The law for Landlords is complex and confusing and it’s very easy for a Landlord to innocently overlook a legal requirement or obligation and find themselves on the receiving end of Court proceedings.
For example, we acted recently for a Landlord who had overlooked placing the Occupation Contract Deposit in an appropriate Occupation Contract Deposit Scheme within 30 days of receiving it and had not provided the Contract Holder with the ‘prescribed’ information within that 30 days. Most Landlords now know of the obligation to do so, but many don’t realise the potential repercussions, which can result in a Court ordering you to pay three times the amount of the deposit monies to the Contract Holder and could also invalidate any Notice of Possession served upon the Contract Holder. In the situation mentioned here, we were fortunate to be in a position to negotiate with the Contract Holder on behalf of the Landlord, and the matter was resolved amicably between the parties, without the Landlord becoming subject to a hefty fine by the Court.
We are able to advise you on, and draft, the necessary and appropriate documentation which must be prepared at the commencement of a Occupation Contract, and to remind you of your obligations at that stage, to ensure that you leave very limited scope for a Contract Holder to seek any redress against you. Failure to strictly comply with the various laws and rules could result in you being left with an undesirable Contract Holder, and limited ability to evict them.
If you would like to arrange an appointment to discuss your potential needs, please telephone our offices on 029 2047 5100 and ask for Janine Griffiths. Alternatively, please complete the enquiry form to the right and one of our team will contact you.