Property website dishes out landlord advice

 

New private landlords have been advised on how to set the correct rent levels for the properties they are marketing.

With a number of industry commentators, such as Gumtree.com and the Association of Residential Letting Agents, indicating that an increasing number of individuals are joining the rental market, it could be welcome guidance for many.

According to email4property.co.uk’s landlord advice, property owners need to be realistic when it comes to setting a rental price.

“Take the [letting] agent’s advice on what is an achievable rent and look at local newspapers and property websites to see what else is available and at what price,” the website stated.

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Estate agents switch to lettings

 

With the economic downturn many sales agents are changing to lettings but lack the necessary expertise.
Stephen Ludlow comments: ‘Legislation wise, the lettings industry is more involved than sales and it is very difficult for a sales estate agent to just change over to the lettings industry overnight. They will not have the systems, schemes or knowledge necessary to operate on a daily basis. A letting agent must understand the tenancy deposit scheme, about taking deposits and how to adequately take references on tenants.
It might seem easy enough to buy terms and conditions and letting agreements off the shelf, but nevertheless the estate agent will need to have a knowledge of how to deal with all the legalities. They need to know about break clauses, company lets, inventories, overseas landlords, HMO – to name but a few areas

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Changes to the EPC regulations

EPC Regulations 

As of 1 October 2008, the requirement for an Energy Performance Certificate (“EPC”) where a property is sold or let applies to all commercial properties. When a building is to be sold or rented out, the seller or landlord must provide any prospective buyer or tenant with a valid EPC free of charge and at the earliest opportunity.
Developers are required to produce an EPC when a building is erected or converted into fewer or more units and the services in the building are modified. This replaces the requirement to produce an energy rating for new dwellings, contained in the Building Regulations 2000.

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