Ordinarily, with proper procedure and adherence with Clause 5, Section (7) of the Rental Housing Act, the landlord would be able to claim for damages from the deposit, if such damage should occur, on the basis of a joint inspection of the property both on the start and the end of the lease period.

This is just one example of how a landlord may assume risks and responsibilities when taking over an existing tenant lease. In this case, it was fortunate that the tenant, landlord relationship was amicable.

The tenant agreed to enter into a new agreement based on the fact that the new agreement was current with local legislation and actually served to improve his rights as a tenant.

Necessary evil?

So why did the previous owner enter such a lease in the first place? After all, he had agreed to be bound by it when entering into the agreement.

The answer stems from two common perceptions that prevail amongst property investors. Firstly, there is the prevailing perception that tenancy in a buy-to-let investment is a by-product of the property investing business ? a necessary evil, if you like.

Secondly, there's the belief that the letting agent takes care of the letting part, which means it's not necessary for the property investor to understand it. While many 'gurus' often suggest the 'hands-off' approach, making buying the focus of property investing, good management and understanding of the letting business increase profitability and therefore return on investment.

Each year an investor holds a property without due attention to the letting and management thereof is another year of letting risk ? which means property investors need to learn more than just purchasing strategies, but also about the letting business and its consequences.

This information is provided by The Property Investor Network.