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If you are a landlord a good letting agent is worth their weight in gold, relieving you of a lot of the stress that is involved in managing all aspects of your rental property.

However, when things go wrong and they do not perform as they should it can have a severely damaging effect on your business, your reputation and your pocket.

Dawn Kiddy, Dispute Resolution Solicitor with Petersfields LLP outlines what a letting agent does, what duties they have, what might go wrong and what you can do if things do go awry.

Finding out that your loved one has decided to leave a gift of money or property to a charity in their will can sometimes come as a surprise, particularly if the charity is not one that was known to be close to their heart. It may also be quite distressing if the unexpected gift effectively operates to deprive you, or another relative, of some or all the inheritance you hoped to receive.

With many people struggling to get on the property ladder, or to afford a home to rent, it has become increasingly common for mortgage lenders and landlords to ask borrowers and tenants to find someone who is willing to act as a guarantor for them – in other words to settle their debts if they are unable to do so.

A personal guarantee may also be requested to secure a loan, particularly where the applicant has a poor credit history, or even to secure the debts of a private limited company.

With an increasing number of people struggling to get on the property ladder, it is not surprising that there has been a corresponding rise in the number of properties being bought by friends who have pooled their resources, or by parents who have agreed to bankroll their child if they agree to take on a lodger to help pay the mortgage.

‘While these sorts of arrangements can work well when everyone knows where they stand, there can be problems if no formal agreement exists to determine the circumstances in which a jointly owned property can be sold or when someone invited to be part of a house share on an occupancy only basis can be asked to leave,’ explains Dawn Kiddy, a dispute resolution lawyer with Petersfields LLP  in Cambridge and Haverhill.

Being able to share ideas and opinions over the internet has many benefits. It enables us to communicate quickly with one another and to relay information easily with the simple click of a button. But what few people realise is that when you post something online which is negative or disparaging – whether via a social media platform, a news outlet, a customer review site or even a special interest forum – you could be falling foul of the rules on defamation and thereby exposing yourself to the risk of being sued for compensation and legal costs.

Did you know that you can be sued for posting something online that is not true or for sharing or endorsing a false post made by someone else?  Did you also know that if you are sued, you could be ordered to pay compensation and legal costs and forced to make a public apology?

If the answer to these questions is ‘no’, then you are not alone, as recent research suggests that nearly 50 per cent of the UK’s 45 million social media users are not aware that they are legally responsible for what they do and say online.