Isobel Thomson

  • Latest property news
    Latest property news

    Shock claim: 75% of HMO properties in London operate outside the law

    Over 130,000 unlicensed properties in London and, says Isobel Thomson CEO, Safeagent says the system is not fit for purpose.

    Read More »
  • Latest property news
    Latest property news

    Council backs down over licensing scheme after property industry campaign

    Councils will have to be more careful how they introduce borough-wide additional licensing schemes following a legal challenge by Safeagent and the RLA over a scheme in Hounslow.

    Read More »
  • Latest property newsLink to ROPA news
    Latest property news

    Worried by ROPA? Don’t panic – more regulation is good for professionals

    Industry leaders support an initiative to create a stronger property industry that will exclude rogue operators.

    Read More »
  • Latest property news
    Latest property news

    Goodbye NALS, hello Safeagent! Rental sector scheme changes name

    The private rental sector organisation says it wants to be the key agent accreditation scheme for lettings and management agents, now branded 'Safeagent'.

    Read More »
  • Latest property news
    Latest property news

    NALS says Shelter campaign to expose discriminatory letting agents is ’emotive conjecture’

    NALS has heavily criticised the Shelter/NHF campaign to expose lettings agents who discriminate against housing benefit tenants.

    Read More »
  • Features
    Features

    Do the property industry associations do a good job?

    If ever there was a time the property industry needed someone to fight its corner - but are the punches being thrown effectively?

    Read More »
  • Latest property news
    Latest property news

    Ombudsman Services withdraws from property market to develop “new model” for housing

    The provision of redress schemes within the industry looks to be in trouble after one of the three government-approved ombudsman services announced today that it would be pulling out of the property sector. This means that the estate, letting and managing agents currently signed up to Ombudsman Services now have until August 6th to find a new provider. Ombudsman Services, which is based in Warrington and offers complaint handling services across several other sectors including removals, media, communications, energy and copyright, says it no longer wants to offer a “broken solution to a broken market”. But the organisation, rather than exiting the sector entirely, says it is to develop a “new model” for redress in housing. The move appears to be a pre-emptive strike to distance itself from the existing complaints handling structure that operates within the property sector, and to position itself as the next ‘housing ombudsman’ that the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is preparing to establish this Spring. Ombudsman Services says the property industry should copy the finance and energy sectors and feature a single regulator backed by one ombudsman. It is now to quiz consumers on what they want from an ombudsman service…

    Read More »
  • Latest property news
    Latest property news

    Rising cost of rental property licensing schemes revealed

    In November last year The Negotiator revealed that the number of selective licensing schemes in the UK had swollen to 533 with a further 25 in consultation. But now the ‘lottery’ of fees that landlords face has also been highlighted, this time by the National Approved Lettings Scheme (NALS). Based on research it commissioned from independent information service London Property Licensing, NALS reveals the costs faced by many landlords in the capital to license their properties. It says these rising costs will force even more landlords out of the market, causing more pain for agents. For example, NALS says the licensing fees for a three storey House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) with five unrelated occupants can range from £125 in the City of London to £2,500 within Lewisham. Higher fees Faced with dwindling central government funding, councils also appear to be ramping up their licensing fees both for HMOs and selective ‘all property’ schemes. The London Property Licensing data reveals that in 23 of London’s 33 boroughs licensing fees are over £1,000 for HMOs. Also, average fees have climbed every year since 2014 and the average cost has risen by 12.9 per cent in 2016/17 and a further 5 per…

    Read More »
  • Latest property news
    Latest property news

    Letting fees ban will NOT become law until at least Spring 2019

    The recently-renamed Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG ) does not expect the letting fees ban to come into force until Spring 2019, it has confirmed. In written evidence made this week to both the Select Committee hearings that scrutinised the draft legislation, and to the National Approved Letting Scheme (NALS), MHCLG has revealed that it will be at least 15 months before letting agents and landlords will no longer be able to charge fees to tenants. Introduced by Sajid Javid in November last year, the draft legislation was given a thorough savaging by experts during the hearing on Monday and will now go to a third reading in the House of Commons before moving to the Lords. letting fees ban MPs were told at the hearing by experts from Shelter and the University of York’s Centre for Housing Policy that a letting fees ban could easily lead to higher rents as banned fees were added by landlords to the rent over the length of each tenancy, and also reduce the quality of rented accommodation as landlords tightened their purse strings. “We’re pleased to see more clarity on the timetable for implementation of the ban – it’s much…

    Read More »
  • Latest property news
    Latest property news

    Trading Standards fine London lettings agents £370,000 in three months

    Letting agents in London who were hoping Trading Standards would ease off investigating those who don’t display their fees properly as the fees ban looms have been in for a nasty shock. Over the past three months letting agents in the capital have been fined £370,000 by the city’s 15 trading standards offices, it has been revealed. The fines are part of a big push by the capital-wide organisation that coordinates the policing of businesses in the city, London Trading Standards, to crack down on “rogue letting agents who flout the law”. The shocking figures highlighting the level of fines levied on letting agents have been released to coincide with a week-long campaign of activity by the organisation, which kicked off on Monday highlighting knife crime, followed by lettings and property management firms yesterday. Fees display London Trading Standards is focussing largely on agents who don’t display their fees clearly and issuing fines of up to £5,000 to those who transgress “to improve the rental experience for customers”. Its most high-profile scalp was earlier this month when Camden Council’s trading standards department won an appeal in the Upper Tier Tribunal against Foxtons using the term ‘administration fees’, which led to…

    Read More »
Back to top button