Khalil: What will a compulsory redress scheme mean for landlords?

Addressing landlord concerns

At the recent Conservative Party Conference plans were unveiled for a compulsory ombudsman scheme for the private rented sector.
The aims of the scheme are laudable: to allow tenants to feel that they have somewhere to turn to redress anything that has gone wrong.
But it’s the possible side-effects that may worry landlords.
The scheme will, of course, need funding, and landlords fear that responsibility for this may fall on them. Funds could be raised through compulsory membership fees, or through the levying of heavy fines. It may, indeed, be that funds are actually generated through both.
Communities Secretary, Sajid Javid, was clear his sights were set squarely on rogue landlords, but that the scheme would require every landlord to join.

He commented:
“For too long, tenants have felt unable to resolve the issues they’ve faced, be it insecure tenure, unfair letting agents’ fees or poor treatment by their landlord with little to no means of redress.
We’re going to change that.
We will insist that all landlords are part of a redress scheme and we will regulate letting agents who want to operate.
Everyone has a right to feel safe and secure in their own homes and we will make sure they do.”

Fines and fees on the rise
The private rented sector is increasingly strictly regulated, and the rules governing it seem to change often. The prospect of fines for not complying with these ever-changing regulations is already a very real fear for many small landlords.
The talk of an ombudsman seems to raise the bar even higher. And it could well set the penalties for not complying higher still.
With some councils now introducing landlord licensing schemes – which landlords must pay to join – many fear that the ombudsman scheme will introduce an additional fee that landlords have to factor in.
This will come on top of the extra fees expected to fall on landlords as a consequence of the proposed letting fees ban. The government is pressing on with its plans to ban letting agents charging fees to tenants in England. This means landlords are likely to have to pay for the likes of referencing, credit and right to rent checks themselves.
Details of the ombudsman scheme are still sketchy. They may be fleshed out in November’s budget but, until then, landlords will watch for more announcements with a certain sense of foreboding.

Landlords are struggling to keep up
Landlords currently provide a fifth of all homes in the UK. The majority of these landlords are not full-time landlords and probably own just one property.
For landlords like these keeping up with the increasingly rigorous rules that govern property letting is incredibly time-consuming.
But there is an easier way.

Khalil’s Rent Guarantee Scheme
Khalil’s can guarantee your rent day in and day out, regardless of whether your property is occupied or not.
But, more than this, we also take care of handling all your tenant relationships, and we look after the daily maintenance of your property.
By leasing your property to us, we take on the risks of compliance and the stress of letting. You just have to accept your rent each month.
In times when the odds are increasingly stacked against landlords, we can reduce the worries and the risks of letting property.

Phone: 01273 573960 Mobile: 07984 015669
Email: ahmed@khalilproperties.co.uk
Address: 124 Lewes Road, Brighton, BN2 3LG
www.khalilproperties.co.uk