Mould can cause respiratory issues. The spores can be breathed into the lungs of people causing serious issues. However, mould is often left untreated in homes, especially private rented properties.

A family from Oldham claimed that their son aged 27 died from living in a rental property where the damp was not remedied by the landlord. The young man suffered with chest pains and then sadly died.

It can be difficult to prove causation between a health condition and living in a property where there is disrepair, but that does not mean a Landlord can get away from allowing the issue to remain. If you live in a property where there is mould or damp, you should contact your local Environmental Health Officer and the office can prosecute the landlord and force the repairs.

It can be difficult to find a law firm that will accept disrepair claims. NewBold may take on certain cases under a no-win-no-fee arrangement.

Not all claims for disrepair are genuine and some unscrupulous tenants will raise unfounded disrepair claims just to put a hold on any possession claims. So if you are a Landlord that feels this has happened, then you may be able to defend the application, you may also be able to make a claim against your letting agent for failure to inspect your property.

If you have any further questions, then please call our housing team for further advice and guidance housing@newboldsolicitors.com

Disclaimer: the above is not intended to be legal advice or medical advice, cases differ and the advice will differ depending on your individual circumstances.

Boundary dispute - ask a solicitor.

A simple guide to a complex area from a UK specialist law firm.

What is a boundary dispute?

Boundary disputes usually arise when one person believes that they own a piece of land that is currently being occupied by another person. Often it involves a wall, but can include a driveway or another structure.

Sometimes a buyer has purchased a property and the conveyancing solicitor may have made a mistake with land ownership; the piece of land you believed you were purchasing does not appear to be yours. Or it could be, that the access that you thought you had, you do not.

You may have a claim for negligence against the conveyancer (the solicitors firm that dealt with the conveyance). We can help look at the documentation and plans and advise you if you do have a claim and how the claim can be resolved.

Boundary disputes have to be resolved because they do not go away. Boundary disputes not only cause huge amounts of stress, they can effect the future sale and value of the property.

In order to look at the boundaries, you need to look at any historic title deeds. You need to examine the title deeds, plans and any historic use documentation that you may have.

If you have a dispute involving your neighbours property, our team at NewBold would be delighted to help you. We would probably complete a site visit so that we can observe in person what the issues are; sometimes this is not always possible, but if you can send us photographic evidence, if you have any ordnance survey plans (otherwise we can obtain them for you), we can look at maps, title documents and advise you. We may have to instruct a surveyor, obtain the original conveyancing file from any previous solicitors firm you instructed. Evidence gathering and reading plans is something we have vast experience of.

Your neighbouring property may argue that they have always had a right of way over a piece of land (for a period of over 20 years), or that they cannot use their property without using a piece of land that you believe is yours. This of course can be argued vice versa.

We at NewBold are specialist property lawyers with 9 staff just dedicated to boundary disputes and property litigation, we know how stressful boundary disputes are, we know they can be expensive, but at the same time, they must be resolved. For this reason we take the case on in stages, and at every stage we try and resolve the issue for your benefit as quickly and cheaply as possible.

Please email housing@newboldsolicitors.com or telephone us on 0330 060 0247

Too many tenants looking for the same property? What can I do to stand out?

Firstly decide what you are looking for in a rental property and why it matters to you (e.g. near work, or near your children's school, or friends and family). When you then apply, you are only applying for properties that suit your criteria (you are not time wasting) and when you attend viewings you can explain why this property is the one you are most interested in.

Make sure that you have references available. Try not to leave a property under a cloud. References are so important because positive references will put you a head of other tenants.

Look after your credit score, try and download one of the free internet apps and keep a careful eye on your score. If there are issues, then address them urgently.

Although it should not matter, the way you appear can make a real difference when you are one of a number of applicants for a property. When you attend a viewing make sure that you come over well, think of it as job interview. How would you dress? would you come over as a pleasant friendly person? The Landlord needs to feel that you will look after their property, so bear this in mind when you attend the viewing.

Make sure that you have all your finances in place. This could mean you have an amount for a bond ready, or, a months rent in advance. If you have a guarantor, then make sure that the guarantor is suitable (e.g. that they have the means to pay if you default on your rent). Make it clear that you can afford the rent (even in times of a cost of living crisis), that you are not over stretching yourself and you have some disposable income if interest rates were to increase.

If you are taking pets with you, the law has changed/is changing in this regard (please see our blog on pets and renting), but it always helps to have pet references available.

Be prepared to look outside of your preferred rental area and even though you may have a criteria, you may need to be more flexible.

Be patient, the right property is out there for you.

WHAT CAN I DO IF MY LANDLORD INCREASES MY RENT?

It can be very worrying when your Landlord threatens you with a rent increase. With the interest rates rising the landlords may be looking to increase their rents because of the increase in their mortgages.

So the first thing you should do as a tenant is:

• Get hold of your tenancy agreement and check what it says about rent increases. It is usually unlawful to increase the rent during a fixed term contract (or periodic) unless your tenancy agreement specifically states otherwise.
• If you are unhappy about the rent increase, then try and negotiate a lower rent with your Landlord, and if the landlord is unwilling to agree to your proposals, then ask for a rent review. Please remember that rent reviews can go up as well as down.
• keep up the dialogue between you and the Landlord

If a landlord serves you with notice to leave, you should get help and assistance immediately; it is possible that the notice is invalid. There are a number of procedures a landlord must have followed before he/she/they can serve a notice on you. We are finding a lot of notices are invalid.

Disclaimer: the above does not constitute legal advice

In England: The Renters (Reform) Bill

In Wales: The Renting Homes (Wales) Act

Renting with Pets can be difficult. The BBC found that out of 120,000 rentals listed on Zoopla, only a small percentage allowed pets at their properties.

With many thousands of tenants having a pet, many people are forced out of properties or, take the heart breaking decision to give up their family pets. However, things are about to change.

Under the Renters (Reform) Bill which is currently being considered by Parliament, tenants will have the legal right to request a pet in their home. The Landlord will not be able to refuse any reasonable request.

In Wales, a tenant can ask to have a pet living with them and a landlord has 28 days in which to reply with details of why he/she/they are unprepared to accept a pet. If a Landlord misses the 28 day deadline, then they are deemed to have accepted the pet. If they decline and their reasons are not acceptable, then the tenant can make an application to Court and the Landlord could be ordered to pay those costs.

So it is looking a lot more promising now for families and their beloved pets. If you have any questions, then please phone our dedicated housing team at NewBold who will be very happy to assist you.

Disclaimer: the above does not constitute legal advice.