Building better relationships with tenants – iConn Property Management, Canterbury
0Here Endsleigh offer some pointers with regards to tenant landlord relationships:
In our recent research into the private rented sector, we discovered that more than a third of UK landlords have given their tenant a welcome or farewell gift. Having surveyed more than 2,600 UK landlords and tenants, we found that 34% have presented their tenant with a gift such as a bottle of wine, while 30% of tenants have received an act of kindness, such as help with DIY or a break from paying rent.
The research is part of our 2015 ‘Better Relations’ campaign, which aims to encourage stress-free lettings for both tenants and landlords. So what sorts of gifts have been given by landlords?
- Sarah, a tenant in Berkshire: “My landlord offered to decorate when we were expecting our baby.”
- Anna, a landlord in Kent: “I provided starter kits of cutlery, pots, glasses, mugs, tea and biscuits and some cleaning things.”
- Derek, a landlord in Perth and Kinross: “I collected the tenant from the airport when they flew in from Australia.”
- Wanda, a landlord in Fife: “I put credit on the electricity meter to get the new tenants started when they first moved in.”
- Tom, a landlord in Oxfordshire: “I gave my tenant a rent holiday during a period of unemployment.”
- Alison, a tenant in London: “My landlord gave us a bottle of wine when we moved in, as well as a roll of toilet paper in the bathroom.”
- Pam, a tenant in Cumbria: “My landlord paid for half of our Sky connection.”
The results of the survey demonstrate that the giving of gifts has an impact on the relationship between a landlord and a tenant. In fact, nearly three quarters of tenants who had received an act of kindness from their landlord said this positively changed their perception of them. A positive relationship seems to have an impact on the length of tenancy too; 70% of tenants who have received an act of kindness stay in their property for 24 months or more, compared to just 53% who haven’t. For more information on how you can foster a better relationship with your tenant, which can lead to longer, happier tenancies, keep your eyes peeled for useful tips and insight on Talk Lettings.
Source: Endsleigh Insurance Services Ltd https://www.endsleigh.co.uk/talk-lettings/better-relations/2015-mar/how-to-build-a-better-relationship-with-your-tenant/
Possible changes concerning tenant safety – iConn Property Management, Canterbury
0Gov.uk have posted an article regarding potential changes to installing smoke and carbon monoxide alarms within their rented properties:
Landlords will be required by law to install working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in their properties, under measures announced by Housing Minister Brandon Lewis today (11 March 2015).
The move will help prevent up to 26 deaths and 670 injuries a year.
The measure is expected to take effect from October 2015, and comes with strong support after a consultation on property condition in the private rented sector.
England’s 46 fire and rescue authorities are expected to support private landlords in their own areas to meet their new responsibilities with the provision of free alarms, with grant funding from government.
This is part of wider government moves to ensure there are sufficient measures in place to protect public safety, while at the same time avoiding regulation which would push up rents and restrict the supply of homes, limiting choice for tenants.
Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said:
In 1988 just 8% of homes had a smoke alarm installed – now it’s over 90%.
The vast majority of landlords offer a good service and have installed smoke alarms in their homes, but I’m changing the law to ensure every tenant can be given this important protection.
But with working smoke alarms providing the vital seconds needed to escape a fire, I urge all tenants to make sure they regularly test their alarms to ensure they work when it counts. Testing regularly remains the tenant’s responsibility.
Communities Minister Stephen Williams said:
We’re determined to create a bigger, better and safer private rented sector – a key part of that is to ensure the safety of tenants with fire prevention and carbon monoxide warning.
People are at least 4 times more likely to die in a fire in the home if there’s no working smoke alarm.
That’s why we are proposing changes to the law that would require landlords to install working smoke alarms in their properties so tenants can give their families and those they care about a better chance of escaping a fire.
Ensuring the safety of tenants
Other measures to support the private rented sector include investing £1 billion in building newly-built homes specifically for private rent, giving tenants support against rogue landlords and publishing a How to rent guide so tenants and landlords alike are aware of their rights and responsibilities.
The proposed changes to the law would require landlords to install smoke alarms on every floor of their property, and test them at the start of every tenancy.
Landlords would also need to install carbon monoxide alarms in high risk rooms – such as those where a solid fuel heating system is installed.
Those who fail to install smoke and carbon monoxide alarms would face sanctions and could face up to a £5,000 civil penalty.
This would bring private rented properties into line with existing building regulations that already require newly-built homes to have hard-wired smoke alarms installed.
And it’s in line with other measures the government has taken to improve standards in the private rented sector, without wrapping the industry up in red tape.
Further information
New regulations will be laid in Parliament to require landlords to install smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in their properties, and are expected to come into force, subject to Parliamentary approval, on 10 October 2015.
The allocation of funding to fire and rescue authorities to offer free smoke and carbon monoxide alarms to local landlords will be announced shortly.
The government’s Fire Kills campaign will be encouraging people to test their smoke alarms when they change their clocks to British Summer Time. The ‘Tick Tock Test’ campaign will run on radio, online and in the press from 16 to 29 March 2015.
See Fire Minister Penny Mourdant’s speech to the Local Government Association fire conference.
Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/tenants-safer-under-new-government-measures
Student Deposit Deadline – iConn Property Management, Canterbury
0For all students taking a property for the next academic year, please note your deposits are due by today. You can make payment either via a bank transfer, calling the office and paying with a card (please note card charges apply), or bring cash to the office. For more information contact Amy or Nadine in the office on 01227 765008
Agent shut down whilst fears are aired regarding missing money – iConn Property Management, Canterbury
0Here is an interesting article written by Rosalind Renshaw on behalf of Property Industry Eye. This article gives you all the more reasons for using an ARLA qualified Letting agent like iConn Property Management. We are an affiliated agent with the relevant and essential ‘client money protection Insurance’ in place, providing our Landlords and Tenants peace of mind;
Landlords and tenants are feared to have lost thousands of pounds after the sudden closure of a property firm.
Sweet Property Services has shut down with a Notice of Forfeiture on the door saying that the landlord of the building in High Street, Rochester, Kent, has re-entered the premises.
As a consequence, says the notice, the lease has been forfeited and the premises secured. The firm is said to have entered liquidation, although details are unclear.
Landlords have told their local paper that rent has not been passed on, with concerns that tenants’ deposits may not have been protected.
A spokesperson with The Deposit Protection Service told Eye: “I can confirm that Sweet Property Service have never protected a deposit with The Deposit Protection Service.”
The Property Ombudsman confirmed to Eye it has received a number of complaints about the agency, run by Richard Sweet and which was more recently known as My Sweet Property.
A TPO spokesperson said: “The TPO has been informed that the agent has gone out of business and is in possession of the administrator details. It is assisting complainants in progressing their complaints.”
Had deposits been lodged with the Deposit Protection Service they would have been safe.
The spokesperson said: “Problems such as insolvency proceedings affecting letting agencies are relatively rare, but we of course sympathise with anyone experiencing complications.
“We can reassure both tenants and landlords that our custodial scheme offers the best protection against issues arising from insolvency proceedings. With the funds directly held by the DPS as an independent custodian, the deposit remains protected, notwithstanding such proceedings.
“Under both our insured and custodial schemes deposits remain protected and responsibility for these deposits can be transferred to the appropriate party.
“As a result, a tenant’s access to a deposit that he or she is entitled to at the end of a tenancy is unaffected.”
According to the local paper, one tenant said she had been trying to contact Mr Sweet and his daughter Courteney for over a month without success.
She said: “I, like other tenants, have been emailing these agents for confirmation that my deposit has been lodged with the Deposit Protection Scheme (DPS) and to question why some of my rent has not been paid to my landlord and about the sudden name change.
“Every time I was answered with ‘everything is fine and the paperwork is in the post’.
“It now looks as though Sweet is offering a new online service and this needs to be looked into. Firms should not simply be able to set up shop again.”
Her landlord claims he is £5,000 out of pocket. David Newton said the property had been rented out because his father had dementia and had gone into care: he had needed to rent out the family home to pay for his care.
Mr Newton said: “I have been left distraught and am owed at least four months’ rent.”
Source: Property Industry Eye http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/fears-over-missing-money-as-yet-another-agent-shuts-down/
Labour confirms ban on letting agency fees in manisfesto – iConn Property Management, Canterbury
0Rosalind Renshaw from Property Industry Eye highlights Labours intentions regarding letting agent fees together with longer tenancy terms…..
Labour’s manifesto, published yesterday, has confirmed that the party will ban letting agent fees if it wins the election.
The manifesto also confirms that it will legislate to make three-year tenancies the norm and introduce rent caps.
The manifesto says: “For the 11 million people who rent privately, we will legislate to make three-year tenancies the norm, with a ceiling on excessive rent rises.
“A ban on unfair letting agent fees will save renters over £600.
“We will drive standards up by creasing a national register of private landlords.”
The manifesto also says that Labour will build at least 200,000 homes a year by 2020. Under Labour, a “new generation of garden cities” would also be built.
In a further confirmation of plans previously announced, the Labour manifesto says a mansion tax will be introduced to help fund improvements to the NHS.
Meanwhile, Eye’s story yesterday alerting agents in Walthamstow, London, that Stella Creasy and her supporters were due to embark on a mystery shopping exercise of their fees was highlighted by her on Twitter.
She tweeted: “amazing @alexhilton – letting agents upset walthamstow campaigners wanted to see if transparent about their fees….#saysitall”
Thirteen minutes later, she tweeted: “Want to know why Walthamstow needs Labour Govt? Local letting agents upset asking about fees – lab would ban them!”
Source: http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/labour-confirms-ban-on-letting-agent-fees-in-manifesto/
Gas safety: getting it right – iConn Property Management, Canterbury
0Here at iConn we’re proud to say that we are an ARLA agent. Here ARLA explain the importance of staying gas safe in this useful article:
What set’s ARLA agents apart from the competition is their high standards, professionalism and credibility. Gas Safety is a crucial thing for agents and landlords to get right if you’re to protect your tenants, avoid a PR disaster and worse, a potentially fatal accident.
Annual gas safety checks need to be carried out every 12 months by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Landlords or their agent must keep a record of the safety check for two years and issue a copy to each tenant within 28 days of the check being completed and issue a copy to any new tenants before they move in.
As part of their contracts with letting agents, many landlords will assign responsibility to their agent to fulfil the gas safety obligations of the contract, so it’s vitally important that you have a good grasp on when each of your properties anniversary falls. It is a criminal offence if you don’t comply with your legal duties under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 and the HSE can issue a formal caution or decide to prosecute.
Help is here
One way for agents and landlords to dramatically minimise the risk of forgetting to schedule a gas safety visit or boiler check is to sign up to Gas Safe Register’s free reminder service. They will they email or text you when it’s time to get your appliances checked. This is a FREE service for landlords, agents or tenants to service their boilers on a yearly basis.Gas Safe even provide a service for lettings agents or landlords with multiple properties, which allows you to do bulk uploads of properties. Once you’ve uploaded them once with basic details including the month which a check is due, they will do the rest! All you need to worry about is choosing a Gas Safe registered engineer of your choice when the time comes to complete the work!
So what are you waiting for – STAY SAFE and take a load of your mind and make – get proactive and !
If you’re not sure of your obligations under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, HSE has free leaflets and a free Gas Safety Advice Line offering telephone help – 0800 300 363.
They also offer some great advice here: http://www.hse.gov.uk/gas/domestic/faqtenant.htm
See link for the gas map tool and reminder service:- http://www.staygassafe.co.uk
Source: http://www.arla.co.uk/news/march-2015/gas-safe/
**SALE** Half price student admin fees until 08.03.15 only – iConn Property Management, Canterbury
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For all of you still searching for your student accommodation for the next academic year, for three days only iConn are offering half price administration fees for ALL OF OUR AVAILABLE STUDENT PROPERTIES !!! This means that for each party securing a property with iConn for 2015-16, you each will only pay £90.00
To view our current student list, visit our website at http://www.iconnproperties.co.uk or contact the office on 01227 765008