Posts with tag: Derby

Derby Proposes New Measures to Tackle Rogue Landlords

Published On: May 3, 2016 at 9:21 am

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Derby Proposes New Measures to Tackle Rogue Landlords

Derby Proposes New Measures to Tackle Rogue Landlords

Derby City Council has proposed a new scheme to help tackle rogue landlords in the area, which could be in operation by the end of the year.

Councillor Baggy Shanker says he is determined to crack down on rogue landlords in Derby and is hoping to replace the existing system, which has been run by the local authority since 2008. Shanker claims the current scheme is no longer “fit for purpose”.

If Labour succeeds in retaining control of the council following this week’s local elections, Shanker pledges to make it much harder for rogue landlords to operate in Derby, by allowing members of the public to freely access an accredited list of private landlords.

Under the present scheme, the council conducts its own research to ensure that landlords are fit and proper. However, the public cannot access this list without contacting the council directly to request feedback about a landlord, including whether or not they are accredited.

Shanker hopes the new proposed scheme would work like an MOT check for both the landlord and their property. An open register would be made available on the council’s website, similar to a Trusted Trader initiative that allows people to check if a firm or tradesperson is considered trustworthy and dependable.

The new landlord list would include health and safety checks, such as ensuring a property has a gas safety certificate, and also checking whether the council has previously received complaints about a landlord, whether they use a deposit scheme, and whether the cost of renting the property is suitable for the area it is in.

Shanker comments: “We are thinking we should work the good landlords, exclude the bad ones and then people will stop using them. Some of the initial feedback [from city landlords] is that they are up for discussing the scheme. We would start it in certain wards: Normanton, Arboretum, Sinfin, some parts of Abbey ward. We may even be able to do it in selected streets.”1

1 http://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/New-scheme-pipeline-shame-Derby-s-bad-landlords/story-29203790-detail/story.html

Investors seeing potential in Derby

Published On: June 25, 2015 at 11:42 am

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Investors are finally starting to notice the fantastic living potential in the wonderful city of Derby, according to a leading property entrepreneur.

Alongside being home to the greatest football team in England, excellent nightlife and known affectionately as ‘Derbados,’ the city has exciting scope for property development. Taking my biased-hat off, room for development has also been spotted by Graham Bates, chief executive of Eddisons Residential.

Potential

Mr Bates will today forward his plans to develop empty land in the city into a number of high-quality apartments at the yearly Derby Property Summit, held at the home of football, the iPro Stadium.

This years summit is titled, ‘Midlands: The UK’s Engine Room’ and will see a number of delegates from the regeneration sector discuss issues for growth in the East Midlands. Joining Mr Bates on the panel will be Midlands HCA executive director Christine Addison and Compendium Living managing director Dace Bullock.

‘London values make it difficult to achieve decent rental returns, so the big players are now focusing on the regions, which includes not only prime locations such as Manchester but also secondary cities like Derby, where there is big rental demand,’ commented Bates.[1]

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Rough Diamond

Bates believes that, ‘developing city living is one of the massive opportunities in Derby,’ and describes the city as, ‘a diamond in the rough, in that if you turn over a stone, you’re going to find a diamond.’ He went on to say that he is, ‘very excited about the city,’ as it brings, ‘some of the country’s best graduates in advanced engineering and has world-class employees.’[1]

‘These young people are in their 20’s-but where do they live? Many want city apartments, but there isn’t anything in Derby. That’s why I’m so excited about the city,’ he continued. ‘Derby is not the size of Manchester, so you can’t go totally crazy. But these kind of sites of perfect for 100-250 apartments.’[1]

Concluding, Bates said that the rental market as a whole is growing and believes it is not in peoples’ mindset, ‘to settle down so early. That is why renting suits them.’[1]

 

[1] http://m.derbytelegraph.co.uk/Big-players-turning-Derby-says-expert-ahead/story-26752148-detail/story.html