letting agents
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Features
Legal advice: How to recover rent arrears
Sheila Manchester spoke to Danielle Hughes, Solicitor in The Dispute Resolution Team at Kirwans law firm to find the best ways for letting agents and landlords to legally deal with non-paying tenants.
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Latest property news
Letting agents under attack again
“Estate agents are really roofless! We all hate estate agents, now here’s another reason,” says a flatsharing website
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Latest property news
New law for lettings agents in Wales
A new registration and licensing system for landlords and lettings agents was introduced in Wales this week, as part of the Rent Smart Wales initiative. Under the new law, which came into play on Monday, with a view to improve letting and management standards for people who rent private accommodation in Wales,landlords and agents are now required to take part in a new registration and licensing scheme, which forms a key part of The Housing (Wales) Act 2014. Landlords who need to register, and landlords and agents who need to become licensed, can now register and apply for a licence. They have 12 months from 23rdNovember 2015 in which to comply with the new legislation. During this first year there will be a focus on raising awareness of the new requirements and encouraging compliance. This new law sees Wales become the first country in the UK where managing landlords and agents are obliged to obtain a new type of licence as well as undertake training to ensure they are aware of their rights and responsibilities. The new Rent Smart Wales scheme replaces the previous voluntary Landlord Accreditation Wales initiative, which was operated by Cardiff Council on behalf of all local…
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Housing Market
One in three letting agents report rent increases
A higher number of letting agents witnessed rents increase between May and June, newly released figures from the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) has shown. According to the data, 36 per cent of letting agents that are members of ARLA reported that rents rose month-on-month – the highest number since tracking began. Letting agents in the East Midlands saw the highest number of gains, with 48 per cent of ARLA agents reporting a rise. In contrast, just 17 per cent of agents in Wales saw a hike in the monthly rent. The report suggested that rents are being forced higher by an ongoing supply-demand imbalance, particularly in London where it states that “worryingly” there were only 118 rental properties managed in June, compared to 134 in May – a fall of 12 per cent. “It is worrying to see so many agents reporting an increase in the cost of rent over the last six months, especially considering so many people rent as a way to bridge the gap whilst they save to get onto the property ladder,” said David Cox (left), Managing Director, ARLA. He added, “Findings like this continue to prove that the housing crisis isn’t going to…
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Latest property news
Regulation of the letting agents needed, says CEO
The newly elected Conservative Government should make the regulation of letting agents a priority in a bid to deal with unscrupulous letting agencies and help improve standards in the industry, according to Leaders’ Chief Executive, Paul Weller. Mr Weller (left) believes that millions of landlords and tenants in the private rented sector (PRS) would prosper from the formal regulation of letting agents. He said, “More people and families than ever before now use the PRS and the services of letting agents. Yet the vast majority are unaware that letting agents are not regulated by the Government and that anyone can set up a letting agency, with no experience, knowledge of lettings law or client money protection in place. “Letting agents can hold hundreds of thousands of pounds in rent which they are supposed to protect. But without regulation, there is no way to enforce this and there have been countless cases of letting firms losing their clients’ money, using it for their own ends, or completely disappearing with it, leaving landlords and tenants badly out of pocket. Too many people have suffered at the hands of agents like this, as well as incompetent and unscrupulous agents who fail to provide…
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Guest Blogs
Avoiding the void
Rental voids are an eternal worry for landlords everywhere. In many cases, the amount of money lost through a void period can be the difference between a landlord making a gain or a loss from their rental income. Similarly, for many property investors an inconsistent flow of rental income caused by extended void periods can result in a struggle to make mortgage payments. With a one month rental void accounting for over 8 per cent of a landlord’s annual rental income, there can be no doubt that minimising the amount of time a property lies void is an essential priority for landlords, particularly in a hostile economic climate. The good news is that with rental demand outstripping supply, landlords have the opportunity to significantly reduce the amount of time that their property sits empty. Monitoring the local market for demand and supply – and comparative rents, a bit of pro-active advertising, asking for, and listening to feedback are all routes to success. However, while many landlords feel that they can look after their investments perfectly well themselves, these ‘tasks’ can be challenging for landlords to effectively manage without the correct resources. So it makes sense for them to use a…
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