If you are a landlord, you can’t have missed the continual changes in legislation that have affected the rental market throughout the past decade; Deposit Protection, Right to Rent, MEES, EICRs, Stamp Duty Reform, Tenant Fee Act, Discrimination of DSS tenants, Pet reform... to name but a few. In fact there are now over 150 separate pieces of legislation that govern the private rental sector and that landlords must know and understand in order to manage their properties correctly.
It is no surprise therefore that landlords are moving away from managing their rental properties themselves but are instead seeking assistance when it comes to understanding their responsibilities and this ever changing legal minefield.
But what is a Fully Managed Service and why do landlords need it? Many landlords will use a letting agent to find a tenant for their property, but then they will need to make the decision on whether to hand over the management of that property to an agent as well. There are many benefits of a fully managed service including, • Liaison between tenants and landlords. • Rent collection • Safety and Legal compliance management • Quarterly property inspections • Management of property maintenance • Assistance in any disputes ie. Rental payments or deposits
Many landlords prefer to use a fully managed letting service as it can remove the every day stress of being a landlord, such as dealing with tenants, the possibility of rent arrears and managing tradespeople when maintenance problems arise. Placing all of these issues into someone else’s hands removes the day to day hassle of property management and frees up a landlord’s time to concentrate on other things.
The most important part of this service is that your agent should ensure that you are fully compliant with all of the relevant legislation and laws relating to the letting and renting of residential property. It is invaluable to have experts who are fully up to date with any changes in the law that could affect your property and the tenancy, and to have someone who is able to offer advice that is easy to understand, relevant to your personal situation and free of confusing legal jargon.
Good, fully managed property services do however present a monthly cost to the landlord. In the Amber Valley and surrounding areas prices typically range from 7% to 12% of the monthly rental income (these prices being both inclusive and exclusive of VAT) but a landlord might consider this money well spent in order to achieve peace of mind.