Just when you thought there would be no more upheaval, the lettings industry in England will face more change in the coming months.
Housing Minister Heather Wheeler confirmed while speaking at the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) national conference that more reform is on its way, with longer tenancies the most likely to be first.
This comes on the back of a series of changes relating to regulations and tax in recent years and there seems to be quite a bit of determination at ministerial level to do more, all wrapped up in a driving up quality and professionalism bag. And there is nothing wrong with that.
While for some it may seem that there has been an endless round of regulatory change, if it helps to crackdown on the number of rogue landlords and agents out there than that is positive and if it moves the lettings sector into becoming more professional then that too can only be for the good.
Compulsory client money protection rules that have just come into force and the lettings fee ban due is in June. Wheeler said that they herald the introduction of a new regulatory framework currently being devised by the Regulation of Property Agents working party, currently sitting under the leadership of Lord Best.
The group is expected to report back to Wheeler shortly with recommendations which she indicated will lead to reform, including ëa powerful industry regulatorí. She told delegates that further industry wide regulation is needed to improve fairness.
She believes that there is still some way to go in terms of raising standards in the private rented sector and this is why more change will be addressed. She also told the conference that a final report on the review of selective licensing schemes, first pledged in 2015 and eventually launched last October, will be published soon.
Wheeler hinted that one forthcoming change could relate to longer tenancies. She revealed that the Governmentís recent call for evidence on the subject attracted over 8,700 responses and officials are currently working on a response. She confirmed that landlordsí concerns about regaining possession of property will be taken into account.
The change on length of tenancies should be welcomed by tenants with lots of research indicating that renters want more stability, especially those with families. The latest rental report from lettings franchise Belvoir shows that tenants are remaining longer in properties, with a slight increase in the proportion of tenants renting 13 to 18 months and over two years.
Its analysis of landlord trends found that the main reasons for landlord sales are tax changes, constant regulation and legislative changes resulting in less returns, and some landlords choosing to release capital or move back into properties themselves.
Meanwhile, new guidance has been released on inventory reports to help landlords and letting agents ahead of the introduction of the Tenant Fees Act in June 2019 which means that tenants cannot be charged for extra services, including independent inventories, so the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS), the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) and the Association of Independent Inventory Clerks (AIIC) have moved to reassure agents and landlords.
Landlords might then have to cover this cost themselves, rather than the charging or splitting costs with tenants. Without this option, some letting agents may choose to take the service in-house to minimise costs.
TDS says that the inventory guidance can provide information in order to ensure best practice amongst landlords and agents who may have previously relied on outside bodies completing reports for them on the basis that the tenant would be covering some of the fee.
This is all about professionalism and it is positive that so many organisations are coming together to support letting agents and ultimately landlords. The sector will thrive and hopefully the bad eggs will be gone. (pardon the Easter pun).
