Our solicitors for landlord and tenant matters specialise in giving expert legal advice to landlords and tenants facing issues arising from property rentals, both commercial and residential. Their detailed understanding of the legal framework governing the landlord-tenant relationship coupled with extensive practical experience enables them to give solution-focused advice designed to resolve an issue as quickly and cost-effectively as possible. Solicitor Landlord And Tenant.
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What Issues Can A Solicitor For Landlord And Tenant Matters Assist With?
• Rent Disputes
A tenant’s primary obligation under a tenancy agreement is to pay rent. Unsurprisingly, a tenant’s failure to adhere to this obligation is one of the most common causes of friction between landlords and tenants.
When faced with a tenant who is neglecting to pay rent, a landlord must think carefully about the action they should take. Whilst non-payment may give a landlord the right to forfeit the lease and take back possession of the premises, they must clear numerous hurdles before doing so, particularly in the case of residential property. Practical considerations also come into play, such as the state of the rental market and the likelihood of being able to relet the property.
Tenants sometimes seek to withhold rent as a bargaining tool when embroiled in other disputes with their landlord, for example relating to matters such as repairs. Whilst this may seem an attractive option, it is often unwise, since failing to pay rent may place the tenant in breach of their tenancy agreement.
Rent disputes are often hard-fought on both sides and are full of traps for the unwary. Timely legal advice can ensure your position is protected and avoid you taking any action that may jeopardise your position.
• Service Charge Disputes
Service charges are sums charged by the landlord to cover the services they provide to a property. The services may relate to items such as gardens, lifts, heating, lighting, security and insurance. The charges are shared between the tenants, and the basis on which a landlord will organise them will be addressed in the tenancy agreement.
Since tenants have no control over the service charges they are obliged to pay for, the potential for disputes is obvious. Tenants often perceive the charges to be excessive or the services poor, and refuse to pay them, leaving the landlord out of pocket. However, withholding service charge may place a tenant in breach of their obligations under the tenancy agreement, in the same way as refusing to pay rent, so tenants should not do so without first taking legal advice.
• Dilapidations
Tenants are invariably obliged to return the property to the landlord in the state it was in before the commencement of the tenancy. This not only means the property should be in good repair, but also that any alterations must be removed.
If a tenant breaches any of their contractual obligations relating to matters such as repair and decorating, the landlord may be able to make a ‘dilapidations’ claim to recover the costs they incur in carrying out any repairs or removing any alterations. Clearly, a level of wear and tear is to be expected, particularly in longer leases, and dilapidations claims are only appropriate when the disrepair exceeds what can be classed as reasonable deterioration.
• Damage
Tenants are responsible for making good any damage they cause to the property they rent. However, a landlord cannot use this obligation as an excuse to replace old for new at will or redecorate the entire property for the sake of a small defect. Disputes can arise when the landlord and tenant disagree on the extent of repairs required to remedy the damage, or how costly those repairs should be.
How Our Solicitors Help Landlords And Tenants
For a solicitor, landlord and tenant issues require careful handling. Tensions often run high on both sides, and expectations must be effectively managed to achieve a fair outcome. Nobody wants to become embroiled in a lengthy legal dispute, and our landlord and tenant disputes team do their utmost to avoid costly litigation wherever possible. An experienced solicitor in landlord and tenant issues will be adept at problem solving and can often identify practical solutions agreeable to both parties, thereby circumventing the need for legal action of any kind. Where no workable solution exists, there are numerous alternatives to Court proceedings that are quicker, less stressful and cheaper. For example, mediation is used regularly in the context of landlord and tenant disputes and often produces excellent results. Anything said during the mediation process is confidential and cannot be referred to in any subsequent Court proceedings, so the parties often feel comfortable speaking honestly and making concessions. Our landlord and tenant solicitors always strive to keep the dispute resolution process proportionate to the issue in hand and in doing so, conserve the parties’ relationship and minimise costs.
Please call us now on 01603 672222 for a no-obligation conversation today or Click Here To Make An Online Enquiry.
“Very informative and clear. The Solicitor fully understood out requirements. Everything was completed to our satisfaction in a suitable timeframe. The service and the delivery of the service was exemplary. First class from all concerned. It was apparent from the first meeting that we had chosen well in approaching Simper Law. First c
