Do landlords need to issue tenancy agreements?

According to the AA, an estimated one in two tenants is not getting a written tenancy agreement before moving into a new home. They go on to say that “landlords are legally obliged to supply their tenants with a written tenancy agreement prior yet it seems many are simply ignoring the law.” The Indy added that “those who do not have a written agreement are wide-open to being exploited. For example, in theory, the landlord could bring the tenancy to an end at any time of their choosing or hold onto deposit monies without giving a reason.”
This is factually incorrect. Landlords DO NOT have to issue tenancy agreements though any landlord who did not do so would be a fool because the TA sets out what the tenant can and can’t do -and it actually makes it easier to recover property too.
If you need more advice on property investment in general, please ask me. I’m David Lawrenson from property investment mentoring firm www.lettingFocus.com
I’m the author of the buy to let book “Successful Property Letting - How to Make Money in Buy to Let” the UK’s top selling property title.
I’m an expert on buy to let and a well known property speaker and I contribute to newspapers and a host of property websites, write a property investment blog and run a property mentoring service
My business is now increasingly focused on providing consulting help to banks, building societies, housing associations and web portals to help them with their buy to let and property products and services.
You can read more of my property investment blog and details of my networking, advice, property seminar programme at my website www.lettingfocus.com.
What’s unique about lettingfocus.com is that we offer independent property investment help because unlike most people in the buy to let and property “advice” business we are not linked to a property company, developer, agent or bridging loan financier and do not receive commissions from any of these sources.
If a property investment is lousy – We’ll tell you straight and we will tell you all about buy to let and property investment - the good and the bad and we won’t make silly promises that you’ll become a millionaire overnight.
Copyright: David Lawrenson 2007. This blog is updated at least twice a week. Permission must be sought before using the material in the blog.

Should you buy in the area near to the new international station at Ebbsfleet?

From Ebbsfleet in North West Kent, Paris is just two hours and a bit away - and it looks on the face of it as though all these areas will surely benefit, inevitably pushing up prices of houses and rents.
Northfleet, Gravesend and surrounding areas near Ebbsfleet have been cheap for quite a while compared to the rest of the South East but I think there is a risk that the abundance of new houses planned for this part of Kent, could lead to an over-supply developing.
In fact there will about 30,000 houses built in the area between Dartford and Gravesend which is all part of the Thames Gateway regeneration scheme.
The scale of the development is big, including, in Ebbsfleet Valley next to the station itself, a massive development that will hold shops, offices and over 6,000 of these houses.
The new station is about 36 miles from London, next to the A2 and the village of Swanscombe and only about a mile from Northfleet which is in turn joined up to Gravesend. Dartford town centre is about 6 miles away to the west.
Trains are now running to the continent but it won’t be open for local people to get to London until December 2009 when it will slash the journey time to London by a massive half an hour to just 17 minutes – though as yet no one knows how much this fast service will cost.
Property prices have been edging up surely and steadily.
A standard 2 bed terrace house in an ordinary part of Gravesend last year was about £135,000 a year ago but a quick look at Rightmove shows they are now around the £185,000 mark.
Rent in Gravesend give a good guide to the area – a standard 2 bed terrace goes for about £550 per month and a 4 bedroom property would be anywhere from £800 per month upward.
Average prices for all properties in Gravesend were about £145K in 2003 and are about £215K now (source: upmystreet.co.uk) a rise of about 48%, and not far off the London rate of increase.
Amongst the new developments coming into Dartford are Barratts and Crest Nicholson who are building apartments and homes priced from £210,000, £240,000.
But will the international link and its position do the trick for house prices and rents in the area?
Obviously, other new transport links in London have driven forward new frontier areas such as Canary Wharf - and East and South London have already felt the benefits of the Docklands Light Railway and the extension to the Jubilee Line - and the soon to be extended East London line is already pushing up prices in places on the new line especially in areas like Forest Hill, Brockley and Hackney.
Of course, there is a risk that people hoping to get in on the back of the transport and other developments at Ebbsfleet could fall victims to developers over-hyping and over-supplying a location and setting prices above what an area can really sustain with adverse consequences for home owners and investors.
This phenomenon was well illustrated in the “Truth about Property” TV programme screened on 25th October where investors in flats in some areas of the north 3 years ago are now facing big losses.
It could be worth investors taking a look, however a local agent I know says the area is stuffed full of landlords chasing a small supply of tenants, so watch out - this could be a buy to let ghetto in the making.
If you need more advice on investing in property or buy to let please ask me. I’m David Lawrenson from property consultancy firm www.lettingFocus.com
I’m the author of the property investors bible “Successful Property Letting - How to Make Money in Buy to Let” the UK’s top selling property title.
I’m an expert on buy to let property and a well known property speaker and I contribute to newspapers and a host of property websites, write a property investment blog and run a property mentoring service
I also work as a consultant helping banks, building societies, housing associations and web portals with their buy to let and property products and services.
You can read more of my buy to let blog and details of my networking, advice, property seminar programme at my website www.lettingfocus.com.
My next London property invesment networking meeting is on March 12th. Click here for details: Property Investment Advice
What’s unique about lettingfocus.com is that we offer independent property investment solutions because unlike most people in the buy to let and property “advice” business we are not linked to a property company, developer, agent or bridging loan financier and do not receive commissions from any of these sources.
If a property investment is lousy – We’ll tell you straight and we will tell you all about buy to let and property investment - the good and the bad and we won’t make silly promises that you’ll become a millionaire overnight.
Copyright: David Lawrenson 2007. This blog is updated at least twice a week. Permission must be sought before using the material in the blog.