Landlord Law - An Overview

Landlord law specialises in dealing with the various rights and responsibilities of landlords. There are many key issues such as, tenancy agreements, deposit protection schemes, eviction, houses of multiple occupancy and landlord responsibilities.

A house of multiple occupancy (HMO) is a property in which a minimum of 3 tenants live, who together form more than one household and share the kitchen, living room and bathroom. In landlord law, an HMO will need a license from the local authority if it is 3 or more storeys and is occupies by five or more tenants who form more than one household. The local authority can order a landlord to get an HMO license in which they must adhere to the terms that are set out in the licence. A landlord must inform the local authority if there are any changes in their HMO.

By law it is a landlord's responsibility to ensure that their properties are in a decent liveable condition and that any repairs needed are fixed. A landlord is responsible for ensuring that the basic structure of the property is sound, that any sanitary fittings are in good working order, the heating or hot water systems are functioning and safe and that any damage that is caused carrying out repairs is taken care of. By law, a landlord must give their tenant at least 24 hours notice before they enter the property to make any repairs. If a landlord does repairs which are not up to standard, their tenant will have the right to take them to court to seek proper repairs.

By law a landlord must ensure that their tenant's deposit is protected in a tenancy deposit scheme if they have an assured short hold tenancies (AST). There are 3 different government approved schemes that a landlord can subscribe to; the Deposit Protection Service (DPS) which is a custodial scheme, The Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) and MyDeposits which are both insurance based schemes.
A landlord should draw up a firm tenancy agreement for their tenant. A tenancy agreement should include the following;

• The cost of the rent
• The address of the property
• When the tenancy begins and ends
• The names of the tenants and landlord
• The responsibilities of the tenants and landlord
• How much deposit will be paid and how it will be protected

A key area of landlord law is eviction. The right legal process needs to be adhered to during the process or the landlord might risk legal action from their tenant. A landlord must first serve a 'notice of intention to seek possession' to the tenant. If the tenants do not leave, the next step is to go to court to decide whether a possession order will be granted. If the order is granted, the court will set a date in which the tenants must vacate the property. If the tenant still refuses to leave, a landlord will have to go to county court and apply for a warrant of eviction where the court will arrange for bailiffs to come and remove the tenants.

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