Landlord template forms required please.

leboof

Hi.

Is there anywhere to download a free template for giving notice to the tenant for a periodic inspection of the property.

Also, the tenant required a repair to the property and I felt they were very flexible to our needs in making the repair. I would like to offer a refund of rent as a good will gesture. Is there a formal letter template for me to do this as I would require them to sign for the receipt of the refund?

Thank you much for any help you can offer.

.

Fire_Fox

Why not just thank the lodger for their flexibility, what kind of repair was it mega-serious like heating?

theartfullodger

Remember, periodic inspection is for the benefit of the tenant, not for the Landlord to check up on how they are living in their property/home (no, not your property, it is, rather, your investment when let out...)

The only legal right you have to do one is to check that the place is still OK for tenant (and if tenant wants to live like a pig & keep the curtains drawn all the time, the sink full of incontinent goldfish, that is their privilege...). You could of course ask them to change what they are doing but they can usually ignore such requests... ... you can then give notice2quit...

"Landlord and Tenant Act 1985"


Section 8 Implied terms as to fitness for human habitation
(1)In a contract to which this section applies for the letting of a house for human habitation there is implied, notwithstanding any stipulation to the contrary—
(a)a condition that the house is fit for human habitation at the commencement of the tenancy, and
(b)an undertaking that the house will be kept by the landlord fit for human habitation during the tenancy.
(2)The landlord, or a person authorised by him in writing, may at reasonable times of the day, on giving 24 hours’ notice in writing to the tenant or occupier, enter premises to which this section applies for the purpose of viewing their state and condition.

Section 11
Repairing obligations, short leases. In particular sub-clause (6)

(6)In a lease in which the lessor’s repairing covenant is implied there is also implied a covenant by the lessee that the lessor, or any person authorised by him in writing, may at reasonable times of the day and on giving 24 hours’ notice in writing to the occupier, enter the premises comprised in the lease for the purpose of viewing their condition and state of repair.

Re refund of rent, I agree, a gesture well worth giving & usually appreciated: IMHO if you treat other people decently then there is just a chance they might treat you as their landlord likewise...

Re. letter I'd just write

"Dear Mr Tenant,

After the recent problems with the.... I'd like to offer a gesture of goodwill with a refund of rent of £xx, cheque enclosed...

A periodic inspection of your home will be made in line with the Landlord & Tenant Act 1985 Section11 clause 6 at about nn.pm on the xxth Feb 2010. Please let me know if this is inconvenient.


Yours


Mr Greedy Landlord

I guess (?) the refund would be an allowable expense against tax by HMRC under "other" - well, that's what I do with it (ie report full rental income, but claim the refund..) - but I'm unqualified to give advice on tax matters (or pretty much everything else !!).

Tenant does not have to let you, an agent or anyone else into their home if they don't want to (I assume this is England??)

Cheers!

Lodger (LL since 2000)

BitterAndTwisted

There really doesn't need to be a "formal template letter" for a periodic inspection of the property and I've never heard of one either but that doesn't necessarily mean such a thing doesn't exist. Just put it in plain English suggesting a date and time and ask your tenant to contact you to re-arrange if the appointment doesn't suit. Legally you need to give them 24 hours notice in writing but a reasonable person would give them much more than that and both parties should try to appear to be flexible. I don't believe that a landlord has an absolute right to carry out any inspections but then again a sensible tenant would welcome them.

Ditto the offer of a refund of rent. Why don't you just ask your tenants to reduce their next rent-payment by X amount as acceptance of your good-will offer to reflect your appreciation of their flexibility about the recent repairs?

If you want to have the comfort, you could always send your two letters by recorded delivery and keep a copy of each for your own records.

It's very good to hear of a landlord attempting to treat their tenants so fairly.

leboof

theartfullodger (great username): You put a lot of work into this, I am very thankful to you. If you were my tenant, you'd get a refund too lol. I'll go along with your suggestion of letter. Perhaps one thing though concerning the Tax guys, although I don't earn enough to worry about it, maybe I'll get a receipt.

(BitterAndTwisted, thank you very much for your comments too... and yes, I am a good landlord, I treat people the way I would like to be treated myself, and just as important, my tenant is great too)

G_M

You do need to be declaring your rental income to the tax office. There could be serious implications if you don't.

As there seem to be a few gaps in your knowledge, I'd also advise joining an organisation like the NLA or RLA, and/or read up on your obligations as a LL on a site like Landlordzone.

Template letters/forms available from all those sources!