Court Of Appeal Ruling Rent in Advance | Property File | Hertfordshire

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In a recent legal case the Court of Appeal has ruled that any rent paid in advance for the tenancy of a property does not count as part of the deposit. This has been a long drawn out case and will  bring much welcomed relief to hundreds of landlords up and down the country.

In short the tenant, who was asked for six months rent in advance because she did not have a set income, tried to dispute a Section 21 notice requesting possession of the property on behalf of the landlord, claiming the advanced rent was in fact a deposit and therefore the notice was not valid.

For further information click the links below; 

Source Letting Agent Today

http://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/news_features/Rent-in-advance-not-a-deposit-Court-of-Appeal-rules

Source Property Reporter 

Relief for thousands of landlords thanks to Court of Appeal Rule | News | Property Reporter

 

"Your local lettings experts, our advice is free but our knowledge is priceless"

 
 
I have been in and around the Hertfordshire property market for over 25 years, starting as an estate agent in the county town of Hertford and now running a successful lettings and property management company based in Stanstead Abbotts. I have let and managed property all over Hertfordshire from the area that I currently work to Wheathampstead where I owned and managed a lettings & estate agents to Watford and surrounding areas where my company acted as a marketing agent for one of the largest property management companies in the country”

                                            Adrian Fallart - Director - Property File 

Shelter Survey | Property File | Hertfordshire

www.propertyfile.co


High Demand for Rented Homes:

It seems there's more demand than ever before for rented homes, with over 9 million people now renting their property from a private landlord. New statistics from the charity Shelter reveal that 26% of renters had faced a rent rise in the previous 12 months - not a huge figure. Even so, the same report also shows that two-thirds of renters are struggling or falling behind with their rent. The question is: what way will rents go in the future? 

To take a look at the independent survey click the link below.

Source Shelter Survey

"Your local lettings experts, our advice is free but our knowledge is priceless"

 

I have been in and around the Hertfordshire property market for over 25 years, starting as an estate agent in the county town of Hertford and now running a successful lettings and property management company based in Stanstead Abbotts. I have let and managed property all over Hertfordshire from the area that I currently work to Wheathampstead where I owned and managed a lettings & estate agents to Watford and surrounding areas where my company acted as a marketing agent for one of the largest property management companies in the country”

 Adrian Fallart - Director - Property File

Landlord Gas Safety Certificate | Property File | Hertfordshire

www.propertyfile.co

Health and Safety – Gas Annual safety check:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvLuoV0yZQc

Under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 all gas appliances and flues in rented accommodation must be checked for safety within 12 months of being installed, and thereafter at least every 12 months by a registered Gas Safe engineer.  

You have a duty as a Landlord to ensure that all gas appliances, flues and associated pipe work are maintained in a safe condition at all times.  You must keep full records for at least two years of the inspections of each appliance and flue and of any defects found with a note of remedial action taken.

A copy of the safety certificate issued by the engineer must be given to each new tenant before their tenancy commences, or to each existing tenant within 28 days of the check being carried out.

If you have a change of tenancy, even if the last gas safety certificate is still valid, you need to ensure that gas fittings and appliances are safe before re-letting. Tenants may have removed appliances unsafely (e.g leaving open-ended pipes, having shut off the emergency control valve), or left their appliances in place. Appropriate checks should be carried out and any unsafe equipment rectified or removed before a new tenancy begins. As you have a duty of care to inspect the appliances, flues and associated pipe work again my best advice would be to have a new Gas Safety certificate completed, commonly known as a “Void” certificate, by a Gas Safe engineer and this will ensure that all is as it should be and legal for the new tenants. 

 

"Your local lettings experts, our advice is free but our knowledge is priceless"

I have been in and around the Hertfordshire property market for over 25 years, starting as an estate agent in the county town of Hertford and now running a successful lettings and property management company based in Stanstead Abbotts. I have let and managed property all over Hertfordshire from the area that I currently work to Wheathampstead where I owned and managed a lettings & estate agents to Watford and surrounding areas where my company acted as a marketing agent for one of the largest property management companies in the country”

 Adrian Fallart - Director - Property File

 

Property File | Lettings & Management | Stanstead Abbotts | Hertfordshire

www.propertyfile.co

"Your local lettings experts, our advice is free but our knowledge is priceless" 

I have been in and around the Hertfordshire property market for over 25 years, starting as an estate agent in the county town of Hertford and now running a successful lettings and property management company based in Stanstead Abbotts. I have let and managed property all over Hertfordshire from the area that I currently work to Wheathampstead where I owned and managed a lettings & estate agents to Watford and surrounding areas where my company acted as a marketing agent for one of the largest property management companies in the country”

Adrian Fallart - Director - Property File

Choose a Lettings Agent | Property File

Choose a Lettings Agent

If you are a Landlord with just one or even a portfolio of properties for rent then at some point you need to make the decision whether to let and manage them yourself or instruct the services of a professional letting agent.

BDRC Continental have just carried out a survey as to what the trend is and the results make for interesting reading, you can see these just by clicking the link below for the results published on Property Reporter. However before you do that let me throw my thoughts into the mix.

As a letting agent and in particular a property management specialist I know the level of experience and expertise required to look after properties successfully. Its not an easy job and the rewards are not what they used to be. Over the past few years we have seen a lot of changes in the lettings market and there are going to be many more in the near future. The rise in the number of people looking to rent long term rather than buy means we as an industry are becoming more and more under the spotlight with organisations such as Shelter pressuring the government to legislate further and these changes will apply to you whether your a landlord letting and managing yourself or using an agent.

In short it may seem more cost effective to let and manage the properties yourself but will this prove detrimental if you are not up with the latest legislation and rule changes as they happen, could you get caught out if you do or don't do something that is required by law because you are busy with other aspects of your life? A good agent has to be up to the challenge of staying abreast of legislation changes even if they are only small ones and is constantly evolving their business to stay ahead of the game.   

Yes there are some "rogue" agents out there and these have been highlighted in the press on regular intervals but providing you choose wisely I truly believe that using an agent to market your property is the best for all concerned in the industry even if it is only to find you a tenant, set up the legal contracts and then leave you to do the rest. Use a good agent and you should be assured of getting the help and advice you need when you need it as the agent should feel confident that, as long as they have done the job right in the first place, you will use them again and again.   

Let me leave you with my five top tips for choosing a letting agent and then have a look at the report.

1. Choose a Lettings agent with experience - "Start ups" may be keen but there is no substitute for experience and nothing worse than the lack of it.

2. Choose a Lettings agent that will be flexible on the services they provide - Some agents may only want to manage your property or offer a tenant find only service but go with the one that will do what you want them to.

3. Choose a Lettings agent that can demonstrate local knowledge and expertise in the area your properties are located - National "online" agents may seem cheap but will they know about St Albans if they are in Stoke.

4. Choose a Lettings agent that's on the High Street - Your tenants may start their search "online" but they will feel more secure renting via an agent they can visit, talk with and have confidence they will still be there tomorrow.

5. Choose a Lettings agent that uses up to the minute technology to both market and manage the properties - A High St office is great, but if they are still using outdated systems like cardex and files then probably not so good.
         
Take a look at the survey and thanks for reading.

Letting Agents – Because they’re worth it? | News | Property Reporter

"Your local lettings expert, our advice is free but our knowledge is priceless"

I have been in and around the Hertfordshire property market for over 25 years, starting as an estate agent in the county town of Hertford and now running a successful lettings and property management company based in Stanstead Abbotts. I have let and managed property all over Hertfordshire from the area that I currently work to Wheathampstead where I owned and managed a lettings & estate agents to Watford and surrounding areas where my company acted as a marketing agent for one of the largest property management companies in the country”

 Adrian Fallart - Director - Property File

Your ‘safe place' could be a safe bet for thieves | News | Property Reporter

www.propertyfile.co

Came across this interesting article from property reporter about a new survey from Confused.com which reveals that one in five Brits (21%) have been victims of burglary in the home and that we need to get a bit more creative when it comes to hiding valuables from possible thieves with the ‘Sock drawer' being identified as the top hiding place of choice for valuables!

To read the article in full click the link and share to your friends, lets make it as difficult as possible for them to steal our stuff!   

Your ‘safe place' could be a safe bet for thieves | News | Property Reporter

 

"Your local lettings experts, our advice is free but our knowledge is priceless"

 

 
I have been in and around the Hertfordshire property market for over 25 years, starting as an estate agent in the county town of Hertford and now running a successful lettings and property management company based in Stanstead Abbotts. I have let and managed property all over Hertfordshire from the area that I currently work to Wheathampstead where I owned and managed a lettings & estate agents to Watford and surrounding areas where my company acted as a marketing agent for one of the largest property management companies in the country”

Adrian Fallart - Director - Property File  www.propertyfile.org