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private rentals

Enforcement Visits — When Will They Be Back to Normal?

Since the Covid-19 lockdown began, it’s been difficult not only to initiate claims for debt recovery, but even to enforce orders already granted by the courts. This is because many enforcement visits have been suspended, making repayment entirely dependent on the debtor choosing to obey the order. However, the lockdown is being gradually eased. We can eat at a restaurant, enjoy a pint at a pub and even have a h
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Rents and Evictions — What Can and Can’t You Do During the Coronavirus Crisis?

As you’re no doubt aware, in March the government brought in measures effectively preventing landlords from evicting tenants during the coronavirus lockdown. This was originally intended to run until this month, but the government has now extended the moratorium on evictions until 23rd August 2020. What Does This Mean for Me? One expected announcement that hasn’t materialised is that tenants would be gran
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Disputes over Returning a Tenant’s Deposit

If you’ve been a landlord for any length of time, you’ve probably experienced the procedure when a tenancy ends by mutual consent. Among the steps that must be taken is the return of the tenant’s deposit. This is usually a fairly straightforward process, but occasionally there may be a dispute over what exactly you need to return. Regulations About Deposits When you take a tenant’s deposit at the beginning of the ten
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What Does It Cost You to Be a Landlord?

To anyone outside the buy-to-let world, it seems as if landlords are sitting back and raking in profits. While this was never really true, a few years ago there was some justification for the perception. But no longer. A combination of increasing hidden costs and Government measures such as increasing Stamp Duty have left landlords in a position where the average annual return is hardly more than £2,000 on each prope
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Council Tax Debt — Is It the Same as Other Types of Debt?

Debts come in many shapes and sizes. Most of the debts I recover are owed to private businesses or landlords, but money can also be owed to public bodies, including council tax due to local authorities. But are these debts a special case? The Dilemma of Council Tax Debts Councillors in Wolverhampton recently launched a drive to recover thousands of pounds owed in unpaid council taxes, and are looking at possible stra
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New Legislation for Rentals — What You Need to Know as a Landlord

If you’re a landlord, you’ll know how fast the rules have been changing recently. It’s not over — several new laws and regulations have either been passed recently or are being considered. So what do you need to know? The Tenants Fees Act 2019 This received the Royal Assent in February, and its provisions will be applied from the beginning of June. Under the Act, landlords will only be permitted to ask for certain pa
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When Is a Penalty not a Penalty? — Are You Offside when Claiming Interest?

When you’re signing a commercial contract with a partner, you may find it includes a penalty clause. Or possibly you’ve included one in a contract you’ve drawn up. This is, in essence, a clause which states that a specific sum is payable in the event of a specific failure, such as late delivery of materials or services, or late payment of an invoice. Liquidated and Unliquidated Damages Penalty clauses have a contenti
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Winter had a sting in the tail, but did your business get through it unscathed?

The end of the tax year is in sight, and it’s a time when many businesses suddenly find unpaid invoices making a hole in their profits. Hopefully you’re on top of your finances, but do get in touch with SJ Collections if you need any help chasing up debts. 2018 seems to be throwing up more challenges than usual for SMEs, from the government’s overhaul of the Corporate Governance Code to an unprecedented level of cybe
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How Can Businesses and People Take Responsibility for Their Actions — and Do You?

The Oxford English Dictionary defines responsibility as “The state or fact of having a duty to deal with something or the state or fact of being accountable or to blame for something”, and action as “The fact or process of doing something, typically to achieve an aim, or to act or do something official or concerted to achieve an aim or deal with a problem”. The question is, how can we take responsibility for our acti
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Fraudsters Are Running Rings Round Right to Let

As I reported in the spring, the government has introduced tougher measures against landlords who fail to meet their regulations. One of the most controversial of these is the Right to Rent rules, obliging a landlord to make sure all tenants are in the country legally. This has created a whole extra layer of bureaucracy for landlords and letting agents. The BBC has revealed, though, that fraudsters are making their p
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