Don’t fall foul of housing law

With around 20 per cent of households now privately rented and with cuts to legal aid for some housing disputes, the need for landlords to keep up to date with current housing law is essential.

Squatters, abandoned properties, non-paying tenants and eviction notices are just some of the complex issues that landlords have to deal with on a regular basis.

Andrew Perriman, Senior Lecturer in Law at Teesside University, will address the National Landlords’ Association (NLA) and Darlington Borough Council Landlords’ Forum to outline the processes that landlords should be adopting so that they do not fall foul of the law when dealing with tenants.

The free forum is open to all landlords and letting agents in the area and takes place from 1.00pm to 5.00pm on Thursday 16 May at the Dolphin Centre in Darlington.

Andrew also runs Teesside University Law Clinic, which allows final year law students to provide free legal advice and representation to the public on a range of areas including housing, money claims and civil disputes.

He said: 'Housing is a particularly complex area of law which can cause difficulties for landlords if they are not fully aware of both their own legal obligations and the obligations of their tenants.

'By bringing together landlords at a forum of this nature, my intention is to give a thorough overview of the law with regard to managing tenancies to ensure landlords are getting it right.'

With legal aid cuts coming into force around the country, student pro bono work is in increased demand and offers students the opportunity to gain first-hand experience of dealing with real cases under the supervision of qualified legal practitioners.

Andrew added: 'Teesside Law Clinic has been extremely successful since being launched last September and we have dealt with a high volume of cases. We were also recently highly commended by the Attorney General Dominic Grieve QC MP in a national awards ceremony.

'The Law Clinic is not there to take the place of the legal profession, it is an educational tool to assist the lawyers of tomorrow – where an issue is complex, it will no doubt require specialist legal advice. Additionally, if there is no funding available or the legal issue does not fall within our scope, we often refer cases to law firms in the area.'

To book a place at the NLA and Darlington Borough Council Landlords’ Forum on 16 May, call 0207 8408919 or just turn up on the day.

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Find out more about Teesside Law Clinic