| ARLA
Regulation needed to protect business of residential letting
February 2009 ________________________________ Other
ARLA Press Releases on this site ________________________________ ARLA
PRESS RELEASE - 3rd February 2009: At the ARLA conference
on the 3rd February, property experts gathered to demand that British rental practices
are brought into the 21st Century by introducing minimum standards for agents. Property
experts gathered today to demand that British rental practices are brought into
the 21st Century by introducing minimum standards for agents At
the annual conference of the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA),
delegates heard plans to encourage confidence in privately rented accommodation. Dr.
Julie Rugg, the author of the Rugg Review into the Private Rented sector (PRS),
called for a new era of professionalism amongst letting agents, seeing their role
in solving problems in the current housing market as crucial. The
2007-2008 Survey of English Housing by the Communities and Local Government showed
that the PRS has grown substantially, from 2.7 million to nearly 3.0 million in
the period, its largest growth in over three decades. This
accounts for some 300,000 properties – vastly more than the total number of properties
completed – 175,000 – in 2007. ARLA expects that the figures for the 2008-2009
survey will be even higher. With
declining house sales prices creating a raft of “reluctant landlords”, there is
a pressing need for new standards to regulate the influx of rental properties
that has been predicted to extend the market further. In
its most recent survey of its members, ARLA found that 95 per cent of its members
are seeing an increase in rental property coming onto the market because it cannot
be sold. Ian
Potter, Operations Manager of ARLA, said: “The state of the market demands that
recognised minimum standards be introduced for all lettings agents. Historically,
a light regulatory touch has undermined confidence in private renting and with
an increase in rental properties there is no better time for radical reform.”
Currently,
individuals with no lettings qualifications or credentials can set themselves
up as an agent. The sector can, therefore, be seen as a riskier choice for consumers
than other options, with bad practice tarnishing the work of professionally trained
agents. ARLA
is calling for the swift introduction of a recognised, statutory minimum standard
for all lettings agents to root out cowboy practices and encourage a revival in
rented accommodation. Speaker
Dr. Julie Rugg, author of the Rugg Review, said: “Everybody is looking at the
PRS to help us deal with our housing problems. Agents are a big part of that,
making up around 60% of the market in one way or another and it’s high time they
started thinking about how they step up to the plate. “What
is required is increased professionalism from agents, a better quality of service
and, in particular, more commitment to ensuring each property they let is of appropriate
physical quality. I see this area of selling surveying services to landlords as
a big new business opportunity for agents.” Speaking
on behalf of the Government, the Junior Housing Minister Iain Wright’s representative
confirmed that the Government is considering the options presented by the Review,
in conjunction with other reports presented to them in 2008. Ian
Potter added: “Uncertainty and confusion continues to affect the market, so it
is not surprising that consumers are demanding more transparency and greater reassurance
than ever before. “ARLA is wholly committed to not only the regulation but also
the licensing of all lettings agents and we will be launching our own licence
in May this year.”
ARLA
is the Lettings and Residential Management Division of
the Federation of Property Professionals. Source
ARLA
________________________________
See also
The
Golden Age for The Landlord? Rental Demand Reaches Record High ‘Generation Rent’
must be given Regulatory Protection - October 2010 Housing
Minister Grant Shapps promises 'no more red tape' for private landlords - June
2010 ARLA
has appointed Sue Hughes-Thomas as president - June 2010 ARLA
launches buy-to-let mortgage comparison site - March 2010
Response
to FSA Paper on Mortgage Lending - October 2009 Response
to statistics from NLA on rental arrear-October 2009 Demand
in rental market returns for the first time since recession began - 28 September
2009 Review
of ARLA Agreement Magazine on Insurance - August 2009 Property
Woman of the Year ARLA sponsors young property woman award at the NLA Property
Women Awards 2009 - May 2009 ARLA
welcomes the Government’s “historic shift in thinking” on the private rented sector
towards improved industry standards - May 2009 ARLA
launches new licensing scheme to protect consumer interests - Consumer interests
safeguarded by letting agent licensing - May 2009 ARLA
- Research Reveals Britain’s Reluctant Landlords - April 2009 ARLA
demands an end to unregulated Letting agents - January 2009 ARLA
Welcomes Rugg Review on the Private Rented Sector - 24 October 2008 ARLA’s
Response to the Law Commission Report - August 2008 and
The
Law CommissionHousing: Encouraging Responsible Letting Professional
Property Organisations Tenancy
Deposit Scheme (TDS) UK mydeposits
will stick by all letting agentt- January 2009 Back
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jml
are members of the National
Landlords Association (NLA) in the UK
and Riviera
Business Club (RBC) in the Côte d'Azur France
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