Understanding the legal side of housing can help give you peace of mind:

  • If you rent your home, you might need legal advice if you have issues with your tenancy or your landlord.
  • If you are buying or selling a home, it is important to understand the legal requirements and what is involved in the process.
  • As a landlord, you might face legal issues around contracts, tax requirements, and disputes with tenants.

Whether you need legal advice or just want to understand your options, read on for helpful resources.

I am renting and have legal issues

If you pay to rent a room or a house from someone, you are called a tenant. The person you rent from is usually known as your landlord.

When renting you might be asked to sign an agreement known as a tenancy agreement. It sets out things like the amount of rent that needs to be paid and the responsibilities of you and your landlord. 

This can cover many things. From whether you are allowed to own a goldfish or paint a bedroom door. Right through to what will happen if there is a structural problem with the house itself.

However, even if you have a tenancy agreement you may still face problems that become legal issues. Sometimes lawyers can help you to understand your rights in a particular situation and can represent you with your landlord to try and resolve the situation. 

I'm buying or selling a house

It is well known that moving home can be one of the most stressful events in life.

If you buy or sell property, or remortgage, there are legal requirements and checks to be taken care of.

Legal contracts, offers and completion processes, and land searches are some of the things you might need to sort out. These requirements are part of the process involved in buying or selling a house. In legal terms, this is called conveyancing.

Many people choose to get a lawyer to take care of everything. If you talk to a law firm that offers conveyancing services you might find different lawyers like Chartered Legal Executives, CILEx Practitioners, licensed conveyancers and solicitors working there who will be able to take care of your legal requirements.

The Gov.uk website publishes guides onbuying a homeandselling a home.

I am a landlord

Whether you rent out your spare room or own lots of rental properties, being a landlord means you may come across legal issues that you need to take care of.

These legal issues could include:

  • having contracts with your tenants and holding their deposits
  • understanding tax requirements and health & safety requirements
  • resolving disputes and other problems with your tenants

Depending on the situation you may want to talk to a lawyer that specialises in the legal issues that landlords need to know about. You can find information about the different types of lawyers and how to find the right one for your situation on our Lawyers page.

If you don’t know if you need legal help or are just looking to get some advice on your options and situation, there are places you can turn to.

The Government site has a section on all of the relevant legislation. This could help you understand your role as a landlord and how to manage some of the situations you might come up against.