At the joint Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH)/National Landlords Association (NLA) Private Rented Sector Conference on Tuesday 21st May 2013, the NLA announced that it will accredit all landlord members by 2020.
Deputy Chairman of the NLA, Carolyn Uphill, made a speech on providing an excellent service in the private rental sector, in which she outlined the NLA’s Vision for Accreditation.
The NLA is certain that landlord accreditation is vital to ensuring high standards in the private rental sector, and they recommend all landlords, members and non-members, to be accredited by the NLA.
The Vision for Accreditation will provide all NLA members with an opportunity to display their understanding and capability of being a landlord.
Accreditation will become a focus on NLA membership, demonstrating how NLA member landlords are different from other, non-accredited investors.
To become accredited by the NLA, landlords must complete an NLA foundation course, either at a seminar or online, and continue learning through continued professional development (CPD).
Landlords can contribute to CPD by joining landlord meetings and conferences, further landlord development courses, and studying NLA information.
The NLA highlight the importance of management skills and professional development, to guarantee that landlords understand their responsibilities and fulfil the standards and regulations of the private rental sector.
Many landlords, policy makers, and local authorities support the scheme.
Carolyn Uphill comments: “We believe that NLA membership should be synonymous with landlord professionalism, and accreditation is a significant factor in helping us achieve this. To have all our members accredited is an ambitious target but realistic in the lead-time provided.
“By demonstrating a level of competence represented by NLA accreditation, NLA members will be able to set themselves apart through evidence of their commitment to quality and standards.
“We all need to work together as an industry to improve the reputation of our sector, and NLA members can play an important role through leading by example.”1
1 http://www.landlords.org.uk/news-campaigns/news/nla-commits-accredit-all-members-2020