Doorstep

Housing lawyers for tenants, and one plain guide to your rights every week

Deposits, repairs, rent rises and eviction notices. We only ever act for the person who rents — never for a landlord or an agent.

A tall block of flats with balconies seen from below against a blue sky.

29 September

The rent rise letter that was not valid

A tenant in a block like this one was given a month's notice of a 22% rise. The law says two, on the right form. Here is how to check yours.

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An empty, freshly cleaned flat with pale floors and a glass door onto a balcony.

22 September

Getting the whole deposit back

Photographs on the last day, the inventory from the first, and the ten days the landlord has to say what they want to keep. A checklist.

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A tall white and teal tower block with rows of identical windows.

15 September

Damp is a repair, not a lifestyle

If you have been told to open a window, read this. Mould in a rented home is the landlord's problem, with a timetable they have to keep.

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A black and white terrace of modern flats against a sky with white clouds.

8 September

What a "notice to quit" really means

It is not an eviction. It is the start of a process with several stops, and at most of them you can still say something. A map of the steps.

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A sunlit living room with a large window, a pale sofa and plants.

1 September

Can the landlord just let themselves in?

Twenty-four hours' notice, a reasonable time of day, and a reason. The exceptions are fewer than most agents suggest.

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A modern block of flats with glass balconies against a soft pink evening sky.

25 August

Sharing a flat when one person leaves

Who still owes the rent, who gets the deposit back and what happens to the tenancy. Three common set-ups, three different answers.

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Rows of old leather-bound law books on dark wooden shelves.

The firm

Four housing lawyers and a caseworker in two rooms above a bike shop. If legal aid covers your case, we use it. If not, we quote a fixed fee before we start and we stick to it.

First callfree, 20 minutes

Deposit claimsfixed fee from £180

Repairs and disrepairoften no fee to you

Eviction defencelegal aid, where it applies

Before you reply to anything

Before you answer the landlord

A row of white blocks of flats with dark window frames under a clear blue sky.

One

Read the date on the letter

Write down when it arrived, not when it was written. Most of the deadlines that matter start from that day.

A bright, tidy kitchen with a table and chairs and a window over the counter.

Two

Photograph the flat

Every room, today, with the date on. Damp, cracks, the boiler, the meters. It costs nothing and wins arguments.

A hand reaching up to take a book from a crowded bookshelf.

Three

Reply in writing, briefly

Say you have received it and are taking advice. Nothing more. Anything you say in a hurry can be quoted back later.

Tall wooden bookshelves full of old books in a dim room.

The Monday guide, by text

One short guide a week, the same one that goes on this page. Free, and one reply to stop.

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