The rental market continues to be remarkably strong with October looking like breaking all records in terms of properties let with tenant demand going through the roof. Two and three bedroom properties are continuing to be the most popular with four or five viewers wanting to rent one house giving landlords the luxury of choice. Getting the right tenants is of course of paramount importance but lessening void periods between tenancies is also important with landlords now having to pay Council Tax on empty properties. Single occupant tenants get a 25% discount however no occupancy seems to get no deductions for landlords!!
There have been a number of reports in the media recently about the need for tougher regulation of the lettings industry, Nine million tenants rent property in England now and 40% of Letting Agents do not belong to any redress scheme or regulatory body. At Barbers we belong to The Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA ) and are members of the ombudsman scheme for letting agents. As part of these schemes we are striving towards having all of our staff qualified with a nationally recognized qualification. At this time over half our staff have passed the ‘National Federation of Property Professional technical award’ in residential letting and property management or the Association of Professional Inventory Providers (APIP) award. This, we feel sets us aside from our competitors in giving us more credibility within our industry and obvious increased knowledge for our staff in dealing with the ever complicated legal implications of letting property.
It has been reported that we are in for a harsh winter and if landlords do find their property is unoccupied during the winter months, there is a danger of pipes bursting in severe weather conditions.
It is vital that the central heating is left on low. Alternatively, draining the water from both the hot water supply and the central heating system will protect empty properties from possible damage. Attention may also be needed to outside taps.
If required, we can supply names and telephone numbers of several local plumbers any of whom can deal with the draining down on the system on your behalf.
Richard Heath FARLA, FNAEA, CRLM
Lettings Manager
In-house conveyancing with Barbers
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