Being a landlord can be a very rewarding experience, but it also carries the risk of falling foul of an ever-increasing amount of legislation not to mention a significant degree of hassle.
Here, we take a sometimes lighthearted look at the A-Z of being a landlord in London….
A is for Assured Shorthold Tenancy Any new tenancy since 28 February 1997 is automatically an assured shorthold tenancy, unless the landlord serves a notice to say it is not to be an AST.
B is for Buy-to-let A property purchased with the specific intention of letting it out to paying tenants.
C is for Checks What landlords must carry out regarding a potential tenant’s immigration status.
D is for Deposit The money paid by tenants as security against damage.
E is for Excuse Used by tenants to explain the late payment of rent.
F is for Fire extinguisher Required equipment for HMOs.
G is for Gas Safety Landlords are legally responsible for the safety of their tenants and must get gas appliances checked on an annual basis by a registered engineer.
H is for Housing Act 2004 Legislation that all landlords must comply with or risk significant penalties.
I is for Improvement Notice Issued by a local authority if landlords fail to carry out repair work at a rental property
J is for Joint tenancy A form of agreement used to purchase a rental property with another party.
K is for Keys The items tenants lose after a night out.
L is for Letting agent Commonly used by landlords to find tenants and look after a rental property.
M is for Mortgage Property loan often used to fund a buy-to-let investment.
N is for Noise One of the most common reasons for the residents of neighbouring properties to complain about your tenants.
O is for Overstay One reason to serve a Section 21 Notice on a tenant.
P is for Prescribed information If a landlord issues a Section 8 Notice that fails to comply with prescribed information rules, a court will rule it is invalid.
Q is for Quit (Notice to) To end a shorthold tenancy, a landlord must give at least two months’ notice under Section 21 of the 1988 Housing Act.
R is for Rent Source of a landlord’s greatest amount of hassle.
S is for Sub-letting Another potentially costly problem for landlords.
T is for Tenancy deposit protection scheme The law forces landlords to put deposits received from tenants in a TDPS if the property is let under an assured shorthold tenancy that started after 6 April 2007.
U is for Under-occupation A landlord’s worst fear.
V is for Void period Technical term for the time a rental property is not let out.
W is for Water Commonly followed by the word leak.
X is for X-rated Non-technical term to describe nightmare tenants.
Y is for Yield The annual net income a property generates, divided by its purchase price.
Z is for Zone Rental properties in Transport for London’s travelcard Zones 1 and 2 command the highest rents.
Here at Denhan Guaranteed Rent, we know that taking on the management of a buy-to-let property can turn into a full-time occupation.
The good news is we have a surefire way of removing all of the hassle being a hands-on landlord can create.
Our Guaranteed Rent Scheme gives you the peace of mind that your rental income will be paid every month for up to five years.
We agree an attractive market rental rate for your property, we find you a tenant and then we manage the property on your behalf.
You do not even need to provide an insurance policy because we underwrite our guarantee in-house.
Whether you own one or two properties or have 200 homes in your portfolio, our business is to help you maximise the return on your investment, with the added bonus of guaranteed rent.