Landlord and Tenant Solicitors
As a landlord, you’re likely to have two major priorities – protecting your income and safeguarding your property. A difficult tenant can cause untold stress – we offer support at every stage of the landlord and tenant relationship. From advising on rent arrears to evicting a tenant, our solicitors can help.
At Barcan+Kirby we have a dedicated team of specialists who advise landlords and letting agents in all areas of property law, including dealing with tenancy disputes. With many years of experience, we can help make dealing with your tenants much simpler and less stressful, saving you time and money.
We can advise you on your options for seeking possession of your property, including dealing with a tenant in rent arrears, obtaining possession orders and recovering rent that is owed to you. We also deal with disputes concerning lodger agreements and can even help you if there isn’t a written tenancy agreement in place.
If you use a letting agent to manage your property, we’re happy to deal with them directly with your authority.
Regardless of how many properties you own, you’re likely to need legal advice from a specialist landlord solicitor at some point. Speaking to us early can help avoid unnecessary costs and delays. We can quickly take control if the situation becomes complex.
Get in touch with our landlord and tenant solicitors in Bristol
We work with clients all over the UK from our offices spread across Bristol and the surrounding area in Bedminster, Bishopston, Bristol city centre, Kingswood and Thornbury.
For help with any legal issues involving your tenants, please get in touch with our landlord and tenant solicitors in Bristol and South Gloucestershire on 0117 325 2929 or complete our online enquiry form.
Our landlord and tenant services
Rent arrears and rent recovery
If your tenants fail to keep up with their rent, there are various options our landlord solicitors can pursue on your behalf to recover the outstanding payments.
In most cases, these matters can be resolved quickly with a well-drafted solicitor’s letter. However, where more serious action is required, we can advise on your options, the costs involved and what is best for your long-term interests.
Regaining possession of a rental property
If you’re trying to regain possession of your property, our property litigation solicitors can guide you through the process. We can help you by serving the correct notice to the tenant and obtaining a court order. Our expert team can also help in enforcing the order, if necessary.
Landlord and tenant dispute resolution
Where there is a dispute over an issue such as disrepair or anti-social behaviour, our dispute resolution solicitors can advise you of your legal rights and responsibilities. We can then help you achieve the outcome you need as quickly and cost-effectively as possible.
In most cases, court proceedings are not needed, which can save you a significant amount of time, money and frustration.
Buying and selling rental property
Looking to invest in rental property or ready to sell up? Our Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) accredited conveyancing team can reliably guide you through every stage of the process.
We can make sure you get the right deal for your overall goals and that your interests stay protected at all times. We want to ensure your sale or purchase goes ahead on schedule for a competitive price.
Landlord and tenant FAQs
This will depend on the circumstances, including the type of tenancy. If your tenants have an assured shorthold tenancy (AST), then you will generally need to give at least two months’ notice in writing.
Other conditions apply to asking a tenant with an AST to move out, including a minimum of six months must have ended before the move-out date.
The rules are different for other types of tenancies such as assured tenancies and excluded tenancies, so it is always worth taking professional advice before taking action.
It is dependent on the contract between the parties.
If the tenants are renting the whole property on a single contract, then they are responsible for paying council tax if the contract provides so.
If the landlord has subdivided the property and is renting to individual tenants with separate tenancy agreements, then the landlord is likely to be responsible for paying council tax.
This will depend on the type of tenancy and there are strict rules landlords must follow when evicting tenants or they risk breaking the law.
For fixed-term ASTs where the end date of the tenancy has not yet been reached, you can only evict tenants for specific, legally acceptable reasons, e.g. they have breached the terms of the tenancy (such as non-payment of rent or engaging in antisocial behaviour).
After the fixed term, a landlord, if met the necessary requirements can evict on a ‘no-fault’ basis.
This will depend on whether the mould is caused by problems with the property (e.g. damp due to a leaky roof, poor ventilation, faulty heating etc.) or the behaviour of the tenants e.g. drying clothes in a small room without opening a window.
Under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, landlords have a duty to ensure any residential property they rent out is considered fit for human habitation. Tenants can potentially take their landlord to court if the landlord breaches this duty.
Failing to deal with serious mould could fall under the remit of the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, so it is important to make sure you are aware of any such issues, identify the causes and take appropriate action.
Landlords are required to carry out repairs on their properties within a ‘reasonable time’. If something goes wrong and tenants are left without heating or hot water, this is considered an emergency and should usually be fixed within 24 hours or reasonable adjustments made e.g. providing alternative heating such as electric space heaters.
This depends on the way in which the lease has been breached.
If a tenant has left the property before the end of a fixed term or without giving proper notice, they are legally obliged to pay the rent until the end of the fixed term/relevant notice period. You can take legal action to recover this unpaid rent where appropriate.
If the tenant has breached the terms of their tenancy e.g. by damaging the property or engaging in anti-social behaviour, you will normally be able to service a notice requiring them to leave the property. You may also be able to withhold their deposit if they have caused damaged to the property.
Our landlord and tenant expertise
Our lawyers have many years of property law and dispute resolution experience behind them. Therefore, we are ideally placed to advise landlords and letting agents on both contentious and non-contentious areas of tenancy matters.
We understand that most landlords and letting agents just want to be able to rent or lease their properties with as little fuss as possible. As a result, we provide proactive advice to avoid potential issues. We also have the seasoned expertise to resolve any problems that arise quickly and cost-effectively.
Our rates are competitive and can be tailored to the level of expertise required to effectively deal with your matter, ensuring you are always getting value for money.
Ultimately, we believe we can add real value to your investment by providing clear, practical and timely advice. This approach helps to reduce the amount of time and effort it takes you to deal with tenants. Our approach aims to help you to avoid costly mistakes or expensive court proceedings wherever possible.
We are accredited by the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) in recognition of the high quality of our services for buying, selling and remortgaging residential property.
Want to see how we help our clients? Take a look at our case studies.
Contact our specialist landlord solicitors in Bristol
If you’re in a dispute with a tenant, need advice on evicting a tenant or want practical help on any other matter, our landlord solicitors in Bristol and South Gloucestershire can help.
For swift, expert advice on dealing with tenancy matters, call 0117 325 2929 or complete our online enquiry form.