During the COVID-19 pandemic should you be carrying out gas safety checks?

Yes – as long as no occupier is showing symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) and are therefore self-isolating or are shielding and all parties are following the public health guidance, the gas safety check can and should go ahead. The latest (28th March) UK government guidance is: • Landlords must provide tenants with all necessary gas […]

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Are landlords responsible for protecting tenants from COVID-19?

Neither Public Health England nor the Department of Health have issued instructions to landlords. It is not a landlord’s responsibility, nor is it advisable, to give tenants advice on personal hygiene or medical advice. Also a landlord does not need to know (nor has a right to know) a tenant’s medical details. If a landlord […]

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How can I clean limescale from a toilet bowl?

While you can buy a variety of specially designed toilet cleaners to remove the unsightly limescale stains, you can achieve the same result with a bottle or two of white vinegar and some elbow grease. The acidic nature of vinegar is perfect for softening and lifting limescale and it is nowhere near as expensive as […]

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I have bats roosting in my property what can I do?

Unlike rodents, wasps and cluster flies, bats are not pests. As population numbers have fallen, all bats and their roosts are protected under The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) and The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010 (as amended). Under these pieces of legislation it is illegal to: deliberately capture (or take), […]

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I am unable to replace the bulbs in my property what should I do?

Under the terms of your tenancy agreement you have agreed to take care to replace or have replaced appropriately, light bulbs, fluorescent tubes, fuses, starters etc. as and when necessary during the tenancy and to ensure that all light bulbs, fluorescent tubes, fuses are in place and in working order at the end of the […]

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Can I paint my side of my neighbour’s fence?

Only if your neighbour gives you permission to do so. Leaning things against your neighbour’s fence, hanging things on your neighbour’s fence, even using your neighbour’s fence as a makeshift retaining wall, will place a much heavier burden on the fence panels and supporting posts than they were designed to bear. The consequences of such […]

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