Tenant Dispute Lawyers
As a landlord, your properties are valuable long-term assets. Any tenant disputes you get involved with could impact on your rental income and also put your property assets at risk. Getting the right advice in a timely manner can help you protect your investments in the short and long term. More importantly, it can help you ensure that you stay on the right side of the law.
Our specialist team provides expert legal advice in different languages to help clients with a wide variety of legal matters, including property law for landlords.
How can disputes with a tenant come about?
Dealing with difficult tenants can be problematic, stressful and time-consuming. You may have entered into property ownership as a means of providing a relatively passive, low-risk income, so getting drawn into a dispute can be frustrating too. Some of the ways that this can happen include:
- Your tenant could owe you rent and be refusing to pay
- Your tenant might deny you access to the property for routine checks and inspections
- Your tenant may have sub-let part of the property without consulting you
- You may be in arrears with your mortgage on the property
These are just some of the more common causes of tenant disputes. If you’ve experienced any of the above or any other form of tenant dispute, contact us for professional advice and we’ll explain how we may be able to help.
At times, it can feel as though the law gives more protection to your tenants than it does to you as owner of the property, regardless of their conduct. We can help you navigate the law and find the right way forward in your dispute.
What are my duties and responsibilities as a landlord?
As a landlord, you have certain obligations towards your tenants. You may have more specific obligations written into the contract, but the following are reasonable assumptions for tenants to make about you and the property:
- You will ensure that the property is fit for safe habitation
- You are responsible for repairs to the structure and exterior of the property, heating and water systems and sanitary wear (unless they are deliberately damaged by the tenant)
- Gas and electrical appliances supplied by you will be safe and well-maintained
- Furniture and furnishings must have up-to-date fire safety accreditations
- You must maintain common areas well (or contribute your share if you aren’t fully responsible for them).
As landlord, it’s reasonable that you should be allowed sufficient access to carry out necessary checks to ensure that you comply with the above, with prior notice.
What rights and responsibilities do tenants have?
The tenant must:
- Pay their rent in full and on time, unless an exception is agreed with the landlord
- Pay all agreed bills direct to suppliers (unless they are included within the rent)
- Comply with all terms of the tenancy agreement
- Use the property in a responsible way and take proper care of it
- They have the right to quiet enjoyment of the property, so any inspections should be genuinely necessary and not be excessively long or frequent
If your tenants have failed to comply with any of the above, contact us for legal advice to help you avoid or resolve a dispute, so that you can continue to generate rental income from the property.
How do I get advice on my tenant dispute?
Call us on 0208 1111 911 or contact us through the website and we’ll discuss your circumstances with you. There is no upfront cost – we’ll advise the best course of action with your dispute and then advise you of any costs before you choose whether or not to instruct us.
