Tag Archives: Current News

22Jul 2011

Current Property News: BBC Ignore the law – again!

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By Steve Roulstone

There are times when you just cannot avoid reports on TV that paint a totally false picture, even when you are not looking for it and last Saturday morning as a crowning example of just one of these times. All I was doing was enjoying my breakfast at the start of a long weekend’s holiday and as is my usual routine, catching up with the early news at the same time.  So I was watching BBC Breakfast news (although I do see this programme becoming more of a magazine than a true news programme) when once again an ‘expert’ was being asked for his opinion on this month’s attack at the rental market, increasing rents and the effect on the Tenant under contract.

 Same old same old!

I must say I do get entirely sick of the way the BBC constantly appear to ‘have a go’ at our market, not just because I am over protective, which would be true anyway, but because they never tell the whole story and always leave these sound bites (because that is what they, not a subject debated, just two minutes of perceived problems) with the impression where our market is concerned that it is unfair, badly managed and led by greedy property owners!

Ignoring the law.

The impression left for those who are not aware, is that rents are increasing in many areas of the Country and Tenants already in property are being asked to pay ever increasing rents or being thrown out! Of course this is just not the case. The Housing Acts of the last thirty years have ensured that a legal framework exists to allow increases and to protect the Tenant from ever increasing rents. This is because Landlords are only allowed to increase rents once every twelve months and then by notice, ensuring that if the rent is too high for the sitting Tenant (something that every Landlord I know tries to avoid, because as was equally ignored by the report, Landlords do not like down times when property sits empty) they have sufficient notice to find an alternative. This way Landlords can ensure the rent received is in line with current rates (Thought; if increases were not allowed, would the BBC bother to report on how Landlords are trapped when Mortgage rates increase? Somehow I doubt it!!) and Tenants know they have twelve months between increases. It is worth pointing out, that this notice period is longer than home owners get when mortgage rates increase!

Does the BBC care?

I have to wonder just how many other industries are treated in the same manner, because the damage done by such powerful organisations in this type of reporting is immeasurable. I would like to feel that through the pages of this Blog I can put the record straight but I could never hope to reach the same numbers as the BBC, even in my wildest dreams! No doubt other industries get treated in the same way, but what really put the top hat on this item was that the ‘expert’ was nothing to do with either our industry or the housing market, rather their own in house financial advisor. Now this to me just confirms that they do not care, for if they had done the right thing and actually spoken to someone who knew the industry, the whole article would have been thrown out, as the actual methods as highlighted above would have thrown the whole concept of ill-treated tenants out of the water! So in conclusion, to me at least, it is obvious that the BBC actually do not care, as long as they have what they believe to be a ‘story’ with a point, truth, facts and of course by default ‘The Law’ are not important to the BBC!

04Jul 2011

Current Property News: Increased Renting demands pays dividends for Landlords.

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By Steve Roulstone

I have looked at three pieces of news this morning, all surrounding the property market and I believe all good, proving yet again that the rental property market continues to be positive in a period of time even for the current downturn we are experiencing that has seen nothing but negative news on closures, redundancies and negative forecasts. Other items I read this morning even hinted that ‘savvy’ business people might continue to look to the property market as a better investment than the more traditional stock and finance markets.

Squatting made illegal.

The really interesting point about the news released by the Government recently, is the amount of reporting that defends both the action of squatting and the need for squatters making this bad news for the public in general, but I would like to pick on two points that the majority of commentators have missed. Firstly, it is totally inappropriate to say that Squatters in some way make use of empty property and are therefore unlocking living space for those without a home of their own. This is just a way of turning the eye from the reality of the fact that they have no legal standing in occupying any home they choose, empty or not! I am not in disagreement that empty property could be better used, but only with the acceptance, knowledge or permission of the owner. I do not need to point out the damage caused to owners who are unable to utilise their property because of somebody squatting.  Secondly, all this does, is continue to take pressure of local Councils. This is where any move to utilise property that is truly left unused, as the Government and therefore local Council need to be the vehicle given the power to unlock property that is left empty long term, and is genuinely available to ease our housing needs. One further point for the writer, it is at least Mr Cameron and the words Prime Minister are suffixed by a capital letter!

Gazumping on the increase.

There is no doubt that rents are on the increase, but we are not seeing any great evidence of Gazumping outside of major cities, but before anybody starts to jump up and down about Landlords making profit, two points again that need to be confirmed. It is not often that I comment that we are in a similar position to Estate Agents as letting Agents, but it needs to be confirmed, that we are duty bound to advise our Landlords if a better offer for a property is received, just as Estate Agents would do for their customers, even more so because our contract with our Landlords gives us a duty of responsibility to comply with and therefore we have no choice but to both advise and react to our customers wishes. But holdfast! These were the same Landlords who were faceing offers on property below the asking price only two years ago and this current trend is only really redressing the balance from that period of rent reduction.

Renting numbers still increasing.

This is of course good news and confirms that by the end of this year, the percentage of rented property in the Private sector in the UK will have increased to something close to 20% and overtaken the Public sector at the same time. The issue that jumped out of this report at me was the mention of avoiding rogue agents in the links. Sorry to be a bore, but how simple would that job be if the Government were to protect this now significant and continually increasing sector, by introducing licensed Agents! (Now where have I heard that before?) For me, as a Professional who spends most of his time pushing the message that qualified Letting Agents are both the Tenants and Landlords best way of managing and finding property, allow me to add one more reason to the case: One of the main reasons we have an increase at present is because the Sale market is unable to move property for owners who need to move on and the rental market provides the outlet owners need. But by default, the Estate Agents who now have a captive audience are the beneficiaries of this business. My comment to owners is that they should try at least one qualified specialist Letting Agent. By doing so, you should be amazed just how knowledgeable they are and therefore better protected and prepared you will be in the rental market! This is what being trained in our market means and only by speaking with a specialist office will you find out for yourself what that difference means.

24Jun 2011

Current Property News: Castle Blog celebrates 1st year Anniversary!

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By Steve Roulstone

It is now a year ago that we started the Castle Estates Blog and I am pleased to say that we continue to attract comment and contributions from the Industry with two new contributors due in the next month. We have provided blogs under several headings during this time, covering Current Property News – Property Landlord advice – Rental Issues and of course as a Franchising organisation – Franchising News.

Current Property News   

We have used this heading to concentrate on breaking news items which over the last year has mainly involved Industry Legislation (and my ongoing belief that we need the Government to introduce both a registration scheme for both Landlords and Letting agents) The Housing Market and Mortgages, legal cases surrounding our Industry (not forgetting announcments such as this!) as well as those times when high profile people within the Lettings Industry have reported, mainly on the BBC, who, because of their apparent dislike of the Housing market cannot wait to deliver any news item in a negative way – as they say, bad news pays!

Property Landlord advice.

In this section, mainly based upon advice and information for Landlords, we have reported on bad and good trends, given advice on HMO’s as well as Resident Landlords, as well as advice on differing scenarios that present themselves as Landlord choices, such as furnished property, Excluded rooms and Garages. Property presentation issues such as gardens and decoration, not forgetting the two most important rooms in any house, the bathroom and kitchen!

Rental Issues.

This heading has been used to give information and hopefully clarity over perceived problems within the Industry through the eyes of the Tenants. I believe the area that needs clarifying above all others is the role (legal) of the Agent and how we stand in law in delivering a duty of responsibility to our Landlords, but a duty of care to our Tenants and how this difference manifests itself in our day to day role and through the contracts we employ. In doing so we have reported on notice periods and the reasons why, holding rented property for Tenants and explaining the effect of void periods to Landlords.

Franchise news

This has been our vehicle to get news out there about how the market is changing, the advantages of Franchising and how we see them, as well as were individuals can benefit from networks such as ours. It has also been the heading that we have shared with others in our Industry where our opinion has relevance to the message that they have been passing on to their readers.

Visitors and the year to come.

There have been many, many, more subjects covered in the well over 100 blogs we have posted on this site, too many topics to list sensibly, but we will continue to write about our industry, the housing market and legislation that effects the industry in the same vein over the coming year, with as already promised more contributors from all sections of our industry, joining the writers we already have from the Insurance markets, Training and Legal advice circles as well as Professions from within the Franchising Market. Thank-you for looking in, please continue to tell your friends!

08Jun 2011

Property Landlord advice: Length of Tenancy under BBC scrutiny.

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By Steve Roulstone

On Saturday morning I sat eating my Toast and Marmalade and was told during a report on the BBC 24 Hour News channel, that agreements for Tenants are six months long and that any Tenant who was in a property for longer than two years effectively became a squatter and could not be moved out! Well after I recovered from what I thought had been a tremendous shift in the legislation being introduced by the forthcoming Localism Bill I realised once again that here was my Industry being discussed on a National prime time News programme and once again the information being presented was at the very least misinformed if not just plain wrong!

Please check your facts.

It is a long term complaint of mine, that by allowing people to phone or e-mail or text in to News programmes, that the comments and therefore air time that is given to some outlandish views is so miss-representative of what the majority think and believe that it is treating the majority views with disrespect and paints such a false picture of whatever topic is being discussed as to be totally miss-leading of the nations views. But here we have a topic that I know about being given the same treatment by the chosen speakers who were given plenty of time to get the facts totally wrong.

Let’s put the record straight.

Firstly, that a Tenant who has been in a property for two years is as good as a squatter! Unbelievable! All I can say is if that was the Gentleman’s experience, then he needs to get better advice, because as long as the correct agreement is used to best suit the situation, then no matter if a Tenant has been in residence for ten years, both Landlord and Tenant rights remain the same. In fact, if the Landlord lived in the house as their main residence then with the correct agreement, when it is time for the Landlord to give notice, again providing that the notice is issued correctly should for some reason the Tenants not move out, which they would 999 times out of 1000 then the courts have no say in the matter and must award the property back to the Landlord.

Tenants can only stay six months?

Well forgive me but here is a situation which best serves both parties, because in order to ensure the Tenant is responsible in their actions and that the Tenant enjoys living at the property, an initial six months is just what is required, but that is not the end of it! I myself have just moved in to a property on a five year deal, which, with the correct clauses for bad health etc, is exactly what my wife and I wish for. It also suits the Tenant and with reason, for it should always be the case that length of Tenancy is for negotiation between the Tenant and the Landlord. But more interestingly, as a Letting Agent in my twelfth year of running an Agency, it is the Tenant who will always want the lesser time, indeed most stay in property under a periodic agreement after the initial period, which gives them the right to leave at short notice, because it suits their needs better!

Professional judgement!

Once again I see a situation that would have been presented in such a better manner if Professional Agents had been introduced to the situation (and it is a pity that once again I do not see our Industry professional bodies flying the flag for Letting Agents) at least the facts would have been correct, but perhaps it is because the powers that be at the BBC already know that the story would have much shorter legs, if a voice of common sense and reason was introduced to these sound bite discussions, which continue to pour confusion and fear on the housing market. What a pity that those who listened will probably consider the Lettings market something to be avoided. Instead of probably frightening house owners who cannot sell at present, they could have been re-assured that the rental market is a viable proposition and a possible answer to the lack of activity at a time when three times the normal number of properties than normally enter our market year on year are currently being rented throughout the UK!

01Jun 2011

Current property News: 95% Mortgage starts to turn the key.

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By Steve Roulstone

We have seen several items in the press yesterday about the 95% mortgage starting to appear again and of course it has received mixed reviews. However the BBC report on Radio 2 during the lunchtime Jeremy Vine show hosted by Vanessa Feltz was nothing more than an attempt to get as many negative comments about the Banking world from the general public and lacked any real depth, however they did attract several sensible comments about how if housing sales are to start to improve again, a move to ease the deposit burden was bound to be the sensible solution.

Renting options.

The show focused on the options available to those who could not afford to purchase and it was nice to hear one commentator point out that renting is a perfectly viable and acceptable option now and certainly offers a plentiful and varied option of places to set up home (I say this as a Tenant myself) and indeed this same topic was discussed during the finance slot on BBC Breakfast show yesterday.  It is a fact that the rental market has shown consistent growth in demand over the last two years and I have commented many times through these pages that our market is very healthy at present.

Mortgage options.

Now to me these two facts point clearly to the need for better mortgages for Landlords as a way of easing the market and supplying rental property for current demand at the same time. This is another subject that I have mentioned before and I do not apologise for doing so again! It was clear however from the comments made during the show that Mortgages are an emotive issue  with one (poorly advised) person thinking any easing of Mortgage availability was just a way for banks to ‘line their pockets again’. Of course the facts are that Mortgages need to be made easier to obtain before the market starts to move again, no matter what sector of the market is considered.

Differant options.

One area that I do not agree with however is the split option of shared ownership, which has been trialled before (as the problem for first time buyers is not a new one) The problem for me is that no matter how long you own the property, when you come to leave you are still only left with half of the collateral built up in the property during your time under shared ownership. Now most people who use this scheme as a starter home, need to move on having got married, started a family and as is normal need more space. This means that moving to a bigger house can present just as many problems as finding a house in the first place, because shared ownership is only encouraged for started homes. Therefore, assumptions are being made that everybody will be able to improve their circumstances (income) during the period the initial property is shared. Experience tells me this is not the case and guess what? Most co-owners will not allow renting as a method of financing the next move!

One option stands out.

It is a little ironic that the same scheme is being championed again when in the past the rental market was seen as the solution to the eventual problem most shared owners find themselves in! With the current trends which are not only financial but also lifestyle choices for the majority of Tenants the rental market yet again shows itself as the market that can trigger an increase in house sales, if the proper Landlord tool was made available. Surely this is where the Mortgage Companies should be looking alongside any easing of deposits required; after all, buy to let properties have the additional support of that income behind them!

24May 2011

Current Porperty News: TDS Legislation under threat.

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By Steve Roulstone

There have been reports in the press recently about the recent judgement in the Court of Appeal on the Gladehurst Properties Ltd v Hashemi. This case will undoubtedly have an effect on the Tenancy Deposit protection legislation, but rather than being a decision that will drive a nail in the coffin of the intended protection for Tenants, I believe that it will leave the door open for the matter to be addressed by the Government in the upcoming  Localism Bill and indeed this decision may encourage further legislation which could impose further requirements on the Industry as it is highly possible that such ‘holes’ will attempt to be plugged as well as any perceived problems brought to light by this judgement are considered as well.

Joint action required.

The case failed in the full award of the penalty as prescribed in the bill (Three times value of deposit as a fine) because of two problems the first being that this was a joint Tenancy and the action was bought by one Tenant (Hashemi) without the knowledge of the second (Johnston) (For clarity Gladehurst Properties Ltd were the Landlords) The implications of this are that Tenancies involving more than one person, such as Student or any joint Tenant situation, especially for example if one Tenant is not accessible (left the area, left with debt to the other parties) as it would become impossible for the second / remaining Tenant/s to take any action to recover the deposit. This is the kind of area I mean the Government may want to get involved in addressing. Then if the Tenants disagree? Well let’s just leave that one hanging!

Part returned Deposit.

Another area that could invite further legislation is the situation where some of the deposit has been returned, but not the whole. This is of course a common occurrence, especially for Private Landlords, as agents we should be aware of the implications, which will be clear no matter which scheme is used for Deposit protection. So the Landlord does not register, returns half the deposit and leaves the Tenants with no comeback or protection. This is where the main ‘hole’ will need to be fixed, but there is no doubt again that the Government will look at other areas where legislation could further protect the Tenants rights as intended under the initial legislation.

Further appeal.

I have also heard that many feel the case should be referred to the Supreme Court because of the long term implications to the TDS legislation but because of the sums involved this could be a none starter. But I think it is important to state and for Tenants and Landlords to understand that the implications are not yet fully known but it is not a case of the legislation being filed in the draw marked bin just yet! There is no doubt that it will be addressed and re-enforced by the Government 

There have been reports in the press recently about the recent judgement in the Court of Appeal on the Gladehurst Properties Ltd v Hashemi. This case will undoubtedly have an effect on the Tenancy Deposit protection legislation, but rather than being a decision that will drive a nail in the coffin of the intended protection for Tenants, I believe that it will leave the door open for the matter to be addressed by the Government in the upcoming  Localism Bill and indeed this decision may encourage further legislation which could impose further requirements on the Industry as it is highly possible that such ‘holes’ will attempt to be plugged as well as any perceived problems brought to light by this judgement are considered as well.

Joint action required.

The case failed in the full award as prescribed in the bill (Three times value of deposit as a fine) because of two problems the first being that this was a joint Tenancy and the action was bought by one Tenant (Hashemi) without the knowledge of the second (Johnston) (For clarity Gladehurst Properties Ltd were the Landlords) The implications of this are that Tenancies involving more than one person, such as Student or any joint Tenant situation, especially for example if one Tenant is not accessible (left the area, left with debt to the other parties) as it would become impossible for the second / remaining Tenant/s to take any action to recover the deposit. This is the kind of area I mean the Government may want to get involved in addressing. Then if the Tenants disagree? Well let’s just leave that one hanging!

Part returned Deposit.

Another area that could invite further legislation is the situation where some of the deposit has been returned, but not the whole. This is of course a common occurrence, especially for Private Landlords, as agents we should be aware of the implications, which will be clear no matter which scheme is used for Deposit protection. So the Landlord does not register, returns half the deposit and leaves the Tenants with no comeback or protection. This is where the main ‘hole’ will need to be fixed, but there is no doubt again that the Government will look at other areas where legislation could further protect the Tenants rights as intended under the initial legislation.

Further appeal.

I have also heard that many feel the case should be referred to the Supreme Court because of the long term implications to the TDS legislation but because of the sums involved this could be a none starter. But I think it is important to state and for Tenants and Landlords to understand that the implications are not yet fully known but it is not a case of the legislation being filed in the draw marked bin just yet! There is no doubt that it will be addressed and re-enforced by the Government

18May 2011

Current Property News: Buy to Let market grows in strength.

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By Steve Roulstone

Recent reports indicate that the Buy To Let market is, as I have been reporting for some time, growing in strength and therefore returning despite all the gloom and doom reports that the Financial Crisis would see an end to Private Landlords investing in property using this specialist mortgage.

Misrepresentation of Landlords.

This report raises several issues for me, the most glaring being the overall suggestion that Landlords buy property to get rich quick and that they will not do so ‘Under current circumstances’. Well excuse me for pointing out that this is obvious and the error in the unstated indication that ‘Getting rich quickly’ is why Landlords purchased property in the past. Well as one of these Landlords and as somebody who speaks to and knows many others, can I point out that by far the majority of Landlords chose and indeed choose property as an investment, because it has traditionally given a conservative return, but never actually lost money!

Markets will always dictate.

I have pointed out on these pages recently, that it is the market itself which will dictate both the number of properties available and the need for Landlords to supply that demand. We have seen Tenant demand rise steadily over the last three years and the % of rented UK housing stock confirms both the need and the ability for Property owners to supply the demand. What has happened however is that droves of new Landlords are being created by the inability of the Sales market to provide purchasers and the realisation that by renting property instead, they have been able to move on with their lives and plans. I myself now rent and have rented my main home for the next five years for the same reasons.

Rising rents, really?                     

The main push of this article is to concentrate on the amount of income generated from the rent and I find the statement that Landlords are being enticed because of the possibility of rising rents to be a little thin! Firstly, this totally ignores the more down to earth reasoning given above that owners are renting simply because they can, when they are finding it very difficult to sell, allowing them to get on with their lives, but the assumption still ignores the main reason for Landlords to buy or invest in bricks and mortar, which is historical, because property in the long term always gains in value and this is very much linked with the conservative expectation, set against the risk of either Currency or Stocks and Shares.

Tarred with the same brush.

It seems to me that the writer has looked at Property Landlords in a ‘one view take all’ approach, where the reality is so much different and far less simplistic. Is it my view alone that people who invest in property are more conservative than those who invest in more traditional methods? Either way, the market is driving this increase in new Landlords and what is not my belief alone is that it is both sustainable and shows no sign of decline for the foreseeable future!

12May 2011

Current Property News: Shelter Campaign launched supporting Licensed Landlords.

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By Steve Roulstone.

Shelter have produced a video in support of their call for action for the licensing of Landlords. It is an over the top production in the picture that it purveys, but there is no doubt that it does get the message across very well.

Dodgy practises.

It manages to cover several dodgy practises in a very short time, including illegal eviction, lack of proper procedure, unfit housing to name but a few, I would recommend all to watch it not just because of the content, but because as an industry we should think how Shelter feel they need to promote this issue to highlight the trend they report to have witnessed in recent times. Please note carefully, that during the video, Agents are added to the situation as being part of the problem!

Several messages.

At times it feels like those of us who are constantly calling for legislation to support us in our professional aims are knocking against closed doors, so I am grateful of any action that highlights the need for Registration of both Landlords and Agents. But it is a pity that it is not our own Industry professional bodies that are not the ones shouting the loudest! We need to recognise that many would see this video as a true representation of our Industry and not that farfetched. Agents, Landlords and bodies that truly care should be joining the call for the Government to take up the recommendations of the Rugg review of 2009. Otherwise, whilst rogue Landlords still exist and the evidence is still present for all to see, this tardy image will never go away.

Hard Times.

We should all be aware that during harder financial times for us all, the temptation to cut costs and corners is high, so whilst I feel Cambell Robb’s (Shelter CE) comment that ‘Landlords are cashing in’ a bit too simplistic and an easy jibe to make, we cannot hide from the fact that Shelter’s Campaign casts a very poor shadow across the whole of the rental market and it’s effect will touch us all one way or another. Follow the link above and you will not find one shred of comfort in the headlines, comment or follow up added to the page.

Join the call.

So yet again I find myself singing the same song, but this time my comments are directed towards the bodies that govern our Industry, the very same bodies that should such legislation be introduced, would want to be the people who oversaw its introduction, have a large say in how it was put together, would probably wish to police it and most importantly want to set the standard by which Landlords and Agents could be approved! I feel that the fact that organisations such as Shelter should be the party to start a Campaign and petition to promote professional standards reflects badly on your own efforts, efforts which we fund through our fees. Think and reflect on why your thunder has been well and truly stolen – this should be an Initiative that we should control within our own walls!

06May 2011

Property Landlord advice: Rental horror story holds lessons for us all.

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By Steve Roulstone

Once in a while, and thankfully such occurrences’ are less common, a story comes along which encapsulates the problems that exist in our Industry all together. A story reported on in Letting Agent Today does just that. It is to the credit of the party concerned that they have viewed the incident in such a way that they are able to offer up the story to others as a lesson to be learnt.

Constant vigilance.

Within our own group, we have always ensured that our paperwork is constantly reviewed, even when problems occur and we can see we have done everything possible to carry out our responsibilities to the full, we still review processes and make changes if we believe we can further improve our service in carrying out our duty of Agency to the Landlord.  In this case it seems several essential services were not carried out correctly.

Referencing.

For me there is only one form of referencing and that is to use a professional referencing agency. So often we hear of Letting Agents who ask for references and proof of employment from Tenants and check them out themselves. The problem is clear for me, unless you have access to the information that a professional referencing agency does, there is no way you are able to investigate in full a Tenants history when problems would soon be found out. This is why Tenants with a poor history use independent Landlords fearing that referencing will find them out, so it is doubly disappointing in this case that the Landlord should suffer poor referencing.

Insurance.

Of course once a Tenant has passed professional referencing then Rent and Legal expenses insurance can be taken. It does not take a brain surgeon to understand why such Insurances are only available against Tenants that have passed such referencing in the first place. It has long been a recommendation of mine and I have written about the need for Landlords to take out Insurance recently.

Property visits.

As a Tenant I have just spent the last two months encouraging my Landlord (Privately Managed) to visit my Wife and I in our rented house, purely because of how important it is for Landlords to be confident that their property is in good hands. In the case of a managed property, the agent should carry out this work and when done correctly, and early enough, Tenants can be assessed in their property at a very early date, ensuring action can be taken earlier rather than later if they are failing to honour the agreement. Enabling notice to be issued at an early date if needed and always on an initial six month agreement, unless negotiated earlier, as for all practical reasons, a break clause after six months is the same as a six month agreement.

Professional management summed up!

It rather sounds as if this problem could have been dealt with cleaner and earlier on the Landlords behalf if all of the above had been followed correctly. At the end of the day you need to understand what the implications are of standing in the Landlord shoes, then and only then can you ensure you offer the best advice and service to your customer. After all, to do so is to carry out the role of agent in the correct manner, what other manner is their?

26Apr 2011

Property Landlord advice: Poor condition of Private Property to rent raises more causes for concern.

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By Steve Roulstone

 As this report shows, it is still not difficult to find evidence of poor standards in the Private Rental sector. Yet again the Industry as a whole suffers from the performance of one individual as we suffer by reflection, although I note there is no mention of an agent in this case. The frustration for me as a Letting Agent is that we are available to give the kind of advice that would ensure standards could be upheld should we be asked, and of course listened too!

Property shortages do not help.

As I am only too aware, during periods when available housing to rent is at a shortage the limited choice means that many will not have the options they would appreciate when choosing a property to live in. I have just experienced something similar when looking for a Country property and only because I happened to look very early one day and by an incredible piece of luck (the person I asked for directions was part of the family who owned the property; access gained no more than thirty minutes later!) did we manage to get first ‘dibs’ on a Farmhouse close to where we work. But for those who are not so lucky, they can be forced to take the best of what is left and of course conscious decisions cannot form part of the process.

Professional links.

Just like the new Kitemark being pushed by our industry at present, professional links for both Landlords and Agents would allow people to have a considered decision to make; lack of available property removes that decision in so many cases. Not that I would ever discourage anybody from forging such links, as the person reports from the local Landlords association, poor Landlords do exist and the more we bang the drum about professionalism the better we will be heard. So whenever possible Tenants should look for some kind of link with a body who promote good standards to give them some re-assurance about the lease they are entering in to and the future maintenance of the property they wish to call home for the next few years.

Advice is needed.

As the property programmes show, good advice is not always listened too, but when it comes to basic standards, unless a Landlord has asked, or been offered advice by somebody within the profession, then there remains nothing more that can be done to say if the Landlord then goes on to look after the property in question and therefore the Tenants who will presumably be paying the Landlords Mortgage or giving them a good living, or if they take the opposite view and look at the situation purely from a financial standpoint, which is surely what causes the majority of problems for Tenants and just will not spend on basic housing standards that most of us would view as second nature. (and of course is covered by Government legislation)

Another call for registration?    

The result (indeed the National picture) is more proof of the need for some form of legislation to put a stop to the ease with which people can become Landlords without even asking one simple basic question about the Tenants rights, even though they are going to have such an influence on the standard of the Tenants life for the duration of the agreement. At present the need is becoming greater as Landlords, being no different than anybody else protecting their income at the moment, look for ways of cutting expenditure where possible. But when that decision effects the life of others, that’s when we should be able to turn  to those who legislate the Country for support, but hopefully the comment from the Housing Minister Grant Sharps, that the situation was under review in the medium turn suggests that the banging is beginning to get through!