Squatters are every landlord’s worst nightmare, which is why void periods between tenants, or down periods when a property is undergoing essential renovations are particularly risky times when extra security is essential.

Up until now, squatting was only ever a civil offence, so if you were unlucky enough to end up with squatters taking up residence in one of your properties, you were probably faced with a devil of a task trying to have them evicted. But thankfully changes are now going ahead and despite a few hiccups along the way, new legislation making squatting a criminal offence is set to come into force in September, a move which should be welcomed by landlords everywhere.

Homeless charities are against the move because they say there are already large numbers of homeless people forced to live on the streets because of legal sanctions used to deter squatters and in their view, criminalizing squatting will simply make the problem worse.

But as many of us already know to our cost, squatters can cause a massive amount of damage and once they are in situ, it is very difficult to get rid of them. To try and curb this problem, squatters now face a maximum £5,000 fine and up to 6 months in prison if they are found guilty of taking up residence in a property illegally.

Hopefully the severity of such measures will prove to be a deterrent for all but the most hardened squatters, but it is still very important that you try and avoid leaving a property empty where possible, and if you have no choice, always make sure you have effective security measures in place.

You may remember I talked recently about future problems obtaining insurance for properties in flood risk areas: insurance companies are threatening to withdraw all buildings and contents insurance policies for any properties in areas susceptible to flooding, which applies to a fairly large number of properties in the UK. So with flood water levels creeping upwards in the wake of the recent high rainfall across much of the UK, what is the latest news on the matter?

Insurance companies and government ministers have still not reached a mutually satisfying agreement and the arguments rumble on. As things stand, the insurance companies are planning on withdrawing insurance cover from July onwards unless the government agrees to pledge funds towards new flood defences in known risk areas.

Unfortunately, government funded flood defence plans are now under threat thanks to the purse tightening measures in place right now, so unless an agreement is hammered out between the two sides, landlords with properties in flood risk areas could have their insurance policies withdrawn or be forced to pay astronomical premiums to continue their cover.

Without insurance cover in place, many landlords may find that they are in breech of their mortgage conditions and unable to secure any new loans on the property. It will also be impossible to sell such properties since prospective buyers are likely to be non-existent. As a consequence, there is a great deal of concern amongst industry insiders that the issue could potentially destabilise the housing market in some areas, which would be highly undesirable for everyone.

As the number of people moving from owner occupied properties into rental homes increases, so too does the number of people moving their pets along at the same time. Unfortunately, a lot of landlords explicitly forbid pets in their properties because of the damage they can cause, so many tenants don’t bother telling the landlord and simply take their pet with them in the hope the landlord won’t notice.

How can you prevent pet-related damage to your properties?

The only way to protect your properties is to be extra vigilant when inspecting them part way through a tenancy. If you do not allow pets, you will have to be on the lookout for any signs of pets living at the property to be certain your tenant is not hiding a menagerie from view.

The first, and sometimes most obvious, sign of pets in residence is the odour. Cats and dogs often leave pungent smells, from pet urine to eau de smelly dog, so if you catch a whiff of anything suspicious when you walk into the property, it is a good idea to start asking some questions.

Other tell-tale signs to look out for include:

 Damaged carpets around doors

 Scratch marks on doors and furniture

 Pet hair on carpets and soft furnishings—check under cushions and along the perimeter of carpets where hair accumulates and is not picked up by vacuum cleaners

 Yellow patches on grass where pets have urinated

If you DO find evidence of pets in situ, you need to address the issue fast as pets can cause a huge amount of damage to furniture and carpets, which often costs hundreds of pounds to put right.