Professionals or pretenders

from Beresfords Magazine Spring/Summer 2023

Witham

So, what does this mean to both landlords and tenants?

The residential lettings industry has and continues to experience extensive changes as the Government introduces new or amends existing legislation which in some way or another affects both landlords and tenants. Furthermore, from a landlord’s perspective HMRC have recently revised their rules when assessing the tax liabilities of people who own investment properties. Often changes are introduced at short notice and there is limited media coverage outside of the industry itself, meaning that consumers are often completely unaware of what has changed and how it will affect them personally.

Propertymark is the recognised professional body which regulates the lettings industry but unfortunately, they have limited input in terms of any proposed changes being considered by the government or HMRC. This is disappointing as they represent those agents who voluntarily opt to adhere to a strict code of professional conduct and are therefore classified as regulated agents.

Notwithstanding this Propertymark is generally first to be updated once any new rules, regulations are to be implemented or changes made to the current process.

In turn their member agents will be informed, and they should be updating their landlords and tenants accordingly.

Unfortunately, so many agents choose not to be regulated and therefore are often not as up to date as they should be. This results in their customers failing to receive appropriate advice leaving them exposed both legally and financially. In fact, it is estimated that more than 60% of all letting agents in the UK remain unregulated.

Using a regulated agent approved by Propertymark offers many benefits. As well as receiving reliable and up to date advice, any rent or deposit monies received and processed by the agent on behalf of landlords and tenants is automatically protected. It is a little like the role of ABTA within the travel industry. Always remain mindful that unregulated agents offer no such guarantees, so whether you are a landlord or tenant before commencing your journey with an agent always ascertain if they are fully regulated.

Unsure of whether to invest in a Buy-to-Let property?

Of course, any investment carries some element of risk, but bricks and mortar has proved very resilient over the medium-longer term and provided some excellent returns. Just look at the information below retrieved from Government Land Registry. It shows the percentage increase in average selling prices over the last 10 years in some of our local areas. So had an investor purchased a property, rented it out and held it for this long not only would they have received income each month from the rent paid, but also retain extensive profits should they decide to sell the property and cash in on the additional equity generated.