Landlords looking to join up to an accreditation scheme should have a look at this website run by ANUK Accreditation Network UK which promotes voluntary landlord accreditation schemes as a way as improving conditions within the Private Rental Sector.
We have expressed in the past our opposition to a mandatory landlord licence as being largely a pointless piece of paper. Is accreditation the way forward?
Accreditation being voluntary allows a landlord to choose to join up. Membership of an accreditation scheme may make the landlord stand out to potential tenants as a good landlord and therefore make it easier to let their property. It appears particularly popular in student accommodation where historically some student accommodation and landlords were not seen as being of the highest quality.
Are landlord accreditation schemes any good? Let us know.
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2 comments:
Sandwell is an area West of Birmingham and is the area where the Industrial Revolution started. 50 years ago it was the manufacturing heart of the UK and was heavily populated by factory workers.
Today the dense population is still evident, but computers, manufacturing decline and general demographic change have radically altered the number of available jobs in this area.
It is an excellent rental area as many of the residents are not in well paid jobs and cannot afford to buy, and the local councils struggle to meet their statutory housing obligations. For this reason landlord accreditation is part of the Sandwell Council housing strategy.
They need to regulate because of bad landlords and some very poor housing stock, but they also want to work with and actively encourage as many good landlords as possible.
In Sandwell they try to assist the process of landlord education and legal compliance, something I know you also do via the Property Hawk website. Besides offering a thorough landlord education and free help in ensuring your property is free from safety hazards, other help I have had includes the benefit of free epc certificates and professional help with a damp problem in one of my brand new apartments. Accredited Landlords also have a named individual at the Council who works with Landlords to ensure that they do know their way around the mysteries of Housing Benefit, and do know what changes are happening and how it might impact on you and your tenant. This has been very positive in helping landlords to avoid falling into the many traps there for the unwary, and having a named, known contact also improves the service levels offered to us.
Having accredited private landlords also helps the officers in the Council meet some of their obligations, they need to protect the vulnerable people in society, and sometimes need to take swift action. When they have landlords and safe properties already assessed and checked out, this also helps them to act quickly when housing vulnerable people in their care.
I think the accreditation schemes themselves and perhaps the government or local authorities should do more to make tenants aware that they exist otherwise they could be largely overlooked. So much more could be done to stop unscrupulous landlords and agents.
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