Landlords in Scotland are being urge to make sure that if they use a letting agent in Scotland that they have applied to be on the new letting agent register.
The deadline for lettings agents to register is 01 October in line with new rules introduced to crack down on rogue letting agents in Scotland and improving transparency in the private rented sector.
Landlords who are concerned that their agent is not preparing for the change are urged to get in touch with the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) or an ARLA registered agent for professional advice.
It will be a criminal offence to carry out letting agency work if you are not fully registered with the Scottish Government’s new Scottish Letting Agent Register. Agents are also required to be compliant with the lettings agent code of practice and to have all deposits lodged with a secure tenancy deposit scheme.
‘Transparency is imperative in the lettings sector yet we still hear of instances where safety and financial standards are being compromised. Fraud, money laundering and tax evasion is still rife amongst rogue letting agents, many of whom are also themselves landlords, despite measures being introduced to stamp this out,’ said Riccardo Giovanacci, letting director of Newton Property.
‘For too long now many letting agents have been operating in a sector that has been lacking minimum safety standards. We are well aware of many shocking instances of unhygienic living standards including vermin infestation and dangerous bacteria, including legionella and fungi, lurking in shower heads. Worse still are the cases of carbon monoxide being present in properties due to faulty boilers and this can be deadly,’ he pointed out.
‘In the Glasgow area alone, we have noticed a marked increase in the number of people posing as lettings agents over the past five to 10 years. From our own market analysis, we are aware of well over a hundred agents/landlords in operation however, we believe that that figure could be much higher, with many operating under the radar.’ He explained.
Newton fully welcomes the new registration which will offer reassurances that all agents have been vetted by the government, who will also store information on whether an agent has been refused or had their registration removed.
Possessing professional qualifications and having previous lettings experience is compulsory as part of this new registration process. However, Newton would question how many lettings agencies in operation would make the grade.
‘This registration, if policed appropriately, is a step in the right direction however, we believe that legislation could go further to help stamp out rogue letting agents and improve the standards of Scotland’s lettings sector,’ added Giovannacci.
The Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL) has reported that its membership has increased by almost 20% in the last 12 months among private landlords, letting agents and businesses which it puts down to the raft of new regulations affecting the sector.
‘We have seen membership increase, an increase in calls to our helpline full rooms at our regular branch meetings, sold out training sessions and a record number of downloads of the resources we provide on our website,’ said SAL chief executive, John Blackwood.
‘We hope that this activity will ensure that landlords and letting agents are fully up to date with changes to the rules and are able to continue to provide high quality accommodation across Scotland,’ he added.
