FAQ for UK Landlords 2020

The British Landlords Association is a national landlords association that covers, England, Wales & Scotland, It is also known as the BLA.

The association is free for all UK landlords and letting agents.

You can become accredited by joining a landlord association. You must abide by the terms, conditions and the standards of the association. This gives the renters an element of protection.

An Accelerated possession claim is a legal process to obtain possession through the county court under section 21 Notice. You cannot use the Accelerated route to claim rent arrears.

Form 6A is a new section 21 notice to claim possession of a residential property. Form 6A (COVID-19) is a specific Notice to be used under the Coronavirus Act 2020. You can download a free copy from the government website, or our website with guidance notes too.

This depends on when the tenant is motivated to vacate. You will need to serve a section 8 or 21 notice on the tenant. If the tenant does not vacate, you will need to issue possession proceedings to evict the tenant. If the tenant is still not motivated to vacate, you will need to instruct court bailiffs.

You can use a landlord forum like the BLA landlord forum or ring Landlord Advice UK who offer all UK landlords free advice. Alternatively, you can join a landlords association who also offer members free advice.

The BLA Association is the British Landlords Association also known as the BLA. The British landlord is a free national association based in Crawley, West Sussex. They help and support landlords throughout the UK and are the 2nd largest landlord association in the UK.

There are many landlord organisations and associations. You can join the Landlord Guild, the NRLA which is a national landlords association. However, the only free landlord organisation in the UK is the British Landlords Association.

There are numerous companies and organisations that carry out credit & reference checks. You can use the British Landlord Association for tenant credit & Referencing. If you require a personal credit check you can use the following companies:

• Equifax
• Experian
• Check my File
• Clearscore

You can obtain a free quote for a mortgage through the British Landlords Association which is one of the largest landlord associations in the UK.

All high street banks also offer buy-to-let BLT products too. Some high street bank rates may not be as attractive as some of the smaller lenders.

Zero deposit is an option where the landlord may choose not to take a deposit or it could refer to Zero Deposit the product. With Zero Deposit the landlord pays an insurance premium to cover the risk. The process is simplified and UK landlords will not be subject to the deposit legislation as no deposit has been taken.

A landlord accredited usually belongs to an association or organisation for landlords, and the landlord is required to meet the criteria to become certified. The accreditation scheme is intended to protect renters and ensures a level of competence and awareness of current legislation.

The BLA is set up as an association to provide a service to all landlords, including small & accidental landlords. The BLA directors and all the staff are passionate about the rights of landlords.

Directors and staff working for the BLA do not draw salaries. There is income from a small amount of BLA business activity like credit checks. They charge for one document £9 out of 300 documents which are free to members.

The income is sufficient to run the association.

Landlords can obtain free landlord advice from Landlord advice UK or you can join the British Landlords Association, membership is free.

Once you become a member then you can use the landlord helpline.