Happy New Year to you all!
Now that we’re back into the swing of things we thought now is the right time to look at what new rules and regulations are coming into play in 2018 throughout the property industry. We feel it is important to keep you all updated as the changes will affect not just landlords, but tenants and agents as well.
Minimum Efficiency Standards and the 10 year renewal of (Energy Performance Certificates) EPC’s will come into play.
This will mainly affect properties with a rating of F or G, landlords must ensure that a property reaches a grade of at least E before granting a new tenancy), and properties being remarketed as the EPC may need renewing. You can check your property rating online.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will bring an update to the current Data Protection rules and regulations.
Part 5 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 requiring Electrical Safety Testing to ensure that electrical safety standards are met during any rental period. This still has to come in to force, but we would always recommend that whilst it is not mandatory, our landlords ensure that all appliances are safe as well as the electrics. The seriousness of this has been sadly highlighted with the Grenfell Tower disaster.
Mandatory Client Money Protection for all agents. We welcome this as we have had this in place for our clients for some time now and feel that it provides a necessary assurance to our customers.
Tenant Fee Ban. Unfortunately, it has become apparent that some agents have been charging disproportionate fees to tenants, which has now resulted in an impending total ban.
This will affect everyone involved in the industry – agents, landlords and tenants. We feel that the value of a good agency looking after your rental investment has significantly increased over the last few years. With the vast amount of regulation that now surrounds the lettings industry, tenant referencing and compliance with the right to rent legislation, the cost of providing this service has significantly increased and will continue to do so. We have therefore been examining how we can continue to provide a high level of professional service, whilst ensuring full compliance. Over the coming months we shall continue to work at streamlining procedures, examining our business costs, increasing our customer base and gaining new income streams.
We are always here to discuss any of your concerns or questions either in person or on the telephone, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch with any of our team via phone-call or email.
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