Rent protection insurance is designed to bring landlords and letting agents peace of mind, covering a loss of income if a tenant’s unable to pay rent. This peace of mind was shaken by the pandemic, and the government’s decision to temporarily pause eviction proceedings until the end of August.

This article was published on 24 September 2020. Although we endeavour to keep our coronavirus (COVID-19) content as up to date as possible, the situation is rapidly changing, so please ensure you refer to gov.uk for the latest advice and information.

The Government has issued guidance on the temporary changes to possession proceedings, which will remain in place in England and Wales until at least 28 March 2021. The temporary amendment makes several changes to the usual process for possession proceedings, including requiring claimants who wish to resume proceedings to “inform the court and defendant in writing of this after the expiry of the stay in a 'reactivation notice'”. The government warns that many cases have built up during the six-month suspension period and courts are still not operating at their full capacity, which means in most cases it will take longer than eight weeks for claims to be heard. A "winter truce" on evictions also means that no evictions will take place between 11 December 2020 and 11 January 2021.

Only 10% of lettings professionals want to go back to the office on a full-time basis at the end of the pandemic, found a recent poll conducted by Goodlord, which shows that many people have embraced the benefits of working from home during the Covid-19 pandemic. Almost half of poll respondents - 47% - said that would prefer to work from the office only if there was increased flexibility to work from home, while a further 24% said they would prefer to work from home on a part-time basis and 20% said they would prefer to work from home full-time. Although the poll included only a small sample size, the results are likely to reflect shifting views to remote working all over the world as a result of an extended lockdown.

The government has confirmed its intention to end the "moratorium on evictions" from social or private rented accommodation on 23 August. This means that from 24 August, “the courts will begin to process possession cases again.” When they do, there will be a new ‘pre-action protocol’ that letting agents and landlords will need to comply with.

There’s already a protocol in place for claims by social landlords which seeks to help parties to work through issues before taking action through the court and it is believed this will be extended to private landlords. The aim of the protocol is to encourage more pre-action contact between the parties, the exchange of information and to avoid litigation. Anthony Di Palma, a solicitor at DAS Law, talks through what this could look like. Note that this is based on limited information available at this moment in time and we await further clarification from the government.

When taking on a new tenant, your landlord wants to know that their property will be well looked after, and that they’ll receive payments on time and in full - especially when letting to new tenants while the pandemic is still ongoing and causing uncertainty. Referencing checks that your landlord’s tenant will meet these criteria and that they’ll be a suitable fit. A robust referencing process goes even further than this and directly impacts your revenue - making the value of referencing even more pronounced. 

Goodlord has announced that it will join forces with referencing platform Vouch to create a new market leader, with the fast-growing Vouch business being welcomed into the Goodlord group.

The Chancellor’s summer statement, ‘A Plan for Jobs 2020', comes as nearly all restrictions from the lockdown have been lifted, and moves us into the “second phase of our economic response” to the pandemic.

In autumn 2019, DAS UK, one of the leading underwriters of landlord legal expenses and rent guarantee products, was excited to announce a new partnership with property technology company Goodlord, one of the rising stars of the UK PropTech scene.

More people will choose to live in build-to-rent (BTR) developments as the sector matures and tenants become more familiar with what’s on offer, thinks Martin Tyson, a lettings manager who specialises in BTR properties for CBRE.

The lettings industry is heading into its busiest period of the year. 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.