It is vitally important to put in place a proper lease and to serve certain notices on the tenant before the tenancy starts. If you do not do this, it is likely that you will not be able to recover possession of the property when the period of the lease comes to an end. Please contact us to discuss the terms of the lease as soon as you can, so that we can take all the necessary steps to protect your position.
If the lease is a Short Assured Tenancy, you have an automatic right to get the property back when it comes to an end although, if the tenant refuses to move out, you would still have to go through a court process. In order to be a Short Assured Tenancy, a specific notice must be served on the tenant before the tenancy begins. If the lease does not constitute a short assured tenancy, there are only very limited grounds on which you can recover possession and, generally, they depend upon written notice having been given to the tenant, before the start of the lease, that these grounds may apply.
Remember that you will have to register with your local authority as a landlord. This process can be completed online, but there is a fee to pay, both for registration and for the individual property. In addition, if you have three or more people staying in the property, you may require to apply for an HMO Licence. This can be a complicated process and you may have to carry out work to the property in order to bring it up to the standard required by the Council before they will issue the Licence. You should, therefore, have this in mind if you are buying a property as an investment and we will be happy to provide all the advice that you require.
