Why it's more important than ever to use an Agent

If you think that’s an eye -watering volume of legislation and regulation for a typical amateur landlord to master, you’re right - and there’s more to come.

Renters Reform Bill

Whatever the rights and wrongs of this Bill - and I know many in the agency industry think it’s a heavy -handed approach that favours tenants - it promises new legislation and new challenges for landlords. As we all know there will be substantial changes to eviction powers under Section 8 and Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988. But on top of that there will be new rules surrounding pets in lets (with an exception on the Tenant Fees Ban to allow renters to pay insurance), plus what promises to be a complex Decent Homes Standard to which private rental accommodation must conform. Then there is a mandatory register for landlords and an Ombudsman scheme - details to be announced - which landlords will be legally obliged to join. Let’s be realistic. How many typic al landlords with just one or two properties will really get across all of these changes? It’s a potential recipe for disaster for the amateur landlord, especially as the Bill pledges beefed up enforcement by local councils and the prospect of more and higher fines for those who break the rules by accident or design.