Causes of Private Landlord and Tenant Disputes
The most common disputes between landlords and private tenants are around:
- Non-payment of rent– this is common and needs to be addressed early. Sometimes, the tenant is withholding the rent as requested property repairs haven’t been completed.
- Property repairs– broken down boilers, leaky roofs, faulty electrical re-wiring all need to be repaired by the landlord.
- Damage to the property– this is often problematic. Reasonable wear and tear is to be expected and nothing lasts forever. However, when it does break this can lead to a dispute over whether the tenant broke it through misuse or whether it was just a case of wear and tear.
Causes of Commercial Landlord and Tenant Disputes
For commercial properties, common disputes are around:
- Non-payment of rent– this can be due to cashflow problems or a misguided attempt to bring the landlord to the table to make repairs or negotiate.
- Sub-letting– many companies who are downsizing want to sub-let the space they are no longer using. Landlords are wary of this and the impact that their property being rented at sub-market rates might have.
- Service charges– these charges can cause issues, especially for the retail sector where shopping centre charges are very high.
- Break clauses– Landlords are keen to ensure that the tenant has complied with all the contractual terms governing their right to leave a property early. The landlord might use any error in the execution of that break clause to refuse to allow the tenant to exit the property with litigation to follow.
- Dilapidations– This is a common cause of dispute. The tenant is obliged to return the property to its original state when leaving. Often the tenant has made numerous changes to, and usually upgraded, the property. However, if the property is not returned to its original state the landlord may use this to withhold their deposit.
- Lease Assignment– This occurs when the tenant wants to leave and pass their lease on to someone else. This is problematic for the landlord if he thinks the new tenant is not as financially strong as the original one.
The Resolution
Our Dispute Resolution team will help you to resolve any of these issues to your satisfaction rapidly. Our new approach and process will help you to get the result you want without the need to resort to the Courts.
What We Do Best
Else is a modern, dynamic and forward thinking team of solicitors. We offer the expertise you expect from a large, traditional law firm. Else Solicitors has been helping landlords and tenants to resolve their disputes for many years.
