NALS
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Features
Lettings fees: cap or outright ban?
The push to ban lettings fees to tenants is gathering momentum, but Isobel Thomson, Chief Executive, National Approved Letting Scheme (NALS) says that a cap would be a better solution.
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NALS calls for impartial report into lettings market
National Approved Letting Scheme (NALS) CEO ex Isobel Thomson (pictured) has criticised the government’s proposed ban on tenant lettings fees and called for an impartial report by the Competition and Market Authority (CMA) into the lettings market. Her comments follow the CMA’s recent recommendations for the legal services sector, which after a year-long investigation found that lawyers need to be more transparent about pricing and join a redress scheme, legal requirements that agents must already meet. “Despite the findings of the report, which calls for more transparency, the legal industry has been allowed to continue without the same level of government intervention the lettings industry will face with a ban on fees,” she says. “The proposed ban is based on limited research and anecdotal evidence, as well as a lack of understanding of the likely consumer detriment that will be caused by removing payment for the services the agent provides. “We believe more impartial information is crucial in advance of taking such a drastic measure as a ban. “Given the government’s focus on improving the experience for the consumer across a number of sectors, and the importance of the private rented sector, NALS believe the CMA is best placed to…
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Controversial rental property licensing scheme is ‘raising standards’, it is claimed
Liverpool’s citywide rental property licensing scheme is helping improve standards within the city just seven months after it began, Liverpool City Council has claimed. It says anti-social behaviour in ‘targeted’ streets has dropped following the introduction of the scheme, which requires landlords or their agents to manage anti-social behaviour within the properties. Errants tenants have to be given warnings about their conduct and, where necessary, licence holders must start legal proceedings against them or end their tenancies. The scheme has attracted several critics, who claim that the licence application form is in breach of the Data Protection Act and that landlords who join the scheme can be prosecuted for non-compliance in relatively grey areas of responsibility, particularly when dealing with anti-social behaviour, and that it requires landlords agents to ‘spy’ on tenants. The most vocal of these is Larry Sweeney who, in conjunction with website Property118.com, has attacked the ‘sham scheme’ for its failings including its rules on evictions. Sweeney claims the scheme’s rules contravene Section 33 of the Deregulation Act 2015 concerning the period after which a Section 21 notice can be served. “The scheme has drawn a lot of comment and challenges but taking the wider view of different stakeholders, early evidence…
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Bill banning tenant fees gives Minister room to exempt
The National Approved Letting Scheme (NALS) says that the proposed total ban on fees charged by letting agents to tenants may be subject to exemptions following an amendment to the Renters’ Rights Bill currently passing through the Lords. The amendment, which was published on Friday by the legislation’s sponsor, Baroness Grender (pictured, left), said that although a total ban on fees was being sought, she had introduced an amendment to to replace the previous prescriptive list that she says would have led to “new names for charges to get round it” and enable the Secretary of State to allow certain kinds of fees. “If evidence emerges of services in respect of which there is value to the tenant in charging a particular fee, this can be done”, she said. “I do not anticipate any such fees but my new amendment allows for the possibility, if concrete evidence was indeed found that a fee for a specific service would be in the best interest of the tenant in some way”. NALS believes this is significant development because it appears to recognise the legitimate charging of reasonable fees by letting agents setting up tenancies. “This amendment is a welcome one. NALS has long campaigned…
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NALS Fair Fees Forum meets to head off a ban
The Fair Fees Forum set up last month by the National Approved Letting Scheme (NALS) met yesterday for the first time to consider the contentious issue of excessive fees charged to tenants by agents. Many in the industry are hoping the consensus it will built can head off an outright ban on tenant fees by replacing it with a fees cap. It was quite a meeting of minds. Every interest group was invited including those from the lettings industry, two of the redress schemes and the Department for Communities and Local Government. Representatives from trading standards and tenant groups such as Crisis and Shelter were also at the ‘first of its kind’ gathering, which NALS hopes will lead to consensus among the different groups on a ‘fair fees charter’. Agents represented at the meeting included Belvoir, Chestertons, Foxtons, Hunters, Leaders, Northwood, Portico, Savills, Spicerhaart and Winkworth, all of whom made up an ‘agent group’ at the day’s proceedings. The Residential Landlords Association also had representatives at the meeting. The agent group agreed unanimously on the need for ‘fair, justifiable and transparent fees’ and that excessive fees should be curbed. But they also made it clear that agents should be able to…
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NLA takes Housing Minister to task over buy-to-let tax “tosh”
Changes due to be made to the UK’s buy-to-let tax rules will push over 400,000 basic-rate landlords into a higher tax bracket, says the National Landlords Association (NLA). This is more than the ‘small’ number the government said would be affected by the changes, which severely reduce the mortgage interest payments and other finance related costs landlords have been able, until recently, to deduct from their business costs before declaring their taxable income. NLA chief executive Richard Lambert has described the government’s claims that the changes will have a low impact as “complete tosh” and has met with Housing Minister Gavin Barwell to discuss the problem. Lambert urged the minister to consider amending the rules to reduce the impact on landlords and that this could be “easily achieved by applying the rules to only new loans written after April 2017”. “Unless this happens, landlords will face an impossible decision of whether to increase rents and cause misery for their tenants, or to sell-up, and force their tenants to find a new home,” he says. Landlords operating on only small profit margins are likely to be the ones most worried by the tax changes, which the NLA estimates will increase the…
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Features
Changing perceptions
Let’s create a more positive private rented sector, says Isobel Thomson, Chief Executive, National Approved Letting Scheme (NALS)
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Features
The benefits of belonging
It is perfectly possible to run a property business without belonging to a professional or trade body, however, if you take the truly independent road, just how much support and inspiration are you missing out on?
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Root out rogue letting agents
NALS launches a toolkit to raise standards in the Private Rented Sector.
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