Private Landlord Advice

As a private landlord, here are a few of the topics Which? Legal Service can advise you on:

1. What your legal obligations are to your tenants from repairs to rent and deposits

2. How to best deal with estate agents/letting agents

3. How to deal with small claims

Imagine you're a private landlord with a letting agent looking after your property, and three months into the lease, the tenants tell you they are not paying the rent because there is no heating or hot water. Can the tenants refuse to pay rent? Can you claim the rent from the tenants or the letting agency? Do you have to continue using the letting agency? What repairs are you liable for?

And what about managing the property yourself? Legislation protecting tenants' rights can be a minefield, but it need not be. Which? Legal Service can advise what obligations you have to your tenants and vice versa, what you need to do with the deposit (although we cannot advise on specific rent deposit schemes) and what rights you have if things go wrong.

We can advise private landlords (those landlords who are not in business) in regards to assured shorthold tenancy agreements entered into after 15th January 1989.

Join Which? Legal Service and we can help you better understand your rights and resolve your landlord legal queries.

To learn more about letting a property, see our book'Renting and Letting'