Housing Law – Support for Landlords
Whether you are a first-time private landlord with only one rental property or a developer with a large portfolio of properties, we understand how important it is to ensure your long-term bricks & mortar investment is legally protected and continuously generating revenue for you.
Housing Law matters we can help Landlords with:
- Drafting tenancy agreements
- Debt collection for rent arrears
- Possession and evictions
- Property damage claims
- Defending disrepair claims
- Defending rental deposit claims
When you are a landlord, finding and instructing a good Housing Law Solicitor is like buying a car insurance policy, you hope you’ll never need it, but if you do – you’ll be very glad you have it.
Don’t wait until you have an unexpected bad tenant or a rent arrears problem that has grown out of control. A good Solicitor will ensure that you are legally ticking all the boxes right from the start, to protect you and your investment.
Our highly experienced Housing Law team are here to help you understand your rights and responsibilities as a landlord, and guide you through any legal process.
Why Choose Hopkins
Hopkins are a full-service law firm supporting both individuals and businesses, with 6 offices across Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. We have been offering legal support to our local communities since 1913.
We are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), hold Professional Indemnity Insurance and our staff are accredited members of the Law Society, Lexcel and APIL.
We have award winning client care and are proud that our teams continue to achieve one of the highest client satisfaction scores across all of the UK’s legal and professional services industries.
Book a consultation with a Housing Law Solicitor
We encourage you to get in touch with our Housing Law Team, by phone or the enquiry form below, to give them a brief overview of the matter you need help with.
If your matter is extremely urgent, call our Housing Law Team directly on 01623460460.
For all non-urgent matters, please complete the enquiry form below and a member of the Housing Law Team will be in touch by the next working day.
Price Transparency
During your first consultation, prior to you instructing us, we will review your matter in detail and give you a full breakdown of any costs involved.
The following are examples of typical costs*, but please bear in mind these costs can increase depending on the complexity and urgency of your matter.
- Legal advice consultation, by phone or in person, for a fixed fee of £350+VAT
- Preparation of tenancy agreement ~ £750+VAT
- Advice and service of Section 8 or Section 21 Notices ~ £450+VAT
- Preparation for possession and issuance of court papers ~ £850-1,000+VAT +£355 Court Fee
*The prices above were valid as of April 2024 and are subject to change, so please ensure you contact us to confirm an accurate quote for your matter.
FAQs
As a landlord what are my rights and obligations regarding evictions?
In order to lawfully obtain vacant possession of a residential property, a landlord will need to serve a valid notice on the tenant(s).The most appropriate notice to serve can vary depending on specific circumstances. Should the tenant(s) not vacate the property upon expiry of a valid notice, a landlord will then need to commence possession proceedings in the Court to obtain a possession order. In the event the tenant(s) remain in the property beyond the expiry of a possession order, a landlord would need to instruct county court bailiffs to execute a warrant of possession before vacant possession can be lawfully obtained. It is important a landlord complies with these requirements to avoid any risk of a potential claim from the tenant(s) of unlawful eviction.
As a lanlord how can I handle security deposits in compliance with the law?
Once a landlord accepts a deposit from a tenant, it must be registered with one of the three government schemes within 30 days of receipt of the deposit. Additionally, a landlord will need to serve the Prescribed Information in respect of the deposit and the protection scheme on the tenant within 30 days.
As a landlord what steps should I take if a tenant breaches the lease agreement?
Dependent upon the specific breach, a landlord will have multiple options ranging from writing to the tenant to try and seek a resolution or serving notice pursuant to section 8 or section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 requiring the tenant to either remedy the breach or vacate the property. The requirements of a section 8 notice will vary depending upon the specific breach.
What are the laws and regulations regarding discrimination in tenant selection?
Under the Equality Act 2010, a landlord must not unlawfully discriminate against a prospective tenant on the basis of the tenants protected characteristic as defined in the Equality Act 2010. Discrimination covers direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, victimisation, and harassment and includes refusing to let to someone based on their protected characteristic, imposing different terms to one tenant that they offer to another (based on a protected characteristic), treating a prospective tenant differently in any way based on their protected characteristic. A landlord may have a defence to indirect discrimination if they can show that any discrimination shown when selecting a tenant was a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. If a landlord is found to have discriminated against a prospective tenant, then that tenant may be entitled to pursue a claim for damages based on discrimination.
How can a landlord protect themselves against liability claims from tenants or third parties?
With regards to protecting themselves against anyone incurring an injury at the property, a landlord could look obtain Landlord Liability Insurance. The best way to protect against a claim from a tenant for breach of tenancy, a landlord will need to ensure compliance with the express terms of the tenancy agreement and any terms implied by statutory legislation or common law such as the tenants right to quiet enjoyment of the property or a landlords implied obligations of repair under S.11 Landlord and Tenant Act 1885.
