10 Reasons to enlist a Lettings Specialist such as Belvoir Tunbridge Wells to take the strain & manage your rental property on your behalf:
The fully managed lettings service offered by Belvoir Tunbridge Wells goes way beyond just finding a tenant for your property. Our team are lettings specialists with decades of experience and a black book crammed full of local property maintenance experts and an in-depth knowledge of the legislative requirements on landlords of private residential properties. Not only that, your local Belvoir team are fully supported by the property advisors and legal team at Belvoir UK
Here are 10 excellent reasons why you should use an agent to manage your property rather than doing it yourself with all the hard work and worry that entails:
1. The Government have announced that all private landlords must be members of a redress scheme with a £5k fine if they do not do so. Belvoir Tunbridge Wells are members of the Property Ombudsman, a government approved redress scheme.
2. Under the ‘Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018’ private landlords are required to ensure they meet property standards in all areas, including communal areas, and meet safety requirements throughout a tenancy. They can be sued by tenants for breaches. Belvoir conduct 6 monthly property inspections for our fully managed landlords to check that their properties are meeting required standards and can prompt remedial maintenance work required to prevent more costly repairs at a later date. See our Inspections blog:
3. Minimum energy efficiency standards have been in place since April 2018 which make it unlawful for private landlords to rent a property which has a rating lower than an E.
4. Plans were announced in January for Mandatory Electrical Safety Checks every 5 years to be made law. Landlords must keep up to date with requirements as this goes through the legal system to become statute.
5. The Private Rented Sector has been bombarded with legislation and there are well over 170 pieces of legislation to be compliant with. As local property specialists we keep up with legislation in our reading and training, are provided with advice from Belvoir Central Office and can also use the Belvoir legal team if required, plus our lettings team are all full members of ARLA Propertymark which requires them to have undertaken extensive training and passed the ARLA courses. ARLA is the foremost professional and regulatory body for landlords and stands for the Association of Residential Letting Agents.
6. An agent will have a robust and automated system for recording rents due and other key dates such as the annual Gas Safety Certificate and updating Right to Rent checks. We see many self-managed landlords miss key dates and thus expose themselves to fines. Plus they can provide you with a neat annual statement for your tax return.
7. Landlords are obliged to check smoke alarms on move in day or risk a fine. Belvoir arrange this on our fully managed landlord’s behalf.
8. Landlords dealing directly with their tenants can easily become too friendly and familiar which can make any issues difficult to deal with such as chasing tenants for rent, disputes over damage. Using Belvoir keeps an independent interface between you and your tenants which can be invaluable when contentious issues arise.
9. Agents are open every working day and have out-of-hours arrangements for clients. For private landlords it is a sad truth that it may be a day you are on the beach or heading off on a plane that your tenant contacts you with an urgent issue.
10. Agents have a network of trusted, reliable local contractors (with relevant insurance and qualifications) so you don’t have to find a good plumber/electrician at short notice with an upset tenant breathing down your neck. Belvoir have taken years to build up a ‘black book’ of local professionals who we know to be both efficient, reliable and trustworthy. Passing regular business to them means contractors are already on side for doing jobs requested by Belvoir and more likely to slot in a difficult or urgent job if the need arises.
If you are not already convinecd, here are some real-life case studies that highight the real value in an agent providing full management of rental properties rather than an individual taking the pressure and risk on their own shoulders:
- A landlord who did not realise they needed a Gas Safety Certificate for four years had made themselves susceptible to a £5,000 fine. Fortunately there had been no issue at the property in this instance but with any tenant in residence, but particularly an elderly tenant, the risk from a faulty gas applicance cannot be underestimated.
- In the case of Regina v. Gurphal Singh a tenant died and both the contractor and landlord received a custodial sentence for not discharging the duty of care under the Gas Safety Regulations.
- A tenant was awarded £170,000 plus £120,000 legal costs for being unable to work as a result of a leaking gas fire in a rental property in the case of MacRae v. London Borough of Camden.
- A landlord failed to register a deposit within the required 30 days – for this breach of deposit protection law the tenant can apply for compensation of up to 3 x the deposit amount which would be over £3000 for the average rental property in Tunbridge Wells.
- A Landlord let a property to a friend without proper referencing and no deposit: the friend started paying rent late with various excuses, then asked for rent to be reduced and eventually left the property in an unclean state with a string of minor damages and breakages. Belvoir would have been conducting regular property inspections, keeping in regular communication with the landlord and tenant to advise on what should be done to maintain the property in it’s correct state. Arrears are always managed promptly with courtesy, and full documentation, to permit an effective escalation path if needed.
- In the case of Saxby v. McKinley when the tenant was in arrears on the rent, the landlord changed the locks. He knew it was illegal and when instructed by the court to let the tenant back into the property, ignored the order. He was imprisoned for 28 days for unlawful eviction.
Thinking of letting Belvoir Tunbridge Wells take the strain? Our full terms are online HERE but we would be delighted to arrange an appointment (by Zoom or in person as you desire) to talk it over without obligation. Call the office on 01892 615333 to arrange that appointment.
