Ashley Wilson - Landlord & Tenant

Landlord and Tenant

Landlords of residential property rely upon us to deal with both contentious and non-contentious aspects of landlord and tenant law.

Leases & Tenancy Agreements

Our expertise within this area ensures that our team remain at the very cutting edge of all legal framework developments ultimately ensuring that your obligations are met and your commercial advantage is maintained.

We pride ourselves on our ability to translate legalese into clear, plain English and provide candid advice and practical solutions on all matters of concern to Landlords which may include:

- Assured Shortholds and other Tenancies
- Lease Extensions
- Assignments and sub-letting
- Collective freehold enfranchisement
- Landlords' consents
- Lease renewals and other issues arising from the Landlord & Tenant Acts 1954 and 1995
- Agricultural tenancies

Dispute Resolution & Litigation

As a landlord, you will undoubtedly seek tenants who will occupy your property with due care and respect and act in an honest fashion at all time whist meeting their contractual obligations.

With this in mind, and the appropriate leases in place, you will hope that that a solicitor is not required to act in the case where a tenant has caused issue. In the unfortunate circumstance that such a need arises, you can rest assured that the solicitors at AWS can offer you the best possible route to resolving the dispute in your favour. We are specialist in:

- Landlord and tenant disputes
- Breach of lease consultancy and litigation
- Rent reviews/rent arrears
- Service charge disputes
- Enforcement of covenants
- Issuing proceedings for the possession of premises
- Recovery of service charges
- Recovery of possession
- Removal of unauthorised occupants
- Schedules of dilapidations
- Tenant eviction

Administrative Duties

Administrative duties associated with landlord and tenant arrangements can be time consuming and inconvenient for many landlords, particularly those with other business interests or employment commitments.

Aspects which can place a burden on landlords can be easily outsourced to the team at AWS and managed by qualified solicitors and paralegals who can liaise with your tenants and agents as required. Some of these activities include, but which are not limited to:

- Lease negotiation
- Lease renewal
- Lease extension

Property Tribunals & Representation

Should the worst case scenario arise in the relationship between tenant and landlord, it is possible that you may find yourself being subject to or needing to call upon a property tribunal. This can be a very trying, complicated, stressful and onerous time and you will want to ensure that you have the best representation possible.

Working with Ashley Wilson Solicitors will ensure that you receive advice which is fit for purpose combined with expert representation from a team of solicitors with years of experience in contentious property litigation.

We will work with you to ensure that you stand the best chance of securing a favourable outcome and will offer access to the most qualified Barristers should the need arise. We are specialist in:

- Possession Proceedings
- Forfeiture

Our Landlord and Tenant Specialists

Tony Wilson

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Legal Updates

Building Safety Act 2022

The Building Safety Act 2022 (the Act) came into force on 28 June 2022. It created new financial protections around the cost of remediation of historical safety defects for leaseholders of buildings at or above 11 metres or five storeys with historical safety defects.

While flat owners who benefit from this protection will welcome this unfortunately there are problems around the conveyancing process as it adjusts to the effect of the complex new rules which may adversely affect the sales process and the Government overlooked the effect of the legislation on flat owners extending their leases.

Fire Safety Improvements – are landlords able to uprate the entrance doors to flats?

It may be necessary to uprate the front doors to flats from the access corridors, i.e. as a consequence of a fire risk assessment recommending such work.

Renter’s Rights Bill and No-Fault Evictions

The King’s Speech on 17 July 2024 promised a number of changes to the current state of leasehold and rental law – some of which we have covered in previous articles. Here we will discuss the proposed changes to No-Fault Evictions under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988.

Currently, once the contractual term of an assured shorthold tenancy ends, landlords can evict tenants without providing any reason. They just need to serve a “Section 21” notice on their tenants, providing a minimum of 2 months’ notice and satisfy certain pre-conditions. If the tenant does not leave during the notice period, they can issue court proceedings to obtain possession. Proceedings for possession cannot be commenced less than six months after the s.21 notice is given (with exceptions).

The King’s Speech confirmed that the government will ban no fault evictions as part of the Renter’s Rights Bill. This is part of a plan to give greater rights and protection to people renting their homes.

The Bill is currently at the report stage in the House of Commons, having had its first and second readings and has now passed through the committee stage with some amendments.