How Valuable is your Time?
Are you up to speed with all 170 Rented Sector Regulations?
We are coming across landlords on a daily basis who currently manage their own tenancies, for want of a better word - 'unintentionally badly'. Legislation now imposed on landlords is lengthy and ongoing - 170 items to be exact. It is abundantly clear from our seminars and workshops that private landlords are unaware of what their obligations are and legal liabilities. In the event of an incident where non compliance can be proved - the consequences could be catastrophic. We have known landlords across Warwickshire to be taken to court, penalised with heavy fines and in some cases, particularly in London, prison sentences have been levied. Local Authorities are now carrying out spot check inspections on properties and issuing fines where necessary, fines as high as £30,000.
We have specialised in managing properties for the last 29 years and we have won many awards over the years to back this up. We take the hassle and worry out of many of the things, you as a landlord have or will encounter whilst managing your investment yourself, these being:
- Remaining Law and Legislation compliant - to encompass Gas Safety, changes to Electrical Check Regulations, proposed changes to tenancy lengths, Legionella Checks, HHSRS (Housing Health and Safety Rating System) Complaint, Mees (Minimum Energy Efficiency Systems)
- Aware of all pending government changes and how it impacts you as a landlord and the requirement to pass all necessary information onto the tenant
- Ensuring renewal agreements are created correctly in light of the Deregulation Act for tenancies post 2015
- Ensuring Deposits are correctly registered with an approved Government Scheme
- Ensuring now claims for being discriminatory are made - Race Relations Act & Disability Discrimination Act
- Aware of Rent collection procedures
- Managing rent arrears so as not to jeopardise servicing of a Section 6a
- Arranging and conducting property inspections and to comply with the Equality Act 2010 (harassment)
- Dealing with maintenance issues and logging all events inc due diligence for contractor liability insurance
- Fully aware of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1985 Section 11 Landlords Repairing Obligations
- Deposit dispute resolution & timelines involved
- Dealing with eviction in the event of non-payment and aware of the Freedom from Eviction Act 1977
- Dealing with complaints from neighbours
- GDPR compliance - are you registered with the ICO (Information Commissioners Office) - have you issued your tenant with a Privacy Policy?
These are the main areas of discontent for landlords but the ones we are experts in. We eliminate that 'landlord/tenant/ relationship and will always address the situation as your agent and act in your best interest. The common issue that arises every time a landlord deals directly with the tenant is that they feel its often difficult to address delicate situations such as rent arrears, untidiness, complaints from neighbours and the eviction process.
If you would like a schedule of all the legislation you need to be aware of we are offering a free document that sets out all the current regulations you as a landlord need to adhere to, fill in the form below and we will email the document to you.