No win no fee lawyers

Landlord Discussion
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I have raised a more specific post on mould, but I wanted to be less specific.

There seems to be a load of no win no fee lawyers starting to target landlords. Seems like all have a form targeting deposit scheme checks.

So in theory as long as that’s been done all good. But also listing repairs, mould, noisy neighbours and all manner of other things that may or may not be within the landlords control.

Has anyone any experience of this? How to avoid?

Even if I do everything by the book, which I do, there’s a limit to what I can do around neighbours and potentially mould if tenants are drying clothes etc.

Even if they failed in legal action, the whole thing just sounds incredibly expensive and exhausting for a LL, not so much for a tenant on no win no fee.

Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but feels like it won’t be long until every other radio advert will be no win no fee property lawyers. Now that we soon won’t even be able to evict tenants, I’m not sure how this all plays out?

Apologies for the doom laden post. My tenants moved out, and I’m really not sure what to do right now with all this anti-LL sentiment.

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you were advised what to do on the other thread: sell up. Doesn’t sound like you’re cut out for this.

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Welcome to the new world of the Renters Rights Act!

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Hi @Rentyman

Erm it’s simply not true that we “soon won’t even be able to evict tenants” - under RRA you just have to have a sensible reason.

Lots not in LL total control- stuff breaks, freeholders/service mgt cos who are terrible at getting repairs done, finding reliable tradesmen, mortgage rates, taxes, tenants’ changing circumstances. Noisy neighbours aren’t LL liability unless LL could take reasonable steps and hasn’t

(Nrla advice on noise here

How to handle noise complaints | NRLA .

OR standard ast contract has

“9.30. Not to do or permit to be done in the Premises or elsewhere anything which may be or become a nuisance, annoyance or inconvenience to the Landlord, the owner or occupiers of any adjoining property, the neighbours, other
adjoining residents or people in the immediate area.”

So you can warn tenants if they get complaints against that they could be evicted )

More specifically how to mitigate risks- join landlord associations; do training; get professional advice; treat tenants (your customers) well and fairly. Seek support and advice from other LLs. Know you limits and weaknesses (I wouldn’t pretend to know legal answers just like I wouldn’t try to do plumbing) and use experts where you need to. Do the basics right (deposit stuff, epcs and all the other stuff when setting up a n)ew tenancy and getting it signed).any formal stuff like rent increases or notice or eviction do as carefully as you would a tax return or insurance claim keep records of everything.

If you can find a good property mgt or Lettings agency you trust obviously that uses their expertise to reduce risks but costs more

Take out insurance to cover rent and also legal costs if eviction needed

Another option rather than totally leaving the sector is to use a company who rent out your place -and pay you a fixed income including for void periods. You still have to do due diligence as you are basically having them as a commercial tenant and letting them sublet, you have to agree with them some criteria for tenants how many etc. But they then deal with all the property mgt. You’ll probably get 10-20% less gross pcm but no void period and it’s an allowable expense against landlord income for tax purposes. Risk is any damage etc doesn’t get repaired and place not taken care of. But you have no direct contact with tenants who don’t have a contract with you so no risk of them using lawyers against you.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do

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This is a complex area and if you do venture in, it’s best to get a specialised solicitor to look over any contract you are offered. They don’t deal with everything. Even under a commercial lease, you’re typically responsible for maintenance of external building fabric.

Your post doesn’t seem to indicate what “it” is.

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The other thing to be aware of with using a Rent to Rent company is that unless they’re a registered provider of social housing, they won’t be able to guarantee returning your property to you with vacant possession at the end of the contract.

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@Rentyman totally agree with all that from @tatemono if you are getting others to take over property mgt of your property and you then get the income, whether letting agents do ‘full’ property mgt service, or a company subletting, you need to look carefully at the contracts and use a lawyer if you arent sure. It’s one way to avoid having all the expense and hassle of selling up the property which you’ll have spent stamp duty legal and survey costs buying.

[@tatemono By ‘it’ I meant costs of using a letting agent or any costs of these sort of arrangements where you use a subcontractor to find etc the tenants and do most of the day to day property mgt. Havent done it myself but assume there must be costs just like with using a letting agent. ]

good luck

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Thanks for clarifying what you meant. However, there are usually no costs in a rent to rent arrangement because there are no management fees involved. I have one property leased and the only thing that I can claim as an expense each year is the buildings insurance. That’s it because there are no other expenses that I incur.

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@tatemono

What about the costs of getting a specialized solicitors to look over the contract? And why would you not still do your own inventory at start and end and inspections, all of which you may be paying for ? Also any service charges to mgt Co and contributions to cost of sinking fund or repairs to exterior/communal areas, or cleaning of these. Gutter clearance and replacement every say 10y.

Fire risk assessments (freeholders are responsible). If needed asbestos surveys/assessments of risk.

Like you said earlier these companies don’t do everything

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I think you may be confused between paying an agent to fully manage a property and leasing a property.

But thanks for making me chuckle about replacing gutters every 10 years :laughing:

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Yes, its definitely worth paying a specialist solicitor to look over the company contract. There are still rogue operators in this market and companies who change the parameters of the deal when their original idea doesnt work. I have known of companies that have just used modified AST agreements which are wholly inappropriate, or who have amended the forfeiture clause to make it impossible to recover possession. The contractual obligations of each party also don’t always match the original sales pitch; particularly around things like repairs, licensing and alterations to the property. Owners should also be aware that if the company makes a mistake, their tenant, (the occupier) could make a rent repayment order claim against the owner, not just the company and are more likely to do so. Checking the competence and probity of the company is therefore crucial and may involve further initial expense.

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