Operations Manager at ARLA, Ian Potter, has been quoted saying: “We are disappointed that the Housing Minister has once again refused to implement any kind of regulation on the private rental sector.”

He then went on to add the following: “There is no requirement for lettings agents or landlords themselves to take any kind of professional qualification. This means their professionalism cannot be guaranteed. In today’s market, when people are becoming increasingly desperate to find a home, there will be increasing opportunity for unethical operators to take advantage of consumers.”
Mr Potter was responding to the government’s recently launched SafeAgent scheme, and the new factsheets that have also been released. The factsheets are designed to provide help and advice to tenants and landlords with regards to their rights and responsibilities.

Disputes between those renting and their landlords are thought to be mostly caused by misunderstandings that could be easily prevented. Landlords can also look to protect their property with a Landlords Insurance policy, just in case any tenants feel the need to resolve a dispute through action and not words.

A “Dos and Don’ts” factsheet for landlords gives advice on finding a suitable letting agent, the need for written agreements and inventories, and protecting tenants’ deposits.
Whilst the “Dos and Don’ts” factsheet for tenants will offer advice on legal requirements for renting, how to deal with disputes, and what one can expect from a landlord.

In the mean time, Housing Minister, Grant Shapps has said: “The private rented sector provides a valuable source of accommodation for over three million people in England, and the vast majority of them are happy with the service they receive.”
He went on to add: “That’s why I have promised not to wrap the sector in red tape, but to instead work with the industry to help them develop their own plans to tackle those bad landlords, and with councils to throw the book at those who don’t live up to their responsibilities.”

It currently remains to be seen whether the factsheets will do their job as intended.

1.  Why you need to protect deposits

Landlords are required to protect deposit as a result of legislation that came into effect on 6 April 2007.  This means that all deposits taken for Assured Shorthold Tenancies after that date must covered by a tenancy deposit protection scheme.

Further legislation came into effect on the 1^st of October 2010 which means that tenancies up to £100,000 are now Assured Shorthold Tenancies and must now also be covered by a tenancy protection scheme.

The main risks of not protecting deposits are detailed below.

• You are unable to serve a section 21 notice should you require possession of your property
• You may be liable to pay your tenant 3 x the value of the deposit if your tenant gets a court order from the county court

2.  Where you can protect deposits

There are three authorised deposit protection schemes and two types of scheme, custodial and insurance based.

Insurance Based

• MyDeposits
• Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS)

The benefit of these schemes is that as the landlord you retain the deposit however there is a cost associated with this.  A free Alternative Dispute Resolution service is also provided.

The My Deposits scheme is open to all landlords and has a joining fee of £57.50 and a deposit protection fee of between £17.12 and £29.36 per tenancy agreement.

The Tenancy Deposit Scheme typically tends to be for agents rather than landlords but you can join this scheme if you are a member of a trade association or an accreditation scheme.

Custodial

• Deposit Protection Service (DPS)

The benefit of this scheme is that it is free to landlords however you are required to transfer the deposit to the DPS for the duration of the tenancy.  A free Alternative Dispute Resolution service is also provided.

*If you are an overseas landlord you must use the custodial scheme unless you employ a UK registered letting agent to manage the tenancy.

3.  What you need to provide to the tenant

The primary information a landlord must give the tenant the following information within 14 days of receiving the deposit.

• Name and contact details of the scheme
• Contact details for the scheme’s dispute resolution service
• How to apply for the deposit’s release
• What to do if the landlord or tenant can’t be contacted at the end of the tenancy
• How the deposit is protected
• The address of the rented property and the amount of deposit paid
• The landlord’s or letting agency’s name and contact details
• The name and contact details of any third party that has paid the deposit
• Items or services covered by the deposit
• The circumstances under which the landlord will be able to retain some or all of the deposit
• What to do if there is a dispute over how much deposit should be returned

This information can be provided to the tenant by completing and providing the prescribed information template for your chosen scheme and the scheme terms and conditions.  These can be downloaded from the relevant scheme website or from our free document download section.

4.  How you can protect yourself

Fully reference every tenant to ensure that their employment, affordability and previous tenancies match your expectations of the kind of tenant you want.

Take a deposit that is greater than the value of one month’s rent. This reduces the risk if a tenant doesn’t pay the last month’s rent.  If a tenant still has funds to be returned from the deposit at the end of a tenancy it is generally easier to get agreement.  If the tenant does not have anything to be returned from a deposit it can be more difficult and the single claim process can be much lengthier and time consuming.

Protect the deposit with one of the three schemes.

Provide the following information to tenants within 14 days, preferably at the tenancy check in

1.    Terms and conditions of the protection scheme

2.    Prescribed information

Get a good photographic inventory carried out at the beginning of the tenancy preferably by a third party.  This will carry more weight should there be a dispute at the end of the tenancy.

Carry out a condition inspection at the beginning and end of each tenancy.

Carry out regular property inspections, it is usually better to resolve issues earlier in the tenancy and to know if a tenancy will require closer management than to find out at a later stage.

If you use a letting agent ensure that they have protected the deposit.  As the landlord you are still responsible if the letting agent has not protected the deposit and goes out of business and in this situation may have to find further funds to protect the deposit.

5.  Where you find further information

The Deposit Protection Schemes

Deposit Protection Service (DPS)

MyDeposits

Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS)

The government information

http://www.direct.gov.uk

http://www.communities.gov.uk

Fixed price inventories

Fixed price photographic inventory £75 + VAT

Download Document Templates

Free landlord document downloads

Makeurmove Landlord Groups

Join one of our landlord groups on Linkedin or Facebook and share your questions with fellow landlords.

June’s ‘FindaProperty.com’ rental index shows more positive news for landlords with a continued increase in both asking rents and rental yield for Q2 2010.

Asking rents have increased by 2.3% in the second quarter of 2010 and in the six months from January to June 2010 they have risen 4.4%.

Rental yields have also increased, up to 4.57% in June.

For further information including regional variations click here for the full report.

If you would like a free valuation comparable report to determine the level of competition and asking rental prices for you property please contact us on 0844 247 2480 or at letting@makeurmove.co.uk

Renters can find the area they are interested in, then select criteria such as price and type to see all the relevant properties in that area.

To use the new service visit  Google Maps, select the properties drop down from the show search options link and then search for the area you are interested in.

Further information on this story can be found on the Guardian website.

makeurmove is now listing all rental properties on Google Maps ensuring maximum exposure to the renter market for our landlords.

April’s ‘FindaProperty.com’ rental index shows that 2010 is beginning to look more positive for Landlords.  Rents are reported to have increased by 2.7% over the first four months of the year along with an increase in the average rental yield to 4.54% from 4.45%.

For further information including regional variations click here for the full report.

If you would like a free valuation comparable report to determine the level of competition and asking rental prices for you property please contact us on 0844 247 2480 or at letting@makeurmove.co.uk

The introduction of the register would require landlords to pay to register their properties’ and their own details.  

Two other key proposals have emerged from the report. First is the call to make all tenancies written agreements. Makeurmove particularly welcomes this suggestion and free tenancy agreement forms can be downloaded for nothing from our website.  

Also proposed is an increase in the threshold on Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) agreements from £25,000 to £100,000, meaning that higher rental value properties will benefit from the protections of AST. 

The full report ‘The private rented sector: professionalism and quality - The Government response to the Rugg Review Consultation’ can be downloaded here. The consultation period continues until August and we’ll keep you posted on developments in our newsletter and on our website.   

http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/responseruggreview

Full details can be seen at:

http://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/advice/renting_a_property/for_landlords.aspx

A new partnership with solicitors Lawson Coppock & Hart is helping take makeurmove up a gear, with new services, improved document templates and access to some fixed-fee legal assistance.

The link between makeurmove and Lawsons means that when you use our services you’ll be getting the benefit of their 50 years experience in landlord and tenancy issues. 

Their team of legal experts will provide professional support on the development of our tenancy and leasing arrangements so you can be sure that they are up to date and legally sound. 

Lawsons, who happen to be one of the longest established solicitors in Manchester, are also working with us to develop our services and extend the range of tenancy agreement forms that we offer. 

As part of the exclusive deal Lawsons have agreed to provide our customers with a fixed-fee possession proceedings service. This offer covers the following stages of the process: 

Stage 1 – Initial warning

Lawson’s will write a seven-day letter before action to tenant(s) 

Stage 2 – Preparation and service of a Possession Notice

Using the information supplied by you they will complete the relevant possession notice and serve it on the tenant(s) 

Stage 3 – Preparing court proceedings to obtain a possession order

Drafting and issuing claim form for possession under the standard procedure which will include representation for a hearing in the County Court 

Stage 4 – Enforcement including forceful eviction by the court bailiffs

Drafting and issuing the application for the warrant for eviction and arranging for the Court Bailiffs to forcibly remove tenant(s) 

We’ll have more information on our website on what Lawsons are offering, but if you’d like to talk to somebody about an immediate issue, please contact Lawson Coppock & Hart directly on 0161 832 5944 and quote makeurmove.

Sian will be dispensing advice in a regular column, and will be on hand to answer your most pressing questions in our ‘Ask the expert’ feature.

Presentation, presentation, presentation

It’s critical, especially in the current rental market, to make your property stand head and shoulders above those of your competitors. Achieving this on a budget is no mean feat, but Sian has advice on how to do this successfully without breaking the bank…

“If you speak to most landlords about just what tenants expect these days, most will roll their eyes at the rise of the ‘Elle Decor generation’. Not happy with charity shop ‘vintage’ chic style loved by many landlords (and not in a good way); they envisage having en-suite wet rooms, feature wallpaper, high-gloss kitchens and funky furniture.

Maybe we can blame the proliferation of new-build apartments with their designer styling, the increasing number of homeowners renting out their beautiful homes, or those endless property shows! Whatever the reason, we landlords now have to up our game to stay ahead of the competition, to gain maximum rents, and to get those fussy tenants signed up fast.

Giving your property a bit of a wow factor doesn’t have to be expensive. You can get great ideas from high street stores, ordering online can bring your prices down, and those same property shows that have driven us mad can also give us some forward thinking ideas.

I’ve just finished redecorating a flat I first rented out in 2001. It had grown a little tatty, wasn‘t getting any interest from would-be renters, and I needed to make some inexpensive changes to attract new tenants.

The laminate was badly damaged, but rather than rip it up and start again I simply hand-sanded and primed it, then painted it with Dulux white diamond eggshell paint (always use water-based white paint to avoid yellowing). It immediately brightened up the flat and gave it a contemporary, airy feel.

Next, I used gorgeous piece of oak from a friendly tree surgeon, and fitted it as a mantelpiece. I changed the very studenty lights for something a bit funkier, with wall lights from the quite reasonable Lightbox in Manchester and a BHS ceiling light. Instead of hanging curtains I used curtain panels from Ikea to give the room a contemporary feel.

Last of all I re-glossed a set of shelves and coffee table, which is a great way to breathe new life into old furniture.

The next day the photos went on the internet and within a couple of hours I had two viewings.  That same night both sets of tenants had seen the flat, fallen in love and wanted it, I had to choose which ones I wanted!  Great news.

I’ll have more projects and inspiration for you in coming newsletters, and get emailing if you have any specific questions or problems you think we may be able to help with.

letting@makeurmove.co.uk

You can hear more from Sian on her blog

Each month we’ll feature answers from the professionals to questions posed by makeurmove customers.

Email your question on anything from the right tenancy agreements to removing woodchip wallpaper to letting@makeurmove.co.uk.