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Question Title: Overseas landlords
| Question: 296 |
| I have just been approached by a couple from Jersey who want to buy property in Devon and they want my company to act as their managing agents. I have never done this before; all my existing landlords live locally. What types of problems should I look out for?
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| Answer: |
| There are a number of areas that you should consider when dealing with overseas landlords. The first is the tax position. For tax purposes the Channel Islands are not part of the UK and, if that is their normal place of residence, the agent will be liable to collect the tax on any rental income and forward it to the Inland Revenue. For further information see LUJ Jan 2000, page 27. Whilst Jersey is not that far from Devon it may be necessary to consider some special clauses in the agency agreement to give the agent specific authority to act in specific situations, such as the signing of tenancy agreements or in emergencies. It may be necessary to consider the granting of a power of attorney to the agent by the landlord. The requirements of section 48 Landlord & Tenant Act 1987 can be met by the use of a 'care of' address, normally that of the letting agent. However, if a tenant or their adviser requests the identity of the landlord and their address from the person collecting the rent under section 1 Landlord & Tenant Act 1985 then this request must be complied with. Failure to supply the required information can lead to prosecution. Whilst most standard situations can be covered by the agency agreement or a power of attorney, there are going to be some situations which will require the active participation of the landlord. One particular example is the accelerated possession procedure where the claim form N5B specifies that it may not be signed by the landlord's managing agent. A solution, if the landlord did not want to get personally involved, might be for him to appoint a solicitor to act on his behalf. Whilst there are a number of things to bear in mind where the landlord is not close at hand, with a certain amount of consideration beforehand an overseas landlord should not prove any more difficult than any other.
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References:
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Pages:
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Hyperlinks:
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Letting Update Journal |
Jul 2003 page 27 |
letting-update-journal.html
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Letting Handbook |
Chapter 14 |
letting-handbook-and-factsheets.html
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Letting Factsheet No 26 |
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factsheet-26
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For more information, discuss on the Forum
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