London council calls for ban on lettings boards

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Camden Council has outlined plans to ban all ‘to let’ signs in the borough. The Council have decided to apply for the ban after a consultation on the proposals that was run earlier this year revealed that 89% of respondents backed plans for a borough-wide ban. According to the council, the boards have caused 1,000 […]

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No change to Brexit – No change to Bank Base Rate

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There was no Monetary Policy Committee vote in October until today, supposedly post Brexit. Unsurprisingly the MPC voted by 7 to 2 to maintain the Bank rate at 0.75%.

The next MPC meeting is now due post general election on the 19th of December.

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3-bed end town-houses with yields of up to 6.7%

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Devonshire Gardens; a collection of 3-bed end town-houses starting at only £121,396 and with predicted yields of up to 6.7%.

Situated in the heart of Blackpool, Devonshire Gardens is a mixed development of 1, 2, 3, 4 &

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Type of bedroom door locks in HMOs

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This is probably a bit of a silly question, but I very new the HMO game and I am refurbishing my property myself (being new to refurbishing a property as well)

My question is about bedroom door locks.

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Controlling moisture and condensation in homes

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Condensation and
mould:

This time of year,
as the temperature drops, both new homes and old homes are
susceptible to the formation of condensation and unsightly mould: new
homes because they are effectively a sealed box, and old homes
because they often lack effective wall insulation.

Internal moisture
build-up is a particular problem for landlords because tenants often
complain to the landlord when they see black mould, with little
understanding of the cause – they blame the building (landlord)
when more often than not they are not maintaining a living / moisture
balance.

Moisture balance

Moisture is
something that’s a part of living in a home, but it needs to be
carefully controlled to achieve a balance which maintains comfort and
good health.

A proper
understanding of what causes moisture build-up and condensation goes
a long way to minimising its harmful effects.

It’s almost
impossible to elimination all signs of condensation however small,
even in a new home. But there are certain things that are complete No
Nos when it comes to condensation, and sometimes landlords must be
prepared to educate their tenants about this.

There are three main causes of moisture build up inside a home:

1. From
   construction / renovation work where plaster and screeds need time
   to dry out properly.
2. From leaks and
   spills, where water enters the fabric of the building from bust
   pipes, flooding, overflowing baths and showers and leaking washing
   machines etc
3. Moisture
   generated by the occupants from everyday living which can generate
   large amounts of moisture. The amount will vary depending on
   lifestyles, household size and time of year.

Points one and two
are less common, but point three is prevalent in most homes, so
householders need to be informed as to the best way to deal with
this.

A New Moisture
Guide

A New guide from the
UK Centre for Moisture in Buildings (UKCMB), supported by the NHBC
Foundation, explains where moisture comes from and identifies actions
that can be taken by occupiers to maintain the right moisture balance
in a home.

The guide explains
why moisture balance is important, how to identify moisture
generation and what to do to minimise excess moisture and its harmful
effects.

This UKCMB guide
highlights good practice to ensure that occupiers achieve a correct
moisture balance in the home, including:

• keeping the
  home adequately heated in cool or cold weather – a minimum of 18
  degrees at all times should be maintained. This is one of the main
  reasons why tenanted properties often suffer from black mould
  build-up

• keeping trickle
  vents open to create minimal ventilation
• opening windows
  when and where excess moisture is generated
• making sure
  that extractor fans and cooker hoods are working and used when
  showering and cooking – the two main sources of moisture
  generation – extract the moisture at source and it cannot affect
  the rest of the home
• avoiding drying
  clothes on radiators and anywhere else internally, and make sure
  that tumble dryers have a proper extraction system
• moist air is
  warm air, so it rises to the highest points in the property, where
  most condensation and mould will appear – bedrooms and bathrooms.

• Keep rooms
  clutter free to allow air movement within and between rooms.

The guide includes a
moisture calculator that enables one to estimate a level of moisture
generation and a video from UKCMB: Moisture guidance all for existing
homeowners, landlords and tenants.

Main
moisture-generating activities in homes

A table compares 4
different types of household and their typical daily activities and
shows average moisture amounts generated each year.

A flowchart helps
the occupant identify any issues resulting from excess moisture in
the home with an easy step-by-step process with guidance.

Richard Smith, Head
of Standards, Innovation & Research at NHBC, say:

“This guide from
UKCMB highlights the importance of moisture control in homes and of
ensuring homeowners have all the knowledge and tools available to
them to ensure a healthy home. NHBC Foundation are delighted to
support UKCMB in the production of this publication.”

Moisture in new homes: a guide for occupants

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Controlling moisture and condensation in homes | LandlordZONE.

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Call of the Week: Universal Credit

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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

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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!

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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

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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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