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Meet James, our AI property assistant
Short answer We have added an AI assistant to every page of this website. His name is James, he is available at any hour, and you can type to him or simply talk to him out lou…
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Void days are the landlord's money: how HWJ runs the major refresh
Update, 23 October 2026: from Essential Terms and Charges v2.5.1 we no longer set completion times of our own for void works. A Major refresh runs to the timeline agreed with …
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UK rent guarantor for international students 2026 London guide
Short answer: Most London landlords ask an international student for a UK-based guarantor. Without one, three routes work in 2026/27: your university's own scheme (UCL, LSE an…
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Engineering August relet RRA
Short answer: under the Renters' Rights Act 2025, fixed-term tenancies are gone. Every assured tenancy granted from 1 May 2026 onwards is periodic from day one, and a landlord…
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Why we won't take your instruction at the wrong asking price
Short answer: because under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 a mispriced asking rent is no longer recoverable, and accepting an instruction at a price our data does not support wo…
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Section 13 rent reviews after the RRA: what changed, what stayed, and what the tribunal can (and can't) do
Short answer: under section 6 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025, Section 13 of the Housing Act 1988 is now the only mechanism by which a landlord can lawfully increase the rent …
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What the rental bidding ban actually means for London landlords (Renters' Rights Act 2025, section 56)
Short answer: rental bidding is when people applying for a rented home offer more than the advertised rent to win it, or are invited to. Since 1 May 2026 it is banned in Engla…
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Under the Renters' Rights Act 2025, the rent you set on day one is the rent for life — here's why
Short answer: the Renters' Rights Act 2025 has removed every meaningful mechanism a landlord previously had to correct a mispriced tenancy. The asking rent you publish on day …
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Tenancy Identity Fraud
The gap in third-party referencing, the cross-check that closes it, and why it matters more after the Renters' Rights Act 2025. Identity fraud is the highest-cost failure mode…
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Why most deposit claims are over-claims
Short answer A good-quality carpet costs £500 to replace. It is four years into a ten-year life when a tenant damages it beyond repair. Most agents would put the full £500 to …
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Audit and approval before the deduction
Short answer Most letting agents treat the contractor quote as the answer. We treat it as one piece of evidence. Where works on a managed property are likely to exceed an agre…
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How your listing gets written
Short answer Most letting agents see the advert as an interruption. Get the property photographed, write a short description, get it live on Rightmove and Zoopla, move on. We …
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What annual new-build servicing actually costs
Short answer: for a typical central-London luxury new-build flat with one mechanical ventilation heat-recovery (MVHR) unit and three ducted air-conditioning fan-coil units, an…
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New build deposit claim clauses
Short answer: managing a luxury central-London new-build is a different operational discipline from managing a flat in a Victorian conversion, and most of what makes it differ…
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New build first let pricing
Short answer: the standard comparable rental method assumes comparables exist. On a new-build first let they don't. There are no historical rentals at the same address, no tra…
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