Newsagent covers the latest news and insights from the private rented sector for letting agents.
It's a busy time in sales and lettings - and Silwoods Estate and Letting Agents has decided to delve into the world of video marketing to help alleviate time pressures on its staff and ensure it can continue to bring the best value to its customers and landlords.
The new right to rent online checking process, the upcoming end of the furlough scheme, and property stock levels are just three things that will affect the referencing process for landlords and agents going forwards.
Goodlord has partnered with Legal & General to offer tenants renting a property through the Goodlord platform a new Illness and Injury Insurance, designed for the modern-day renter.
Demand is growing as we head into the traditionally busy summer months for lettings and you can make sure you’re not wasting your landlords' or agency’s time or money on applicants your referencing provider would advise against with just a few key questions.
EU, EEA, and Swiss citizens will need to use the government's new "View and Prove" online service to demonstrate their right to rent in England after 30 June 2021.
Estate and letting agencies who embrace strong internal communication to maintain company culture will find their staff are more motivated and productive. This can then have a positive impact on conversations with landlords and tenants, as this extract from our latest e-book, How to maximise your agency's potential, explains.
Letting agency Property Shop Yorkshire goes through an extensive pre-qualification process with its applicants, taking care to find tenants that are suitable for its landlords' properties well before referencing starts.
Lettings businesses that are subject to money laundering legislation need to register with HMRC by 10 June, or risk a penalty, in addition to carrying out a risk assessment and customer due diligence to be compliant with The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Regulations 2019.
Referencing company Vouch, which joined the Goodlord family under the umbrella of the Goodlord Group in 2020, has launched "Home Move Assistant", a new portal to help letting agents boost their revenue streams with commission-based services for tenants.
Voids are tumbling across the country and rents continue to be more resilient than predicted, shows the latest Goodlord Rental Index.
"What I'm learning through valuations and through general meetings with clients is that some of the basic principles are not understood," says Mahul Shah, Director at Silwoods Estate and Letting Agents. "Clients often ask 'what is the evaluation process? What is the process from taking on a client all the way through to the moving-in stage?' There's quite a bit involved in that entire process."
Topics: Customer experience
Although there are set criteria to establish a tenant's suitability to rent a property - ID, credit, residential and income - there are other legislative and industry-level forces at play that need to be understood as we look to the future. Amongst them, the new right to rent process, the end of the furlough scheme, and the pressures around falling levels of stock for agencies and tenants should be kept front of mind.
Topics: Business
Goodlord has partnered with market-leading insurance experts, Legal & General, to be the first to offer tenants across the UK access to Illness and Injury Insurance specifically designed by Legal & General for renters. The product is set to further bolster Goodlord's existing catalogue of insurance products for the lettings sector, including Rent Protection & Legal Expenses Insurance and Tenants Content and Liability Insurance.
Topics: Goodlord Group
Demand in lettings has been gradually building in recent months - and shows no sign of abating as we head into the summer, with rents currently high and voids low across England according to Goodlord's Rental Index. This means it's important to make sure you’re not wasting your agency’s time or money on applicants your referencing provider would advise against.
Topics: Compliance
The government has confirmed how landlords and letting agents will check the right to rent status of EU, EEA, and Swiss citizens after 30 June 2021, many of whom will no longer be able to physically document their right to rent in England after this date. Citizens from the EU, EEA, and Switzerland who have successfully applied to the EU Settlement Scheme or for a UK visa will need to use the government's new "View and Prove" online service to share their right to rent status with landlords and letting agents.
Topics: Compliance
While staff motivation, engagement, and productivity have been hot topics throughout the transition to remote work, keeping staff interconnected and passionate about their job is one of the key traits of an agile business - and should remain a top priority to ensure your agency runs efficiently.
Topics: Business
"Our referencing model is a bit different to other agents. We spend a lot of time pre-vetting people," says Ryan Melles, Owner of The Property Shop Yorkshire, an agency focused solely on lettings and property management in Bridlington on the East coast of Yorkshire.
Topics: Customer experience
Estate and letting agents who receive rent payments equivalent to €10,000 or more per month for a property have been subject to anti-money laundering legislation - the Fifth Money Laundering Directive which falls under The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Regulations 2019 - since 10January 2020. To remain compliant, agencies that fall into this category must also register with HMRC by 10 June 2021.
Topics: Compliance
Referencing service provider and part of the Goodlord Group Vouch has launched “Home Move Assistant”, a portal designed to create improved commission-based revenue streams for letting agents and ease the transition of home services for tenants.
Topics: Goodlord Group
The rental market roared back to life in May after a steady start to 2021, with void periods diminishing across the country, according to the latest Goodlord Rental Index. Despite the sales market taking centre stage following the stamp duty-induced frenzy, the increasingly strong performance for lettings is set to dominate the narrative this summer. Across the country, voids are tumbling and rents continue to be more resilient than predicted.
Topics: Data
