UK Landlord Forum / Life

We have acted for numerous landlords (and tenants) and we fully understand that landlords prefer to do as much as they can themselves in terms of handling legal problems and only spend money on a solicitor as a last resort. This makes perfect sense to us. We are looking to adapt our service to landlords and be as flexible as possible in what we offer, how we offer it and how much it will cost. We like to think we are forward-thinking as a firm and not stuck in stuffy lawyers' ways. The client has to come first always.

It would be very interesting to find out what type of issues landlords need help with, be it drafting a tenancy agreement, issuing a valid Section 21 or Section 8 Notice, issuing possession proceedings (either Section 21 or Section 8 on various Grounds for Possession), rent arrears recovery, disrepair issues, deposit issues, general advice, etc.

If you did need any of these services, how would you like to access them? Face to face with a solicitor, telephone, e-mail, or a completely online service (maybe a membership arrangement or a "pay-as-you-go" arrangement?)

What would you feel is a reasonable price to pay for these services? Would you prefer to pay on an "as needed" basis for individual jobs or pay an annual fee to cover unlimited work over the year?

What has your experience with solicitors been up until now? What was good about the service you have received? Any horror stories?

How often would you say you need the services of a solicitor and what work do you require?

What would your "wish list" be if you could design your own legal support service?

Your answers to all or any of these questions would be greatly appreciated and will help us to develop a tailored service giving landlords exactly what they want with a flexible fee structure that is fair and which they can afford.

Thank you to anyone who contributes to this topic.

i am new to this landlord bit and have found myself in alot of bother because i know absolutely nothing. i was looking for a solicitor to help me with a s21 and the court papers for possession and found they just want to charge you the earth for them so i would like to see solicitors charging a reasonable amount for individual things so people can decide if and what they can afford, i know all they rent i have been getting for the past year has gone on very much needed repairs so i have not had a penny out of it and because i do not know what i am doing i did not protect the deposit and now face a penalty in the courts as my tenant has deciced to be horrible after everything i have done for her, and  i cannot afford to serve a s21 as i have know money. so thats my view anyway, individual payments for individual things.

Thank you Jan2 for your useful comments. We will take these on board when developing our services to landlords.