Thank you for instructing Landlords Lawyer. This letter sets out the work we have agreed to do for you and the terms under which we will do it.
This letter is legally binding. If you are happy with what it says, then please sign and return a copy to us. If you do not sign the terms of business but settle our invoice, then we will deem this as acceptance of our terms and conditions. If you are not happy with anything in it then please discuss it with us immediately as we cannot work for you until we have a formal agreement in place.
This letter should cover everything we have agreed to do for you, and everything which you expect us to do. So, if something you expect us to do is not mentioned in here then please speak to us urgently as if it is not mentioned in this agreement, then it is likely not to be a service we provide.
Please make sure that everything important to you is mentioned in this letter.
We apologise for sending such a long and detailed letter, but experience shows that it is the best way to avoid any misunderstandings between us. Please take the time to read this letter thoroughly, and feel free to ask us if you have any questions.
Before we can commence working for you, we will require a copy of your photo ID and a current utility bill.
- Scope of Work
We have agreed to provide you with the legal services listed in the attachment at the end of this letter.
Please tell us immediately if the attachment does not give a complete and accurate list of the services you expect us to provide for you.
We do not deal with defended matters. Should your matter become defended then we will recommend a local solicitor to you.
All proceeding will be undertaken by a firm of solicitors acting on your behalf. By agreeing these terms and conditions you are allowing us to forward your file to a firm of solicitors.
- About Us
Landlords Lawyer is a partnership based at Kinetic House, Theobald Street, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, WD6 4PJ.
We are an independent specialist eviction services company who assist landlords throughout England & Wales. All our client’s hearings are carried out by advocates instructed by a firm of solicitors who are regulated by the SRA. We are not, nor are we required to be regulated by the law Society or the SRA. We are not solicitors, a firm of solicitors, nor do we purport to be a firm of solicitors.
Landlords Lawyer is run by Property and Legal Professionals with many years’ experience in dealing with tenancy problems.
Our main switchboard telephone number is 020 8387 4028, our fax number is 020 8387 4033. Our office e-mail address is info@landlordslawyer.co.uk and our website address is www.landlordslawyer.co.uk.
We are registered for VAT with HM Revenue and Customs, our VAT number is 219 5308 09.
- Your Details
We require you to complete the attached client detail form, providing us with all your details.
All our invoices for work done will be addressed to you.
Any work done by us will be on behalf of the you and no one else, and our only responsibility will be to look after your interests and no one else.
Unless instructed otherwise (and in writing) we will only give out information about this case to you.
We will only accept instructions in this matter from you.
To help us keep in touch, please let us know as soon as possible if you change your address, telephone number or e-mail so that we can keep our records up to date.
We would welcome hearing from you about any change to your contact details, even when this matter is finished, as that will ensure we can continue to send you information about us in the future which we hope will continue to be of interest.
- Costs
The cost of doing the work is listed in the attachment and will be a fixed fee
Fees are based on the amount of time taken to complete the work required. However, we may charge an additional amount if, for example, members of staff have to work outside normal working hours, or if your matter involves a complex, difficult or unusual aspect such as more than one hearing or extensive paperwork.
We work in a highly pressurised environment to deadlines and therefore wish to keep contact to a minimum if order that we can provide 100% concentration on your matter. Whilst we are willing to attend to you enquiries directly related to your matter, should you feel the need to contact us on a regular basis, we reserve the right to charge extra fees.
We will not incur costs beyond the above figure without your prior approval. We may require you to confirm that approval in writing to avoid confusion.
Please note that we will charge for the work we do regardless of whether the matter is successful or not.
We shall also charge for the work we do whether or not the matter reaches completion.
The quoted fixed fee may be reduced if the matter is not completed. Whether it is reduced or not will depend on the reason for non-completion.
- Payment of Our Fees
It is normal practice to ask clients to pay in advance (commonly known as a putting us in funds) and should include costs and disbursements likely to be incurred in the near future. It will be very helpful if you can pay such requests promptly, but if there is any difficulty, please let us know as soon as possible. Please note that once the payment has been received together with the paperwork we are entitled to keep part of the fees dependant on what work has been undertaken.
We hope you understand that in the event of a payment not being made, we must reserve the right to refuse to do any more work for you (either permanently or temporarily). We must also reserve the right to charge for unpaid work already done. Please feel free to discuss this point with us if you want to understand it in more detail.
Our bills should be paid immediately. Interest can be charged on unpaid bills after 7 days. We charge interest at 8%.
Please also note that after ending our contract with you we are entitled to keep all papers and documents until all outstanding bills have been paid.
- Contact Person
Patricia, Steven, Elliott, Orchid and Shifrah shall carry out most of the work in this matter for you.
- Working on Your Case
Once your case is underway we will keep in touch with you, usually by email or telephone as it progresses.
Any important letters or documents that need to be sent will first be shown to you for approval.
All claim forms either on line or otherwise must be signed for by you. We do not have the authority to sign them on your behalf.
The court will correspond with you directly, therefore it is your responsibility to forward copies of those documents to us so that we may place them on your file.
We will endeavour to answer/return your telephone calls and emails promptly. However, because of work commitments, both in and out of the office during the day, your call may not be returned, or email answered immediately. Alternatively, it may be dealt with by another member of our staff if that will allow your enquiry to be dealt with as quickly as possible.
Please do not visit us without arranging it first. We cannot see people without an appointment.
We will endeavour to update you with regards to the progress of your case. There will be occasions where this may not be appropriate, however.
We will try to avoid changing our staff that you deal with, but if it is appropriate at any stage for the matter to be referred to another member of staff to handle then we will do so.
- Communication, Suggestions and Complaints
Our standard method of contact is by email, where ever possible.
We aim to offer an efficient and effective service to you, and we are confident that we will do so. However, if you are unhappy with any aspect of our service and you cannot resolve it with your main contact person then you can always raise the matter with the Practise Manager Patricia Lobo Del Castillo.
Landlords Lawyer has a formal complaint handling system which will be used if we cannot resolve matters to your satisfaction. An explanatory note about the complaints handling system is available upon request.
You will not be charged for time spent handling any complaints. We aim to resolve such complaints as quickly and professionally as possible.
In order to assist us with the smooth handling of your case, you will need to provide us with full instructions and respond to our requests for information, documents, etc as quickly as reasonably possible.
We are able to communicate with you by e-mail as well as by post, fax, and telephone. Unless you tell us otherwise, we will assume that you are happy for us to communicate by e-mail, even though email communications are not as secure as letters sent through the post.
- Legal Documents and Case Papers
Until your case is resolved, it is extremely important that you keep safe all and any documents and papers relevant (or even just possibly relevant) to your case.
It is equally important for the good handling of your case that we get to see those documents and papers as soon as possible. If you have not already done so, kindly let us know what documents, if any, you have as soon as possible.
Once your case has ended then an important question is what to do with any legal documents (court papers, contracts, property ownership documents and leases, etc.) and your case papers (copies of correspondence, file notes etc).
We will keep your file for five years at most.
However please note that security/storage issues may at some point force us to copy all old files electronically and dispose of the physical versions after copying. This agreement gives us the authority to destroy our files automatically without discussing the matter with you further.
We reserve the right to keep record copies of all documents and case papers returned.
If it becomes necessary to retrieve papers or other items from storage in relation to continuing or new instructions to act on your behalf, then we would not normally charge for getting them.
However, in other circumstances we may make a charge, based on the time spent and costs incurred in retrieving your stored documents and case papers and forwarding them to you. We might also charge for reading correspondence and any other work necessary to comply with your instructions on this issue.
Please note that can take up to 7 working days to retrieve your stored documents and/or case papers.
We do not accept responsibility for loss arising to you from the loss of or damage to documents or other items held by us after the completion of your case.
- Confidentiality
We will treat your affairs as strictly private and confidential.
However please note that in certain limited circumstances, the law obliges us to notify the authorities if we have suspicions that serious criminal activity is taking place or about to take place. This obligation does not cover past criminal activities, in respect of which we can advise in complete confidence. The one exception to this is where we have reason to believe that money-laundering is or has occurred. In such circumstances, we would be obliged to notify the authorities about our suspicions.
- Data Protection Act 2016 -679
All information held on record will be held in line with the Data Protection Act 2016 (GDPR). In order for us to deal with your case effectively we require you to agree for us to hold data such as names, contact details i.e. email addresses, home, work, mobile telephone numbers, your correspondence, tenancy agreements, bank statements, rent schedules and any other general correspondence which may be relevant to your case.
Please tick the box to confirm that you are in agreement for us to do so.
We will need your confirmation that you are happy for us to pass your file over to our appointed solicitors and advocates for them to conduct any litigation or attend hearing on your behalf.
Please confirm you agree for us to do so.
We also from time to time would like to send you information on our company and am up and coming law changes which may affect the letting industry. If you are happy to be placed on our list, please tick the following box.
- Anti-Money Laundering Act
We are required by law to hold a valid photographic IID on all our clients along with a copy of a recent Utility Bill.
- Liability Cap
Please note that Landlords Lawyer always caps liability whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty or otherwise in respect of any claim or a series of claims which are related, expenses, legal fees and any other costs howsoever arising at £100,000 (one hundred thousand pounds).
By signing this letter you agree that our cap on liability is fair and reasonable having regard to all of the circumstances which were, or ought reasonably to have been, known to you or in your contemplation at the time of any engagement or provision of services by us. It is of course open to you to seek to obtain legal services elsewhere without such limitation.
- Disclaimer
Landlords Lawyer alone will be responsible for the provision of the services under this agreement. You therefore agree that you will not bring any claim in respect of or in connection with any engagement for the services Landlords Lawyer provides whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty or otherwise against any director, member or employee or consultant or of any company which is connected with Landlords Lawyer. Any remedies available to you exclude liability for indirect losses flowing from a breach of duty by a member of Landlords Lawyer. The types of losses excluded include (but are not limited to) loss of profits, loss of goodwill and loss of opportunity. In all cases, whether in contract or tort, you have one year from the date of awareness of a loss to bring a claim subject to a long stop of two years from the cause of action accruing. This exclusion does not apply to any liability which cannot be excluded under the law of England and Wales.
We are an independent specialist eviction services company who assist landlords throughout England & Wales. All our client’s hearings are carried out by advocates instructed by a firm of solicitors who are regulated by the SRA. We are not, nor are we required to be regulated by the law Society or the SRA. We are not solicitors, a firm of solicitors, nor do we purport to be a firm of solicitors.
- Ending This Agreement
You may terminate this agreement at any time, ideally in writing.
You do not need to have or give any reason or advanced warning, although we would like to know if our service has fallen short so we can improve things.
Upon receiving a termination notice from you we will automatically issue a bill to you in respect of any unbilled time costs, expenses and disbursements. Your termination of this agreement does not automatically cancel any unpaid bills or work done but not yet billed for.
Equally, we are also entitled to terminate this agreement at any time and for any reason without advance warning.
If we do so then we will notify you in writing. The main reasons we normally stop acting for a client are when they do not pay our bills; if we can no longer assist them as they need; if we cannot get clear or proper instructions on how to proceed or where the client is abusive or too difficult to work with or if the matter becomes contested.
Should your matter become contested we will recommend you to a firm of solicitors who can assist you further.
- Governing Law and Jurisdiction
English law governs the terms of this agreement, and any dispute arising out of its terms will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.
- Next Steps
If you wish us to work for you on the above terms and conditions, then please sign and return the attached copy of this letter. Alternatively, please feel free to speak to us about any points that concern you, or which you would like explained.
PLEASE NOTE ALL LITIGATED MATTERS ARE UNDERTAKEN BY ASTUTE LEGAL SOLICITORS WHO WILL BE INSTRUCTED TO ACT ON YOUR BEHALF.
OUR FEES AND ACCEPTANCE OF TERMS
- Initial review of your matter* (S21, S8 and NTQ) £ 100.00
- 7 Day Rent Arrears Letter £ 70.00
- Draft Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement £ 250.00
- Completed Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement £ 300.00
- Section 21 Housing Act Notice £ 100
- Section 8 Housing Act Notice £ 100.00
- Discretionary Section 8 Housing Act Notice Not Ground 8,10,11 £ 120.00
- Section 47 and Section 48 Notice £ 75.00
- Section 3 Notice £ 85.00
- Notice to Quit £ 120.00
- Both Section 8 and Section 21 Housing Act Notices £ 145.00
- Review of a complex matter £ 475.00
Court Proceedings for Section 21 or Section 8 includes £ 649.00
- Assisting you so that you can prepare County Court Possession Proceedings
and assisting you with your submission of County Court Possession Proceedings
papers to court
- Affidavit of Service
- Assisting you to prepare your Witness Statement
- Assisting you to arrange representation through a firm of solicitors
Court Proceedings for Section 21 and Section 8 together/ non accelerated proceedings** £ 749.00
- Assisting you with additional Witness Statements (per statement) £ 285.00
- Assist you to arrange representation through a firm of solicitors
Further Hearing for first 15 mins £ 345.00
- beyond first 15 mins for each 20 mins increment £ 325.00
- Assisting you with your drafting Bailiff Warrant £ 135.00
- Non Standard letters (from) £ 150.00
- High Court Bailiff £1150.00
- Application to County Court for permission for High Court Bailiff £ 250.00
- *The review fee is only chargeable in the event you do not instruct to serve a notice or if upon review it becomes apparent that we will not be able to serve a notice on your behalf for example if you have breach any housing laws preventing you from doing so.
- **Subject to the matter not being complex
The above charges are inclusive of VAT at the current rate but exclude court fees
We reserve the right to charge separately for any disbursements.
I have read and understood the above terms and agree to be bound by them.
Your name: ______________________________ Position:_________________________________
Date: _____________________________________________________________________________
Signature: _________________________________________________________________________