National Landlords Association
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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.
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Latest property news
All 33 London councils sign up to join Mayor’s new rogue agent database
The Mayor of London's new rogue agent database, which also includes landlords, will now be supplied with details by all the capital's councils.
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Latest property news
‘Don’t blame buy-to-let landlords for first time buyer problems’
TheNational Landlords Association believes mortgage access and high deposits are real reason for first time buyer pain, not buy-to-let landlords.
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Latest property news
Labour’s pet policy is “bizarre choice” says National Landlords Association
Labour’s recent proposals to give tenants greater rights to live with their pets has been questioned by the National Landlords Association. In a podcast covering a wide range of subjects published today, its Head of Policy Chris Norris (pictured above, right) says he thought Labour’s decision to back the right to keep pets for tenants a “bizarre choice”. “I’ve got to say I despair with this sort of announcement from the Labour party,” he says. “The NLA is completely neutral when it comes to party politics but of all the things in housing that really demand attention, whether private tenants have the default right to a pet is a bizarre choice.” Chris went on to say that the policy is puzzling because current legislation and case law means consumers are protected, because landlords cannot refuse a tenant with a pet unless they can give a good reason. “You can’t put a ‘no pets’ clause into a tenancy agreement and if a tenant asks a landlord about pets and the landlord says no, they must put forward a valid argument why not,” says Chris. Deposits He also says the government’s proposals to cap deposits at four weeks will make it more…
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Movers & Shakers
NLA appoints new Chairman, Adrian Jeakings
The National Landlords Association (NLA) has appointed a new Chairman, Adrian Jeakings.
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Latest property news
Tax changes will drive 46,000 properties out of private rented sector, says NLA
The number of private rented sector landlords intending to reduce the size of their portfolio is at its highest for ten years, it has been claimed, with 46,000 properties due to be taken out of the rental market. The National Landlords Association (NLA) says 20% of its members plan to shrink the number of properties, largely because the recent tax changes for landlords and the looming tenants’ fees ban are “undermining the viability of many landlords’ businesses”. Research firm Capital Economics were commissioned by the NLA to look into the recent tax changes, which reveal that landlords are set to lose £400m from the changes, which come into full effect in 2020. The research also reveals that ‘moderate earner’ landlords will soon pay “significantly higher taxes” than those who earn comparable incomes through other means. Private rented sector The NLA’s CEO Richard Lambert (pictured, left) says the government’s recent tax assault on private landlords is clearly taking its toll and that “the Government needs to look at the impact these policies will have on the PRS”. Landlords have recently had several tax allowances rolled back including an automatic wear and tear allowance and tax relief on mortgage interest payments, and…
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Latest property news
National Landlords Association hires former publishing boss to lead expansion
The National Landlords Association (NLA) says it has added 42,000 landlords to the total number it helps, an increase from 39,000 to 81,000, over the past five years. Its announcement comes as a new Chairman is revealed – former Archant magazine CEO Adrian Jeakings (pictured, right) who replaces outgoing role holder Carolyn Uphill (pictured, below). The organisation says Carolyn has overseen a significant expansion of the NLA, including the addition of 16,000 paying members to its landlord client list. “The private rented sector has witnessed a lot of change over the last five years,” she says. “Chairing the organisation and watching it grow and develop in such turbulent circumstances has had its challenges, but has been a privilege and an honour.” Adrian joined the NLA’s board of directors in June last year as a non-exec and, as well as his publishing experience, has also worked at the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) and as President of the Newspaper Society and Chairman of the News Media Association. “Carolyn has been a fantastic Chairman, and the growth of the NLA during her tenure has been great to see,” he says. “I’d like to thank her for the all her hard work, and…
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Features
Whisper it quietly, but landlords need all the help they can get!
It may just be a blip, but tough times are ahead and landlords need professional support.
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Latest property news
More landlords using letting agents, research shows
The doom mongers who said escalating costs for landlords created by the recent tax squeeze and the looming letting fees ban would encourage more to self-manage appear to be wrong. Research by the National Landlords Association (NLA) among property investors has revealed that more landlords are now using agents than last year, particularly in outer London, the South East and Wales. Just over 60% of the 800 property investors it quizzed said they currently use a letting agent, an increase of seven percent when compared to the final quarter of 2016. Annual increase The NLA said this is an unusual increase because the proportion of landlords who use agents has remained steady in recent years, rising by only one percent between 2014 and 2016 to 54%. This has created a corresponding drop in the number of those who self-manage their properties, which has slumped by 10% since the end of last year. “As landlords plan ahead to compensate for the tax changes over the next few years we would expect to see the number who use an agent to slowly fall away, and for more to start considering whether they are able to manage their properties themselves,” says Richard Lambert, CEO…
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Housing Market
NLA rebuffs Shelter’s rogue landlords report
The National Landlords Association (NLA) has defended the private rented sector’s track record after a ‘rogue landlords report’ was released over the weekend by housing charity Shelter. It revealed that more than a million tenants in the UK have suffered illegal landlord activity over the past 12 months. The research, which was conducted among 3,250 people by YouGov, revealed that abuses include entering a property without tenant permission, threatening behaviour or harassment, disconnection of utility supplies or changing of locks without good reason, not lodging deposits correctly as well as racial, gender or nationality-based discrimination. But Richard Lambert, CEO of the NLA, says much of the blame for this lies at the feet of councils who are not enforcing the relevant laws or prosecuting landlords who break them which, he says, means “it’s way too easy for the unscrupulous to get away with this kind of behaviour”. “These [Shelter] figures highlight serious issues that are simply unacceptable but our research with tenants shows that 82 per cent say they are happy with their current landlord. Furthermore, Shelter’s figures show the vast majority of landlords to be law abiding.” Lambert also clearly believes that Shelter should also be tackling the problem of abusive…
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