained their deposit. Although I have provided an in depth detail of the damage along with photographic evidence of before they moved in and after, they have sought advice from the CAB. The CAB has advised them to seek confirmation of how the Deposit was protected. Unfortunately, I was not aware I had to protect the Deposit and am concerned at what this may mean. Obviously going forward I will ensure the deposit from the new tenants is protected but can you advise me on my rights with this particular case as I genuinely didn't know?