Letting Industry Faces Further Reform

As any landlord in the West Midlands will confirm, the UK letting industry has experienced a considerable number of changes and regulations in recent years. A lot of landlords have been overwhelmed with developments, and there is anecdotal evidence which suggests many letting industry professionals have left the market, or at least considered leaving the market, because of these changes.

However, any landlord who believes things will settle down may be in for a rude awakening. Further reform is likely as a working group is currently creating a new regulatory framework. In a talk at the Association of Residential Letting Agents conference, the Housing Minister Heather Wheeler spoke about recent and forthcoming changes. Client Money Protection rules have recently come into force, and these are compulsory, while the lettings fee ban comes into force in June. There will also be further changes after the introduction of this measure.

Fairness is essential in housing market

The Housing Minister said these changes form the basis of the new regulatory framework which the Regulation of Property Agents is creating. The group is working under Lord Best's leadership, and the group will pass a report to Wheeler shortly. A "powerful industry regulator" is expected to be one of the fundamental changes, and the Minister is looking to improve fairness across the sector.

Standards in the private rented sector have improved of late, but there is no denying that there is a lot of work to be carried out. Rogue landlords pose a genuine threat to tenants and the industry as a whole. Sadly, some law-abiding landlords have suffered due to the new measures aimed at targeting rogue landlords, but in the long-run, the sector should prosper if these changes create a more suitable environment for tenants to feel safe and confident, the industry benefits as a whole so that landlords will gain.

Longer tenancies could become a feature in market

One change that may be introduced in the future is longer tenancies. The Government recently called for evidence on this matter, and there were close to 9,000 responses. Therefore, officials are currently examining these responses, and the Minister has promised that landlords' concerns will be considered. It is crucial that landlords are supported and listened to during any changes, because while it is vital to help tenants, landlords cannot be cast aside or overlooked when it comes to improving the letting industry in general.

An issue that arose at the conference was many delegates raising concerns over the Tenant Fees Act, with many calling for a review of the Act. If rents rise due to the act, many landlords will suffer, and there is a call for the Act to be scrapped if a review shows that rents rise. ARLA has spoken out about the Tenant Fees Act and has stated that it is a very complex piece of legislation. Given the importance of the rental market, there is a need to ensure everything is considered, and it may be that once the Act is up and running, further reviews are required to ensure that it operates as effectively and as efficiently as possible.

If you are a West Midlands landlord looking for support and guidance, please contact Innovate as we are more than happy to help.

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