HOUSING - FAQs

Although your home is your castle, it sometimes feels as if it is under attack - from absentee freeholders, unscrupulous builders, irresponsible tenants.   We have tried below to answer some of the more common queries concerning the law on housing. 

If you have any more questions, please contact our head of Litigation, John Searby on 01273 560426 or email john.searby@gerardmaye.co.uk - or fill in our Enquiries Form.

FAQs

I want to rent out my flat.   How do I go about it?
You need to draw up a tenancy agreement, which sets out the terms by which you wish to let out your flat, including the rent and the tenants’ and your obligations to each other.   Virtually all tenancies are now Assured Shorthold Tenancies.    The tenant is entitled to occupy the property for a minimum of six months (providing he or she continues to pay the rent and does not break any of the tenancy conditions); after that period you can recover possession of your property.   However, it is important that you serve the right notice at the right time; otherwise you might not get possession when you should.  It is also necessary to ensure that any deposit you take is properly protected using an authorised tenancy deposit protection scheme: otherwise you might not be able to get your tenants out and you might have to pay them a penalty equal to three times the deposit. For more information, please go to bailii.org

My tenants won’t pay the rent; what do I do? 
First, you should contact the tenants and ask them to pay the arrears.  If they fail to do so, you can get the Court to order the tenants to leave (a possession order).  The first step is to serve a Notice Seeking Possession giving the tenants 14 days to pay off the arrears.  After that, if they still owe you rent, you can issue a claim in your local county court; in some cases there will have to be a hearing which you will have to attend.  If the tenants refuse to move out, the court can grant a warrant of possession, which empowers the court bailiffs to evict the tenants.   Do not try to evict the tenants yourself without a court order: you could end up being prosecuted for assault!  It is always sensible to seek legal advice before applying for possession.

The lease of my flat has only 80 years left to run: how do I extend it? 
A lease is an agreement for you to occupy part of your landlord’s building for a set term of years.  With most leases, the term is at least 99 years; however, at the end of the term the landlord is entitled to take the property back.  As the length of the remaining term gets shorter, it may be more difficult to sell your property – especially if the lease has less than 80 years left to run.  An extended lease will therefore improve the value of your leasehold property.

You are entitled by law to get your landlord to agree to extend the term of your lease for another 90 years.  Your landlord is entitled to be paid a premium, based on the number of years left on the lease and the amount of ground rent charged.

The residents in our block of flats want to take over the freehold.  How do we go about it? 
There are distinct advantages to leaseholders in acquiring the freehold collectively.  You will be in direct control of the management and maintenance of your building and, if necessary, can choose your managing agents.  There could well be a saving in management costs.  You will be able to extend the term of your leases without having to pay a premium to the landlord. This will improve the value of your leasehold property.  You would also be able to vary the terms of the leases to remove unacceptable clauses; this again will improve the value and saleability of your flat.

There are some complicated rules which apply. For example, the building must contain two or more flats and at least 50% of the flat owners must take part in the purchase. You will have to pay the freeholder a price (based on a valuation of the property and the leases) as well as their legal costs – but these will be divided between all those who join in on the purchase.

I employed a firm of builders to carry out work to my house, but they have left it in an even worse state - and charged even more than their quote!
Always make sure you choose a builder who is recommended by someone who can trust and check that they are members of a reputable trade body.   Always make sure you get a written quote for the work, where they specify what work they will do.     If the builders do not carry out the work to a reasonable standard, or do not finish the job properly, you can ask the court to order them to go back and complete the work.  Alternatively, you can have someone else finish the job properly and sue the builders for the cost of putting the work right.   You would almost certainly need to get a report from an expert surveyor or structural engineer to support your claim but, if you are successful, your opponent should have to refund their fees, together with any legal costs you incur.  There are certain steps or ‘protocols’ that have to be followed before you take the matter to court, so we recommend you seek legal advice beforehand.   The procedure can be very expensive, so it is worth checking your buildings or contents insurance to see if you have the benefit of legal expenses insurance.