PR: What are the most common legal or financial risks landlords overlook—and how can they better protect themselves in 2026?
AL: Taking on a tenant who promises everything but then fails or doesn’t pay. They may never get around to trading, or take forever to fit out the premises. This is especially risky during an initial rent-free period.
Get a substantial rent deposit, get a personal guarantee from shareholders if they are using a limited company, and get your lawyer to do due diligence and searches on the prospective tenant before you hand over the keys.
PR: How is the landscape for landlord insurance changing, and what should investors look for in a comprehensive policy?
AL: Always think to the absolute edge of the envelope, and then a bit further. Consider everything that could possibly go wrong, and cover it. Don’t just renew your insurance as is every year, monitor tech changes and market changes and tweak the policy as you go along.
And best not to arrange insurance alone, use a reputable agent or broker and put all instructions in writing.
PR: With ongoing tax changes and tightening margins, how can landlords make smarter financial decisions when managing their portfolios?
AL: Seek professional advice from a good, seasoned commercial surveyor and a savvy solicitor. Do all the arithmetic in advance, calculating the worst-case scenarios on rent levels, unoccupied periods, and regulatory concerns.
PR: What legal or compliance changes are currently top of the agenda for landlords, and how can they stay ahead of future regulation?
AL: Environmental health and health and safety. Any premises let will have people and processes in them, so be sure that the council won’t come in and either close the tenant down or insist on the installation or upgrade of equipment or practices not covered in your lease.
Set up the lease so it is the tenant’s responsibility to operate and repair as necessary.
PR: How can landlords benefit from working with specialist advisers, and what are the advantages of taking a more professionalised approach to investing?
AL: For landlords who are personally involved in the let, it is mainly a question of having a surveyor, solicitor and accountant on hand to help set up and drive the transaction through the lease term.
For more hands-off financial investor landlords, hire an experienced property manager and put in place a reporting and inspection schedule. Prevention or early action is better than the blame game and litigation.
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