by Christopher Browne, exclusively for Property Secrets

Caring, compassionate and considerate.

If every landlord and tenant had these qualities there'd be no rent disputes or eviction orders and we could all look forward to decades of peaceful, problem-free letting.

Imagine my surprise then when a tenant sent me an email saying I too was the thoughtful sort. No, her view wasn't based on a few nights of passion or even the early stages of a love affair, she was merely grateful that I'd managed to cope with some flat-owners whose noisy habits had been giving her sleepless nights.

Most landlords would have done the same - to protect their tenants and to preserve their future cashflows. Touchy-feely we may not be but we landlords like to do our bit when our tenants are being woken in the small hours by tracks from 'Big Bill Beefeater and the Overtones'.