Worried landlords overwhelm NRLA’s helplines
Record surge in calls as landlords seek help with the new rental rules, says NRLA boss Ben Beadle.
Landlords inundated the National Residential Landlords Association’s (NRLA) helplines in the days before new rental laws came into force, as members sought reassurance on compliance, it has been revealed.
The NRLA, which represents more than 100,000 landlords, said demand had more than doubled ahead of the changes, with around 1,000 calls being received per day.
Chief Executive Ben Beadle (pictured) told the Express the organisation was “struggling to keep up” with the volume of calls ahead of the changes coming into force.
£40,000 penalties
He said that members had been feeling apprehensive about the shake-up, particularly given penalties of up to £40,000 for those who break the new rules.
“They [landlords] are fearful about the changes, and they’re fearful about the consequences of getting it wrong, and they’re looking for reassurance from the NRLA that they’re doing things right.
They’re not necessarily carping about the changes; they’re seeing the changes, and they are wanting to be good and compliant landlords, but they are fearful.”
“They’re not necessarily carping about the changes; they’re seeing the changes, and they are wanting to be good and compliant landlords, but they are fearful.”
He added: “In fairness, I think they’ve got some right to be fearful in this brave new world.
“What I hope is that the thought of the changes is going to be much worse than the reality, but for some landlords, if you hit a bad tenant and you’re not able to evict your tenant in a timely way, that’s going to be problematic, and I think that’s what investors are fearful around.”
My opinion is that most of the RRA is fine with a few exceptions (tribunals not backdating price rises is a blatent attempt to price cap). If courts could process section 8’s within a reasonable time frame of 28 days then good landlords really would have very little to fear. As it is, a return on investment on par with a fixed bond, very little capital gain and risks into the tens of thousands, it is no wonder that hundreds of landlords are leaving.