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[jpkeates]

It's not criminal trespass.

[jpkeates]

He will be a trespasser, but you will still need to go to court to remove them.

I would point out to the tenant that she can't serve notice and leave the boyfriend there, because you will pursuing her for all of the legal costs (and any other costs) for removing him.
That's going...

[jpkeates]

The "tenant" has seen and checked "all the paperwork" and handed over rent and a deposit.
That sounds like a contract to me - the paperwork is a fairly detailed offer, the rent is an acceptance and consideration.
The intent seems pretty clear.

The "tenant"...

[jpkeates]

I agree with this....

[jpkeates]

Deliberately making yourself homeless impacts a councils obligation to provide accomodation for someone who is, otherwise, homeless.
That's a short term situation.
It's an entirely subjective decision made by the council....

[jpkeates]

You would pay SDLT (but it would be based on the market value, not the amount you agree with your siblings).
Because you own a property already, the SDLT will include a 3% surcharge.

[jpkeates]

The tenant is in breach of contract, so you can recover any losses that arise as a consequence.

That would probably include the cost of the agent remarketing, but you can't just charge a month's rent as a penalty....

[jpkeates]

If the property was advertised with a gate or there was one there when you viewed the property, you would be entitled to a gate (or compensation of some kind for it being missing).
Otherwise it sounds like an error on the inventory.

If the landlord has agreed to fit a gate, your...

[jpkeates]

Can't disagree with any of that.

I pay experian £15 a month to send me alerts if there's any activity on my credit history.
Always worried about a lost utility or council tax bill going to one of my properties and me never seeing it.

[jpkeates]

I tend to agree.

I've never had a tenant owe me anything significant, my experience with the small claims court has always been claiming from a business.
And they tend to pay up, because the move and hide option isn't available....

[jpkeates]

I agree that it's not normal.

It's either a very inexperienced landlord or a con.

[jpkeates]

That clause is unenforceable, and probably unfair.
The decision to pay housing benefit direct to a landlord isn't in the tenant's control, so they can't meaningfully agree to it.

The clause isn't binding on the local authority who aren't a party to the contract.

Either...

[jpkeates]

Where you don't know the address for a person, the rule is to serve papers to that individual's "usual or last known residence."
For a tenant that's likely to be the rental property (if they haven't given a forwarding address).

In practice, all that using that address achieves...

[jpkeates]

Because they can charge the landlord?...

[jpkeates]

Stop listening to the council.
They are not on your side and they are not in a position to give you advice (and if they do it will probably be wrong).

Rent is due what it's due and not having a bank account or your bank details isn't your problem.
They can pay it in cash or...

[jpkeates]

The short term thing to do is wait for the actual notice.
It may just mean that the landlord doesn't want to commit for another year.

But it doesn't sound great...

[jpkeates]

Abuse, neat.
I have created, managed and been involved with funding businesses for several decades.

A couple of years ago, I worked with a builder I know to try and fund a development he wanted to do up and sell on (he already owned it, but it was delapidated).
It was complex...

[jpkeates]

What does your friend want to happen?

If it's to carry on living there, the landlord's notice will (eventually) bring the lease to an end (although it might take a lot more than 2 months).
Your friend needs to start looking for somewhere else to live.

[jpkeates]

Have a whole shedload of money to start with.
This kind of business is like starting up a restaurant, horrifyingly risky even if you know what you're doing.

If you're starting with £10k, how much do you earn and do you own any other property?
You'll almost certainly need a...

[jpkeates]

You probably need to rethink this.
Any plan where you're intending from the outset to use credit cards and overdraft to fund is likely to be a terrible idea in itself.

If you buy and sell a property for profit, the profit is treated as income (rather than a capital gain), so the tax...