With the buy-to-let market gaining in popularity and many new investors coming into the market, here’s some important information for you.

If you’re considering taking on the role of landlord, you’ll be pleased to hear of some long overdue changes in the legal relationship between landlord and tenant.

There are currently 22 different types of agreements between landlord and tenant. A great many of them are now totally irrelevant as they date back 100 years or more and many of the rest are mainly a confusion of old laws with new clauses. They are extremely difficult to understand and seem full of contradicting terms. However there is now a final draft of a Law Commission report and if the proposals therein become law it will result in a total shake up of the system.

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The Government’s new plans for Home Information Packs that are to be introduced next year have changed once again. First you had a situation where people would have to produce a detailed survey of a property when it was up for sale. These surveys were called Home Condition Reports. They would be required from next year. But now, that has all changed. The change comes after fierce opposition by various groups including estate agents, money lenders and the Conservative Party. The decision has been made by the Department for Communities and Local Government.

It is a U-turn that most people will agree has come as a bit of a surprise. Before it dumped the home condition reports proposal, the Government was trumpeting the report as one of the main aspects of the whole information pack. Without this report, the Government said, there would be problems with the buying and selling of homes. On top of this, the Government also stressed how this report would cut down time for buyers and sellers and reduce failed deals. There would be no discussion or argument on the state of the property with various other opinions and surveys.

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