A concerning new report has indicated that only half of UK landlords are ready for the Right to Rent rollout, which is set to come into effect in less than 2 weeks (February 1st).
Urban.co.uk conducted a survey of 5,000 landlords and found that 20% wrongly believed that they had until April 2017 to prepare for the changes. 3% thought they had until 2018!
Knowledge
These alarming findings were part of Urban.co.uk’s Landlord Knowledge Survey Report, which questioned landlords on issues relating to the leasing market.
With a number of new legislations coming into play in 2016 and landlords’ responsibilities growing, the investigation provided cause for concern.
Key findings from the report include:
- just 10% of landlords provide the correct information to their tenants at the start of a new tenancy
- 90% of landlords could not articulate the characteristics of a HMO
- 16% did not put a valid contact address on their tenancy agreements, something which could deem contracts being null and void
‘There has been an influx of new legislation relating to the rental market made in recent years and we know that UK landlords are struggling to keep on top of these changes,’ noted Adam Male, Co-Founder or Urban.co.uk. ‘Despite knowing many of the basics, many find it difficult to navigate the minefield of changing renting rights and wrongs and this is particularly so for accidental landlords.’[1]
Many landlords still not prepared for Right to Rent
Reassuring
Despite this perceived lack of understanding in some areas, thankfully, most landlords were found to be knowledgeable of most other rental issues. 77% were aware of the up-to-date Energy Performance Certificate requirements, with 95% of landlords able to identify their gas safety responsibilities.
76% of respondents knew their smoke alarm requirements, with 7% saying they put one in every room.
According to the research, the most knowledgeable landlords are located in Southampton, with the least located in Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Male went on to say, ‘it’s great to hear that knowledge about things such as gas safety is widely understood and implemented landlord legislation, however there is still a long way to go in educating landlords about the varying aspects of renting. New regulations such as the Right to Rent have the potential to stop back door lettings and create a better environment for all, however this will only happen if the scheme is communicated to landlords properly. We as an organisation want to do our bit to clean up the industry and help landlords protect themselves from significant financial risk.’[1]
[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/are-landlords-prepared-for-%C3%A3%C2%A2%C3%AB%C5%93right-to-rent%C3%A3%C2%A2%C3%A2%E2%80%9E%C2%A2.html