Call of the Week: Universal Credit

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Universal Credit can be a complicated topic for landlords, but fortunately our advice team is on hand to answer questions landlords may have on this topic. Since its introduction. research for the RLA published this year shows that over half of landlords (54%) with Universal Credit claiming tenants had experienced those tenants going into rent […]

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Energy Efficiency: Government rejects plans to increase cost cap to £5k

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Landlords with properties that have an energy performance rating of F or G will not be expected to pay up to £5k in order to improve the energy efficiency rating of the property, after a recommendation to raise the cap was rejected. A proposal to increase the cost cap (which is currently £3500) was put […]

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Nature, nurture and technology to boot!

admin    Uncategorized     agents

I’ve spent many years dealing with end of tenancy disputes
and delivering training sessions on negotiation, early resolution and adjudication,
and what constitutes good evidence. So when I was invited to spend time at Life
Residential offices, exploring each stage of the lettings process and
understanding how it works right from the start, I jumped at the chance.

In our very technological world, we expect processes to flow
easily with a click of a button, often forgetting that some businesses are very
customer focused and not all tasks can, or should, be done by computer.

Aristotle once said “Nature
creates nothing without a purpose”.

While technology is not ‘nature’ I believe a good lettings
business recognises that its organic purpose is to provide a quality service to
its customers. This can only be done by communicating with ‘people’ at every
stage of the tenancy process in which ever way they prefer; be it by phone, in
person, as well as by text and email.

What I really noticed was the level of skills needed to deal
with customers in a professional and an appropriately informal way.

The front office teams’ ability to negotiate with a landlord
and prospective tenant, making sure they are a good match for the property; maybe
even at the initial call stage, discovering they’re unsuited to the property,
not yet in a position to rent a property or conversely, in a desperate hurry to
rent.

The apparently seamless negotiation and consultations when
taking a new instruction, visiting the property to measure up, which I was
fortunate to experience, and generating leads on property portals, re-letting a
property, as well as making sure all the legalities and check-in inspections are
in place when the tenancy starts, is definitely not as simple as it look, with
detailed checklists for every stage.

My experience included listening to phone calls with a
landlord who wanted to use his own tenancy agreement, and his refusal to
understand the potentially unfair clauses; a landlord who chose to do his own
cleaning at the end of the tenancy, but then did not, which left the agent in a
difficult position with the next tenant. I also went to a new property instruction
to measure up and that in itself is art form all on its own! Where to measure
from and what parts of the property to include, certainly more than just
whacking out the tape measure!

During the tenancy, landlords who choose the fully managed
service can be assured that their property is being looked after with mid-term property
inspections; which I was lucky to experience. These are so important for
spotting problems that may get worse if left till the tenancy ends, most
commonly damage as a result of a small leak or condensation left unattended.

At the end of the tenancy the property management team need
to be resilient with both landlords and tenants who need to agree on the
distribution of any deposit and settle any costs for cleaning or damage. The
ability to communicate with confidence and reach a compromise is a special
skill, with the aim of avoiding a formal dispute. The issues can be complex and
while most are standard, some will be more individual; take the tenant who said
he didn’t hear the bell and refuses to pay the aborted call out fee or the
damage only found under a carefully positioned desk after the check-out
inspection had been done.

Finally let’s not forget the accounts team who have to
reconcile their books after dealing with deposits, rent, dilapidations,
contractor payments, and in the case of fully managed properties, management
fees, service charges and ground rents. Knowing a client account from a revenue
accounts is a big responsibility and making sure landlords get their rent on
time is an essential part of the service. The consequences are unimaginable for
a customer who misses a mortgage payment just because the tenant is late
paying! All this before the onerous task of chasing late payments and rent
arrears!

So what did I learn?

That using an accredited and skilled agent who will manage your property is something to really consider. A professional agent with robust processes in place, a great team of people with the experience and training to stay calm in all situations, with skills to listen, ask relevant questions and negotiate.

As you can see from the number of technical competencies required, and laws and regulations to juggle, it is still surprising that in todays’ market today it is not compulsory for all agents to be qualified.

Landlords get what they pay for. A good agent is worth their
weight in gold and those paying the cheapest fees are often short changed. A
good management agreement will specify the services an agent promises to
deliver and if the fee they charge appears to be too good to be true then it
probably is.

Ultimately in todays’ world, no business can succeed without
technology but equally important to the success is the nature and nurture of
your customer. Property is a people business and landlords and tenants will
really value great service and staff who care, communicate and consider their
needs.

I’d like to say many thanks to the teams for taking the time
out and allowing me to shadow them. It was a great and enjoyable experience.

Suzy

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Nature, nurture and technology to boot! | LandlordZONE.

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RLA launches 2019 election campaign

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The RLA’s vision for the PRS of the future has been outlined ahead of December’s General Election. Following the launch of the RLA’s six-point manifesto last week , the association has launched a new election hub for members. The manifesto outlines the key issues politicians need to address to create a fair and functioning PRS for the benefit of […]

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Complaints to UC – advice please

admin    Uncategorized     agents

S21 issued to tenant on 1st Aug. (Non payment of top ups)  The tenant applies for Universal Credit for the first time in mid Sept.

On 9 Oct I call UC to check status and yes claim had been received and yes tenant has asked that the landlord is paid direct.

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Tips on the Legalities of Letting

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Landlord responsibilities have increased tenfold over the last few years as the government has introduced a raft of new legislation designed to protect tenants. The difficulty is that the vast majority of landlords are not seasoned professionals, but rather people who purchased or inherited an extra property and use it to prop up their income.

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New government modern housebuilding champion

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Housing Minister Esther McVey MP has announced a new Champion for Modern Methods of Construction as part of the government’s drive to make the UK the global leader in housing standards.

Mark Farmer brings 30 years’ experience in construction to the role and will provide independent scrutiny and advice to the Government on how to increase the use of MMC in homebuilding.

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ARLA Propertymark publish their election manifesto

admin    Uncategorized     agents

2019 Election:

Ahead of the
publication of the main parties’ manifestos for the forthcoming
General Election, Propertymark joins the RLA in publishing its own
manifesto, calling on the new Government after the 12^th of
December to reform the housing sector.

Top of Propertymark’s hit list is the regulation of property agents, and is calling for the new Government to take forward the recommendations of the Regulation of Property Agents (RoPA) Working Group chaired by Lord Best.

Regulation, says
Propertymark, “offers huge potential to professionalise the sector
through a code of practice, licensing and qualifications.”

In addition, the new
Government should open access to the existing Database for Rogue
Landlords and Property Agents to tenants, agents and regulatory
bodies, in addition to the current situation where only local
authorities have access. The database, says Propertymark, should also
be merged with estate agents to limit rogue agents moving from
lettings into sales.

“The next
Government must launch a review of all taxes relating to private
landlords. Recent increases in taxes and charges, and legislative
changes e.g. Tenant Fees Act have resulted in a significant increase
in costs for landlords, with many no longer able to make ends meet.

“Our proposed
review would leave the new Government better placed to introduce
policies that reduce costs for those wishing to invest in the sector,
which in turn will help reduce rent for tenants, lead to longer-term
tenancies and make it more affordable for renters.”

Letting Agents and
Landlords would also benefit from the following, says Propertymark:

• Abolish the 3%
  surcharge on additional properties in order to boost the supply of
  rented housing.

• An annual
  Property ‘MOT’ should replace the expensive existing
  discretionary licensing schemes, improve enforcement, and give
  landlords a steer on how to maintain or improve conditions for
  tenants.

• Reform of the
  Court system by introducing a dedicated Housing Court which would
  cut the time taken for a landlord to regain possession of a property
  and will make the process more straightforward.

• The Local
  Housing Allowance cap must be lifted to accurately reflect the cost
  of renting, enabling recipients to obtain good quality and well
  managed accommodation. The operation of Universal Credit must be
  improved, allowing recipients to choose to pay the housing element
  direct to landlords, and for more frequent payments to assist with
  budgeting.

• Introduction of
  new regulations for short term lets such as Airbnb as without proper
  arrangements we believe they will have a bigger impact on the wider
  lettings market. With potentially lucrative returns and less
  regulatory requirements short term lets may take more out of the
  private rented sector.

• The landlord’s
  Energy Saving Allowance should be reintroduced and extended to cover
  everything in EPC recommendations. Help for the private rented
  sector with energy efficiency and climate change is vital if the
  ambitious targets set for improving energy efficiency are to be
  meaningful and achievable.

At present seven
million homes remain excluded from flood insurance coverage under the
Flood Re levy and pool system that replaced the statement of
principles between Government and insurance companies. Propertymark
is calling on the new Government to extend the Flood Re insurance
obligation to the leasehold sector and Private Rented Sector.

Other measures being
called for include:

• Exempt
  downsizers from stamp duty or give them incentives to encourage them
  to move
• Introduce a
  digital logbook for every property bought and sold
• Legislate to
  ensure developers remedy leasehold agreements containing onerous
  clauses

Download Propertymark’s full Election manifesto here

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – ARLA Propertymark publish their election manifesto | LandlordZONE.

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