Most people look at a floor plan without ever really reading it. The rooms are easy enough to spot, but the floor plan symbols are doing the quieter work: showing where doors swing, how the stairs rise and which marks represent fittings rather than walls. Once you know what to look for, the plan becomes much easier to interpret. This plain-English guide explains how to read a floor plan in a listing,...
Most landlords know they need an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). Fewer keep track of the rules surrounding it: when it must be ready, what tenants must receive and what happens if a property falls below the minimum energy-efficiency standard. That’s where avoidable compliance problems tend to crop up. Use this checklist to get the details right before your next letting, rather than discovering...
“Furnished vs unfurnished rental” sounds like a letting decision. For landlords and letting agents, though, the bigger difference often appears at check-in and check-out. Furniture and white goods give you more items to document, and deposit adjudicators assess those items with their condition, age and expected lifespan in mind. That means a good inventory needs to match what the tenant actually...
A floor plan looks simple once it is finished: walls, doors, windows and room dimensions arranged neatly on a page. Getting those lines in the right place is the less glamorous part, and the part that makes the plan useful. A measured building survey records a building’s physical dimensions and features so they can be represented accurately in a drawing. The surveyor’s work is more than pointing a...
An empty property can attract attention for all the wrong reasons. A forced door, damaged window or unnoticed leak can turn a routine void into a serious headache for you and your client. Physical security is a key part of preparing a home between tenancies. But boarding up is not always the right first move: some insurers may discourage it, and a rough-looking sheet of plywood can advertise that nobody...
The check-in is complete, the keys are handed over and the tenancy is underway. It is tempting to think the next important visit is the check-out. But a great deal can change in between. A well-planned mid-term inspection gives you an opportunity to spot maintenance concerns, discuss repairs and keep a clear record of the property’s condition while the tenancy is still active. It is not about catching...
Moving day has a habit of turning one armchair, three flights of stairs and a missing set of keys into a full-scale operation. A little planning helps. So does having the right transport for the job. Evestaff now offers nationwide furniture moving and man and van services, serving the South East of England and beyond. Whether you need to move one bulky item or transport furniture between rental...
Had a Legionella risk assessment completed? Good start. Job done forever? Not quite. An assessment reflects the property and its water system at a particular point in time. Change either, and the report may no longer describe the risks accurately. For landlords, letting agents and property managers, the practical question is not simply “How old is this assessment?” It is “Has anything happened that...
If you’re a landlord in England, a blanket “no pets” rule is no longer a reliable answer. Since 1 May 2026, tenants can request permission to keep a pet, and you must not unreasonably refuse. That does not mean every request gets an automatic yes. It does mean you need to consider each one on its facts, and have a sensible way to manage the condition of your property. That’s where good evidence...
A council visit may happen only once during a five-year HMO licence period, depending on the local authority’s inspection programme. But a blocked hallway, a faulty alarm or a repair complaint can bring attention to your property much sooner. The risks often develop in the gap between scheduled visits. That is why a landlord’s own HMO inspection matters. A practical interim inspection helps you spot...
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