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Good Landlording

By: Suzanne Smith and Richard Jackson
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  • Summary

  • A weekly podcast co-hosted by Suzanne Smith and Richard Jackson, who discuss practical tips to help you start, grow and succeed as a landlord.
    © 2024 Good Landlording
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Episodes
  • GL #5: When things go wrong with letting agents

    GL #5: When things go wrong with letting agents
    May 8 2024
    In this week's episode, Richard Jackson and Suzanne Smith discuss what landlords can do when things go wrong with letting agents, and how to make a complaint. It's the third in a series of three episodes on what landlords need to know about letting agents. While the vast majority of interactions with letting agents are positive, it’s important for landlords to know what options they have when things go wrong. Richard and Suzanne discuss how to make complaints to the letting agents and the redress schemes, and the additional protection that choosing Propertymark members provides landlords. The podcast episode also touches on complaints to Trading Standards and taking legal action in the small claims court. This episode follows GL#3: Guide to selecting good letting agents and GL#4: Tips for signing up with letting agents. What we talk about in Episode 5 on problems with letting agentsWhat are the most common complaints about letting agents?Keeping good recordsDifferent ways to make complaints about letting agentsInformal complaint to letting agentsFormal complaint to letting agentsRefer complaint to redress schemePropertymark members - extra recourseComplaint to Trading StandardsLegal actionGolden nuggetsCredits >> Submit a question: Click here for question form What are the most common complaints about letting agents? According to the Property Redress Scheme 2023 Annual Report, the top three categories of complaints about letting agents are holding deposits (presumably by tenants), poor service and management, and tenancy payments and rent collection. Here are other common causes for complaint by landlords: Poor communication and failure to provide information Inspections: failing to carry them out or not preparing a report after they do an inspection Signing up poor quality tenants Not arranging gas safety certificates in time when it’s not due to the tenant failing to give access. Repairs: not carrying out repairs promptly or properly, or overcharging Rent arrears: not chasing late payments properly and not keeping the landlord informed about rent arrears Failing to forward rent onto the landlord Keeping good records It’s important for landlords to keep good records of conversations with letting agents so it’s clear what has been agreed and what feedback has been given. Richard keeps his notes in the Alphaletz property management software so there is a record in the event of a dispute. Contemporaneous notes that are made at the time can provide excellent evidence if a complaint escalates into legal action, where “recollections may differ”. Different ways to make complaints about letting agents Landlords have three different routes to making complaints. The first is to make a complaint to the agent, which is then escalated to the redress scheme if the landlord isn’t happy with the outcome of the complaint. The second is to complaint to Trading Standards. The third is legal action. It is possible to combine one or more of these routes. >> Blog post: The Independent Landlord guide to resolving problems with letting agents Informal complaint to letting agents The first step is to make an informal complaint to the branch by speaking to the branch manager, and making clear where their service falls short and what action you expect. They might not know you’re unhappy and it might be a simple thing that can put right. You can speak to them on the phone or sit down with them in person. Even though this is informal, do follow it up by email so that there is a clear record. This will be useful if they don’t rectify the problem. If you don’t have written evidence, it's as if it didn't happen. Formal complaint to letting agents If the informal route doesn’t achieve the result you were asking for, the next stage is to make a formal written complaint to the letting agent. First ask for their complaints procedure.
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    20 mins
  • GL #4: Tips for signing up with letting agents

    GL #4: Tips for signing up with letting agents
    May 1 2024
    In this week's episode of Good Landlording, Suzanne Smith and Richard Jackson discuss tips to help landlords understand what to look out for in the contract with letting agents, so they know how to strike a fair deal when signing up with them This is a practical episode that not only gives the perspective of letting agents, but also explores the experience that landlords have when dealing with agents, the ins and outs of the different services letting agents provide, what to look out for in the agency agreement, and what protection landlords have under the law. It's is the second episode in the series on letting agents, carrying on from Episode #3: Guide to selecting good letting agents. There are golden nuggets all the way through, but there's a particularly good one at the end. What we cover in Episode #41. The competitive environment for letting agents2. What packages do letting agents offer landlords?3. What should landlords look out for in agents' terms and conditions4. What protection do landlords from unfair terms in agency contracts?5. Why it's important to keep copies of all recordsGolden nuggetCredits >> Submit a question: Click here for question form 1. The competitive environment for letting agents The competitive environment has become very challenging for letting agents over the past few years. The Tenant Fees Act 2019 reduced income streams for letting agents as they could no longer charge tenants fees. Landlords have baulked at the extra costs, especially as interest rates and general costs like insurance and service changes have gone up. There are very low barriers to entry for letting agents as no minimum qualifications or licensing are required. There are unfortunately lots of agents who compete on price, at the expense of a quality service, and others who try to lock in landlords through unfair terms in contracts. Disruption from technology is beginning to gather steam, first with OpenRent who have already become the biggest agent in the UK, albeit an online platform. There are also new entrants like Hello Neighbour with their fixed price, no lock-in property management, and recently their new self-service letting package to compete with OpenRent. (Hello Neighbour advertise on Good Landlording, but Good Landlording is not an affiliate of Hello Neighbour). The NRLA are also doing more online. This all increases the pressure on traditional "high street" agents. The industry has been consolidating, with big players like Countrywide buying up small local firms. Some are doubling down on customer service. A prime example is Kristjan Byfield's Base Property Specialists in London, who genuinely care about providing a quality service both for tenants and for landlords. Unfortunately, others try to stop landlords from leaving by tying them in or charging them a high exit fee if they want to terminate property management or in rent collection. This can make it very difficult for landlords to terminate rent collection and property management contracts. 2. What packages do letting agents offer landlords? These are the four key packages of services that letting agents typically offer landlords: a. Let-only / Tenant Find / Introduction Service This is the most basic level of service, and not all agents offer it. It's popular with self-managing landlords. The agents find tenants for the landlord, and hand the baton over to the landlord once they have checked in the tenant. The agents typically advertise and market the property, carry out viewings, and recommend a short list. Once the landlord makes a decision, the agent will carry out referencing and the right to rent checks. The landlord will usually pay extra for an inventory and the tenancy agreement. The agent handles the deposit and the first month's rent, and checks in the tenants. The landlord pays an upfront fee for this which can range from 3-8 weeks' rent, including all the costs.
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    30 mins
  • RRB #2: Why Renter Reforms might start in May 2025

    RRB #2: Why Renter Reforms might start in May 2025
    Apr 29 2024
    This is the second special episode of Good Landlording on the Renters Reform Bill. Richard and Suzanne talk about how and why the renter reforms may well start to come into effect in May 2025, and what this means for landlords. This includes the likely timetable for implementation of what will be the Renters Reform Act, and when the key provisions will start to apply to new tenancies. The new rules could come in for new tenancies as early as May 2025, assuming Royal Assent is in October 2024. They also discuss the implications of the wide definition of new tenancies, which means that tenancies that are already in place now may be subject to the new rules next year. These show notes summarise the main points about the discussion about when the new renter reform rules will start to come into force, and include links to useful resources. What we cover in Renters Reform Bill Special #2When will tenancies be subject to the Renters Reform Bill?Stage One: For new tenancies from the Commencement Date (probably from May 2025 )Stage Two: For existing tenancies on the Extended Application Date (after Lord Chancellor assessment - 2026?)What is a new tenancy under the Renters Reform Bill?What is an existing tenancy under the Renters Reform Bill?Examples of when the new rules will applyFixed term tenancy signed November 2024 ending July 2026Until when will landlords be able to serve a Section 21 notice?ConclusionCredits When will tenancies be subject to the Renters Reform Bill? For landlords, the big question is when Chapter 1 of Part 1 will come into force. Chapter 1 of Part 1 is the section of the Bill that sets out the new rules for tenancies. In other words, the new periodic assured tenancies which will have no fixed term periods, no s21 "no fault" eviction rights for landlords, no rent review clauses, and a new implied right for tenants to have pets. The first big step will be for the Renters Reform Bill to receive Royal Assent, which will transform it into the Renters Reform Act. Once a Bill becomes an Act, not much happens at that point. Before it comes into force, it needs to be implemented, and this is usually done in stages. Although it initially appeared as if the new Lord Chancellor's assessment of the operation of the eviction process had kicked the abolition of Section 21 into touch, that is not strictly the case. In fact, tenancies will start to switch over to the new regime on a commencement date that will be at least six months after Royal Assent. Assuming Royal Assent in October, that brings us to May 2025, if a new government keeps to the same timetable. A Department for Levelling Up spokesperson said on 24 April: "We have always said we will give six months' notice before ending section 21 for all new tenancies. In addition, we have committed to ensuring improvements in the courts service are rapidly implemented before extending this abolition to all existing tenancies." These are the stages that the DLUHC spokesperson refers to: Stage One: For new tenancies from the Commencement Date (probably from May 2025 ) The changes for new tenancies will come into effect at least 6 months after Royal Assent. The government will publish a start date for the implementation of the rules after Royal Assent and give 6 months’ notice. May 2025 date is prob about the earliest date. It might be later than that. This is called the Commencement Date in the Bill. Stage Two: For existing tenancies on the Extended Application Date (after Lord Chancellor assessment - 2026?) The Renters Reform Bill has been recently amended so that the Extended Application Date for existing tenancies will be after the Lord Chancellor publishes an assessment on the operation of the eviction process and enforcement in the county courts. We spoke about the Lord Chancellor's assessment at length in RRB #1: Latest changes to Renters Reform Bill. We don’t know when the Extended Application Date will b...
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    16 mins
Management Economics Personal Finance
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