NALS CONDEMNS GOVERNMENT DECISION TO SCRAP REGULATION

Caroline Pickering Chair of the National Approved Letting Scheme (NALS) forcefully criticises Grant Shapps, Minister for Housing, for his decision not to pursue regulation of the PRS and accepting the risks this poses to tenants and landlords:

“Grant Shapps and the Coalition are abandoning the consumer with their decision to scrap plans for the crucial, planned regulation of the Private Rented Sector (PRS). Why is this being abandoned just as more and more people are having to turn to the private rented sector for a home? There is plenty of evidence that consumers (tenants and landlords) are at risk because there is no compulsory regulation of the sector. 

“As one of our licensed firms puts it:  “It is all too easy for a rogue agent to fleece landlords and tenants of their money, to oversee the letting of properties that are in poor condition, and to damage local communities by leaving a trail of unpaid bills amongst hard working local trades people. This has to stop and the Government needs to take a lead here and deliver a frame work that requires as a minimum that a letting agent be a part of one of the current schemes (NALS, RICS or ARLA). This will involve no public expenditure, puts the regulatory function out to the private sector, addresses local concerns and will protect consumers.”

“The Rugg Review which was commissioned to look into the Sector and how best to raise standards, and most importantly protect tenants and landlords, advised that regulation is the best way forward, so why now when all the work has been put in place and we are at the point of execution is the Government discarding this?  It is easy to achieve and has the support of the Industry.

“By ignoring the needs of the PRS – now at a time of economic instability – the Government is putting people at risk.  We have seen a significant increase in agents misappropriating the monies of tenants and landlords, for those consumers with a licensed NALS firm they can claim back monies from the Client Money Protection scheme but not everyone is that lucky. 

“Consumers - tenants and landlords - are giving their own money to unaccredited Letting Agents without realising that these agents do not have to have any insurance to protect their money. This trust can and IS being abused.

“We have been working with the Police on many cases to charge those unscrupulous agents using consumer monies as an overdraft and worse yet absconding completely, and charges have now been made in some cases, and more expected.  But the Government needs to take action to end this illegal behaviour.

“The Industry has been working with Government over the past year to create and build a light-touch consumer protection scheme which would be available to all agents, at a low cost and easy to comply with - no heavy financial or fancy bureaucratic burden but strong and visible protection for the consumer.  People will continue to be at risk just when they need to know where they can safely go when they need to rent a home.  If the Government does not plan to protect the consumer by introducing much needed regulation, we appeal to them to talk to us and the Industry urgently or risk further avoidable risk.” 

After April 6th 2010 if you want to rent a house to three unrelated people such as nurses sharing, a family with a lodger, students, young professionals, immigrant workers and even the elderly, you will need planning permission.

Popularly called Studentification - these new powers will affect any rented property not rented by a family or related group.

You will have to pay and wait for planning permission before you can legally rent to them and all because Secretary of State John Denham will not listen to the combined voices of landlords and tenants, students, letting agents and local retailer organisations (RLA, BPF, NUS) who are against the measures.

You can make a difference by emailing your MP NOW or follow this link and sign a Petition at No. 10: http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/noplanningchange

Please don’t think it won’t affect you because you don’t have shared tenancies. Planning Use Class change means you need planning permission if:

• Three nurses/doctors/graduates want to share your flat or house. This applies if two are sharing already and want to add a third occupant to help with the rent.
• You want to buy a house for your son or daughter at university so they can share with friends.
• But you lose planning permission if your existing shared house is let to a family. It will probably lose value too. Then you have to apply for planning permission again to get it back – and there’s no guarantee that it will be granted.

From 1st October 2008 Landlords will be legally obliged to provide a valid Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) to tenants each time the property is offered for rent.

What is an Energy Performance Certificate?

The Energy Performance Certificate or EPC is the energy efficiency rating of a property, precisely a building. The rating is represented graphically on a scale from A to G, where A stands for the most efficient energy performance and G stands for the least efficient energy performance. Side-by-side energy performance of buildings, the EPC depicts the environmental impact of a building in terms of Carbon Dioxide or CO 2 emissions. The energy rating given can be compared to "miles per gallon (mpg)" for a car.

The Certificate also includes recommendations on ways to improve the home's energy efficiency to save you money and help the environment.

What will the inspector look for?

During home inspection, the home inspector will record the key information that affects the energy efficiency of a property. For example, the depth of insulation in the roof will be measured as will the efficiency of the boiler. All this data is entered into a computer program that calculates the energy efficiency and produces a result on an easy to read scale. 

EPC’s are valid for 10 years; they do not need to be renewed with each change of tenancy.

How much does it cost?

About Houses Ltd are offering our landlords a cost effective and efficient way of bringing properties inline with the new regulations.

About Houses Ltd will organise on the landlord behalf, a fully qualified accredited Energy Assessor, who visits the property to collect the relevant data and creates the certificate. This data includes the date, construction and location of the house and relevant fittings (heating systems, insulation or double glazing, for example).  We have undertaken extensive research and average costings have been in the region of £100.00 + VAT. After negotiations, we have managed to secure a one off cost of £85.00 + VAT per property, this price is held for us exclusively until Friday 12^th September. After this time, prices will be rising rapidly.

Tax allowance

The Landlords Energy Savings  Allowance (LESA) gives landlords a tax break to help with the cost of energy efficiency improvements.

It is available to all landlords including corporate landlords who pay income tax and let residential property.

Under the scheme landlords can claim £1500 tax relief for expenditure on the following energy efficiency measures for each building they own:

• Cavity wall and solid wall insulation
• Draught proofing
• Hot water tank and pipe insulation
• Loft insulation