Posts with tag: letting agents

Government thinking of banning To Let boards in Leicester

Published On: October 21, 2016 at 10:13 am

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The Government is thinking of imposing a ban on the display of buy-to-let boards in parts of Leicester, as a result of the council’s bid to gain new powers.

Earlier in 2016, Leicester City Council submitted a bid to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to limit to display of To Let board is locations close to Leicester’s two universities.

Consultation

Now, the Government has pressed forwards with a formal consultation to allow more people to comment on the bid before any decision is reached.

Should the proposal be agreed, this would mean that formal permission would be needed in order for To Let boards to be displayed in these areas. In addition, it would give Leicester Council more powers to act against boards that are put up without necessary permission.

A council spokesperson said that in some areas around the universities, To Let boards appear almost permanently.

‘We introduced a voluntary code of practice three years ago. Unfortunately, only a handful of agents have compiled with this and we continue to see large numbers of these advertisements on display. Many students looking for property to rent now use online searches when they’re looking for property, so the boards are largely used as advertising for the agents rather than serving their proper purpose,’ the spokesperson added.[1]

Government thinking of banning To Let boards in Leicester

Government thinking of banning To Let boards in Leicester

Ban

Should the ban be imposed, agents and landlords will be required to advertise empty properties using smaller boards, put inside windows. Landlords or agents who do not comply with a potential ban could face fines of up to £2,500, or even prosecution.

If the proposals get given the green light, these measures can be introduced in the middle of 2017.

[1] https://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2016/10/government-considering-bid-to-ban-to-let-boards-in-parts-of-city

 

 

The Government’s Measures to Tackle Rogue Landlords

Published On: October 17, 2016 at 10:37 am

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The Housing Minister, Gavin Barwell, has reinforced the Government’s efforts to tackle rogue landlords.

The Government's Measures to Tackle Rogue Landlords

The Government’s Measures to Tackle Rogue Landlords

Following questions from Jon Trickett, the Shadow Lord President of the Council and Campaigns and Elections Chair, Barwell explained the Government’s measures to drive rogue landlords out of the private rental sector.

Trickett asked Barwell, who is also the Minister of State for the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), what information the department holds on the number of rogue landlords in England and each local authority area in the country.

Barwell responded: “The department does not hold this information. The Housing and Planning Act 2016 introduced a package of measures to help local authorities crack down on rogue landlords. This includes a database of rogue landlords and property agents who have been convicted of a banning order offence or have received at least two civil penalties for housing related offences. The database, which will be accessible to local authorities and DCLG, is expected to go live on 1st October 2017.”

When asked what steps he is taking to help strengthen local authority powers to deal with rogue landlords, Barwell explained: “The Government introduced a package of measures in the Housing and Planning Act 2016 to help local authorities crack down on rogue landlords.

“They comprise civil penalties of up to £30,000 as an alternative to prosecution, the expansion of Rent Repayment Orders to cover a wider range of offences, a database of rogue landlords and property agents, and banning orders to prevent serious and prolific offenders from being involved in the renting out or management of private rented properties.”

He continued: “In addition, over the past five years, we have made £12m available to a range of local authorities to help them tackle acute and complex problems associated with rogue landlords. This has resulted in the inspection of over 70,000 properties, with more than 5,000 landlords now facing further enforcement action.”

Landlords, are you ready for the changes that will soon be introduced through the Housing and Planning Act 2016? Keep up to date with your responsibilities by checking out this guide for landlords: /landlords-ready-housing-planning-act-2016/

Landlords and Letting Agents Not Up to Speed with the Law, Warns AIIC

Published On: October 11, 2016 at 10:52 am

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Landlords and letting agents are not up to speed with the law in the lettings sector, warns an industry trade body.

The Association of Independent Inventory Clerks (AIIC) reports that its members frequently receive queries about new industry regulations from landlords and letting agents, particularly laws regarding carbon monoxide and smoke alarms, and window blinds.

Landlords and Letting Agents Not Up to Speed with the Law, Warns AIIC

Landlords and Letting Agents Not Up to Speed with the Law, Warns AIIC

Since October 2015, it has been compulsory for landlords and letting agents to install smoke alarms on each floor of every rental property where someone is living, partially living or is deemed a habitable area. Bathrooms, for example, are considered habitable areas.

Landlords or their agents must also fit carbon monoxide alarms in rooms with a solid fuel-burning appliance, including wood burners and open fires.

The AIIC says that the most common queries from landlords and letting agents regarding these laws are the required location and type of alarms, as well as when they need to be tested.

This guide to fire safety will ensure that you stick to these important regulations: /guide-fire-safety-rental-property/

Additionally, the AIIC claims that its members have also received queries from landlords and letting agents relating to safety requirements for blinds and curtains.

In 2014, the British Standards Institution introduced a new set of safety requirements, aiming to address the child safety risks posed by blinds and curtains.

The rules mean that any blind installed with cords and chains must have breakaway connectors, and cord and chain safety retainers. The cords and chains must also be maintained at a minimum of 1.5 metres from floor level.

All new blinds and curtain tracks fitted by a professional must pass the new standard, meeting the necessary safety requirements and test methods.

If an accident involving a non-compliant blind or curtain track takes place in a rental property, the landlord could face prosecution from Trading Standards.

The Chair of the AIIC, Patricia Barber, is concerned: “A worryingly large number of letting agents and landlords are still completely unaware of some important new regulations according to our members, who are being asked to explain health and safety rules.

“There is no excuse for anyone in our industry to ignore regulations – this could be dangerous and very costly in the long-run.”

Barber insists that all landlords and letting agents must strive to ensure that they are clear on all their legal obligations, and has urged other trade bodies to publish as much helpful information as possible.

She adds that in the rapidly developing lettings sector, there is likely to be much more new legislation in the future, so it is important for landlords and letting agents to keep an eye on the ball.

Remember that Landlord News provides the latest information and updates for landlords, including any changes to the law.

Complaints Against High Street Estate Agents Soar by 32%

Published On: October 6, 2016 at 8:33 am

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Complaints upheld against high street estate agents have soared by 32% in the past year, according to the latest report from The Property Ombudsman (TPO).

Almost all of the complaints were resolved in favour of the complainant, resulting in record payouts for the consumer – the largest of which was over £16,000 for a lettings dispute.

Complaints Against High Street Estate Agents Soar by 32%

Complaints Against High Street Estate Agents Soar by 32%

The Ombudsman, Katrine Sporle, warns high street estate agents of the importance of a good reputation.

She says: “Overall, this is good news for consumers and redress, but not so great for the reputation of agents, who collectively paid out over £800,000 in awards. My message for those agents is simple: Pay more attention to TPO’s Codes of Practice and raise your standards.”

Last week, TPO announced that it is updating its Codes of Practice for all those in the property industry: /property-ombudsman-updates-codes-practice/

However, the report does indicate that online and hybrid estate agents continue to wage war against their high street counterparts, with many, but not all, excelling in the customer service they provide.

One of the leading online agents in the sector, eMoov.co.uk, was voted the best in the country out of over 25,000 high street and online estate agents, based on the service it provides to customers.

The Founder and CEO of eMoov, Russell Quirk, says: “It’s almost becoming an estate agency tradition that every year, TPO releases its report on the industry, and every year, the poor practices of the high street sector in particular result in an increase in complaints on the previous year.

“The high street sector is struggling in the current industry environment to say the least, and, despite being squeezed for market share by online and hybrid agents, are only getting worse, rather than pivoting with the new age of estate agency and offering a better customer experience for a fairer price.”

He continues: “Luckily, the customer now has the choice and, thanks to websites such as TrustPilot and AllAgents, can separate the good from the bad, based on reviews from real customers. That’s why at eMoov, we concentrate on how we treat the customer, not the money we gain, and our TrustPilot rating of 9.5 and our rank as number one agent out of 25,800 via AllAgents is a testament to that.

“Despite this positive evolution in the industry, selling or buying a home can occasionally be an expensive and sometimes fraught experience. The Government must now really step in and introduce licensing for all estate agents, in order to regulate against the bad guys, of which there seems to be many.”

If you’re buying or selling a property, does this news put you off using a high street estate agent?

The Property Ombudsman Updates Codes of Practice

Published On: September 28, 2016 at 8:29 am

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On 1st October 2016, The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme will issue updated versions of its Codes of Practice, in order to address emerging industry issues.

Primarily, TPO aims to eradicate the practice of portal juggling – when an agent misleads customers by removing and relisting homes on property portals, enabling them to hide price cuts and give the impression that a property is new to the market when it is not.

The Property Ombudsman Updates Codes of Practice

The Property Ombudsman Updates Codes of Practice

Other updates include:

  • Disclosure on pre-contract deposits – to clearly define the actions required to ensure all parties involved in a pre-contract deposit arrangement have agreed to the terms and conditions attached to the payment.
  • VAT on fees – to ensure that all fees and charges are quoted inclusive of VAT.
  • Disclosure of referencing – to add the provision that landlords receive all relevant facts, regardless of whether the tenant has met or failed to meet the referencing criteria.

The Chairman of TPO Board, Gerry Fitzjohn, explains: “The decision was taken to carry out a full review of the codes to reflect market developments and provide clear definitions of unfair practices. Our codes already state that all advertisements must be legal, decent, honest and truthful, but now go one step further to clarify that portal juggling, in its various forms, is misleading to consumers. Evidence of member agents found to be carrying out such poor practice could be reported to the Disciplinary and Standard’s Committee (DSC), NTSEAT and/or local Trading Standards.

“As the industry changes, it’s necessary to release new versions of our codes to ensure agents fully understand their responsibilities and adhere to best practice.”

The Ombudsman, Katrine Sporle, will apply the new Codes of Practice when reviewing consumer complaints regarding events that have occurred after 1st October 2016, to determine whether or not a TPO-registered member has breached the high level of standards required.

Issues included in the new codes will be covered in greater depth at TPO’s annual Raising Standards Conference on 12th October 2016 at the National Conference Centre, Solihull.

The working group for the updated codes included trade associations, representatives from large and small estate and letting agents, and a representative from TPO’s independent council.

All TPO Codes of Practice have been revised, including: Residential Estate Agents, Residential Letting Agents, Residential Estate Agents (Scotland), Residential Letting Agents (Scotland), Buying Agents, Property Buying Companies, Commercial and Membership Obligations.

The CEO of the HomeOwners Alliance, Paula Higgins, comments on the changes: “Buying a house is the biggest purchase of your life, and you need to know the information you have is accurate when deciding whether to view and, more importantly, how to decide and negotiate the price. Without accurate information, homebuyers are at a big disadvantage and estate agents and their clients, the home seller, are the winners. This isn’t a level playing field. We’re glad to see the regulator stepping in.”

London has almost £2bn in ‘useless’ deposits

Published On: September 27, 2016 at 10:36 am

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New research into tenancy deposits indicates that the 960,000 rental properties in London generated in excess of an eye-watering £1.9bn in deposits to landlord and agents.

The investigation from deposit-free renting solution Dlighted suggests that 97% of these will be returned at the conclusion of the tenancy agreement.

Rental Bills

These figures are obtained by taking the number of privately rented properties in the capital’s 33 boroughs. These are then multiplied by the average monthly cost of renting a property in the region-the typical cost of a deposit.

However, many landlords and letting agents asking for deposits are looking for these equivalent to six weeks rent. This means that the overall cost of the capital rental deposits could hit £3bn.

In Westminster, almost half of residents in the region privately rent. This area is worst hit, with a deposit bill of over £250m.

Kensington and Chelsea comes next, with 33% of residents renting in the borough paying a combined £136m.

Other boroughs with a high rental bill include Camden (£124m), Lambeth (£111m) and Wandsworth (£100m).

The ten London boroughs with the greatest overall estimated value of tenancy deposits were found to be:

  1. Westminster – £250m (43% of households privately rented)
    2.   Kensington and Chelsea  – £136m (33%)
    3.   Camden – £124m (31%)
    4.   Lambeth – £111m (34%)
    5.   Wandsworth – £100m (31%)
    6.    Barnet – £95m (31%)
    7.    Ealing – £90m (35%)
    8.    Brent – £82m (35%)
    9.   Tower Hamlets – £74m (32%)
    10.  Newham – £73m (43%)

[1]

London has almost £2bn in 'useless' deposits

London has almost £2bn in ‘useless’ deposits

Better spent

Long-time opponent of tenancy deposits, Ajay Jagota, of Dlighted, noted: ‘the irony is, it’s unlikely these deposits will even solve the problems they’re supposed to. Statistics show that 97% of deposits are handed back untouched at the end of their tenancies. And whether you’re renting out a property in Kensington or in Brent, it’s either unlikely you’ll go through the process of using a deposit to pay for minor damage, or that the deposit will cover the costs of major damage.’[1]

‘In the meantime that money isn’t just gathering dust, its gaining interest in the bank accounts of people it doesn’t legally belong to. The industry needs to take a good hard look at itself and consider moving to an insurance-based system like every other industry on Earth. It would mean a better deal for landlords, a better deal for renters and more money in our economy,’ he added.[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/londons-useless-2bn-rental-deposits.html