Posts with tag: Rent Smart Wales

Only 2 weeks left to register for Rent Smart Wales

Published On: November 8, 2016 at 2:32 pm

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Landlords in Wales have just two weeks to sign up for Rent Smart Wales, before the scheme becomes a mandatory requirement.

A new registration and licensing system, Rent Smart Wales represents a large change for the private rental sector. The scheme is intended to push up the quality of rental accommodation in the country and went live last year.

Rent Smart Wales requirements

The scheme obliges all landlords and letting agents to register their investment properties and to undergo training to gain a licence, should an investor wish to self-manage their property.

Now, only 2 weeks remain until the 23rd November deadline, after which it becomes an offence to either let or manage a property without the sufficient licence.

Designed to improve standards in the private rental sector in the principality, Rent Smart Wales offers training courses and information for landlords. In addition, it gives local councils a greater understanding of where properties are located.

Only 2 weeks left to register for Rent Smart Wales

Only 2 weeks left to register for Rent Smart Wales

Registration

David Cox, Managing Director, Association of Residential Letting Agents, observed: ‘The law means landlords in Wales-and those in the rest of the UK who own properties in Wales-need to register themselves and their properties with Rent Smart Wales, as well as being suitably trained and licensed to carry out letting or property management activities.’[1]

‘If landlords do not wish to get trained, they need to arrange for a trained and licensed agent to manage their properties on their behalf,’ he continued.[1]

However, concern is growing that a number of buy-to-let landlords and letting agents in Wales have not signed up for Rent Smart Wales.

Cox notes: ‘Given the 23rd November deadline for registration and licensing is only two weeks away, it’s concerning that it appears only about one quarter of agents are currently licensed.’[1]

‘If landlords and agents find themselves unlicensed when the deadline arrives on 23rd November, they will be unable to practice, so it’s important to act to soon to ensure the necessary qualifications and other regulatory requirements have been undertaken before then, in order to comply with the legislation,’ he concluded.[1]

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2016/11/deadline-looms-for-landlords-to-register-in-wales

 

Thousands of landlords still haven’t signed up to Rent Smart Wales

Published On: September 15, 2016 at 10:43 am

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Concerning new figures have revealed that thousands of landlords in Wales have not yet signed up for Rent Smart Wales. This is despite there being less than two months remaining before the scheme becomes a mandatory requirement.

Rent Smart Wales

Rent Smart Wales is a registration and licensing system in Wales, which went live last year. The scheme requires all landlords and letting agents to register their properties and undergo training to obtain a licence should they wish to self-manage their investment.

Landlords and letting agents in Wales have been given a deadline of 23rd November in which to comply with the new legislation. After then, it becomes a criminal offence to let or manage a property without the sufficient licence.

In particular, landlords in Swansea are causing concern, with extremely low numbers signed up to the scheme.

A Freedom of Information request has revealed that only 1,565 landlords in Swansea had already registered with Rent Smart Wales at the end of August. This is only just over a fifth of the total number of landlords required to do so.

Quality

The scheme is designed to improve the quality of rental accommodation in Wales, through both providing training courses and giving local councils a better understanding of where properties are situated.

However, Rent Smart Wales estimates that 8.3% of homes in Swansea are privately rented. This amounts to around 7,500 eligible properties in the city.

Welsh Liberal Democrat politician, Peter Black, noted: ‘with the registration period almost over, the failure to enlist the vast majority of landlords into this compulsory scheme has put it into crisis mode.’[1]

‘Unless there is a surge of registrations in the final two months then it will become impossible to administer this scheme effectively. Swansea tenants will miss out on the protections offered by the legislation and those living near badly managed privately rented properties will have fewer options to deal with problems.’[1]

‘This is not Swansea Council’s fault. This scheme is being administered by Cardiff Council on behalf of the Welsh Government. However, ministers are trying to do it on the cheap. They have not given sufficient resources to Rent Smart Wales to promote the scheme and councils do not have funds to chase those who do not register,’ he continued.[1]

Thousands of landlords still haven't signed up to Rent Smart Wales

Thousands of landlords still haven’t signed up to Rent Smart Wales

Numbers

According to a Welsh Government spokesperson, more than 19,000 private landlords in Wales have signed up to the scheme. In addition, more funding has been made available to local authorities to enforce the scheme.

The spokesperson said, ‘after just nine months, more than 19,000 private landlords have registered and more than 33,000 have taken the first step and opened accounts on the scheme. This compares with just 3,000 or so registered with the previous voluntary scheme.’[1]

‘We are committed to improving the arrangements for people who rent their home from private landlords and the benefits of Rent Smart Wales are already emerging-96% of those who have completed the relevant training have said it will make them a better landlord.’[1]

[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2016/9/thousands-of-landlords-have-not-signed-up-to-the-rent-smart-wales-scheme

 

Landlords told to sign up for Rent Smart Wales

Published On: July 11, 2016 at 10:55 am

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Carl Sargeant, Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children, will today visit the Rent Smart Wales call centre in Cardiff. His visit is to assess how the task to ensure all private sector landlords to sign up for the mandatory scheme is progressing.

Registration

The Housing Act (Wales) 2014 made it a legal obligation for all private landlords in Wales to register themselves and their property with Rent Smart Wales by November 23rd 2016. Landlords who are still involved in letting and management activities will have to undertake further training.

Rent Smart Wales aims to improve standards in the sector. The call centre in Cardiff deals with queries from landlords and agents, helping them to register for their required licence.

In addition, the Cabinet Secretary also launched the next phase of the campaign in the run-up to the deadline. This was in order to inform landlords of their legal requirement to register, alongside giving tenants their right to have a property registered by a licensed landlord or letting agent.

Landlords told to sign up for Rent Smart Wales

Landlords told to sign up for Rent Smart Wales

Standards

Mr Sargeant observed, ‘Rent Smart Wales is a landmark scheme that will drive up standards in the private rented sector by requiring managing landlords and agents to undertake training to ensure they are clear on their responsibilities. It will help prevent the involvement of rogue and even criminal, landlords and agents in the management and letting of properties.’[1]

‘The scheme will help to protect tenants in the private rented sector, and will support good landlords and agents by helping them keep abreast of their responsibilities and legal obligations, raising the reputation of the sector as a whole. The deadline for registration is now less than five months away.   I would urge those who have not yet done so to discharge their legal responsibilities to register as soon as possible because, whilst registration can be completed simply and quickly on-line, the licensing process can take up to eight weeks to complete,’ he continued.[1]

City of Cardiff Council Cabinet Member Bob Derbyshire, added, ‘landlords and agents will have had a full year to ensure they register, get trained and become licensed under the new scheme. Although November 23 is the deadline for compliance and to many people, that may seem distant, we are keen to stress the importance of becoming licensed sooner, rather than later.’[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/landlords-urged-to-sign-up-for-rent-smart-wales.html

Letting Agent License Costs to Change Under Rent Smart Wales

Published On: March 23, 2016 at 9:35 am

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New license fees for letting and management agents in Wales have been revealed after many smaller agents and landlords urged for the costs to come down.

In Wales, all letting or management agents must be licensed by law under the Rent Smart Wales scheme.

Landlords must be registered and also licensed in most cases.

Backed by several membership bodies, the protestors campaigned against the huge £3,728 license fee, which was the same for small agents as for larger companies.

Under the new fee structure, license costs will now be based on the number of properties managed by each agent.

Smaller agents will now pay less – but still much more than in England under local authority licensing schemes – while larger agents will pay considerably more.

Letting Agent License Costs to Change Under Rent Smart Wales

Letting Agent License Costs to Change Under Rent Smart Wales

Costs will range from £1,890 to £6,600 for a five-year license.

The fee will also vary depending on whether the agent is a member of a recognised professional body, such as the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA), the National Approved Letting Scheme (NALS) or the UK Association of Letting Agents (UKALA). Costs will also differ depending on whether the license application was made online or on paper.

Under the Rent Smart Wales scheme, landlords and agents who let and manage properties must obtain a license by making a declaration that they are a fit and proper person and by passing approved training.

Cardiff Council operates the scheme, which was implemented on 23rd November 2015. The new fee structure will be enforced from late next month.

The Cabinet Member for Environment at Cardiff Council, Councillor Bob Derbyshire, comments: “Since the launch of Rent Smart Wales in November, the broad consensus in relation to the cost of agent licenses has been that change is necessary.

“The city council has taken on the feedback and reviewed the fees to reflect comments received. The consensus was that the fee structure should reflect the size of the business.”

He continues: “Rent Smart Wales aims to professionalise the private rented sector by promoting the need for compliance with the law and providing good, safe housing for tenants.

“The costs of delivering the scheme have to be met, but this is a unique scheme in the UK and there will therefore be areas where we will be able to learn from experience.

“We are particularly grateful to the professional agent bodies who have contributed their views during this review process.”1

Landlords and agents are currently in a grace period. They have until 23rd November to comply with their new legal obligation. However, they are warned to plan early, as it will take time for license applications to be processed.

Isobel Thomson, of NALS, says: “We are delighted that Rent Smart Wales has recognised that agents who are part of regulatory organisations, such as NALS, are more likely to already have embraced the requirements of the licensing scheme and less likely to generate complaints or breaches of their license.

“We also believe that the new pricing structure, which takes into account the size of a firm’s portfolio, is a fairer method of calculating the registration fee rather than a one size fits all fee.”1

Landlords in Wales are also reminded that on Monday, Universal Credit rolled out to many parts of the country. You must be aware of any changes to your housing benefit tenants’ finances. 

1 http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/cost-of-compulsory-licensing-for-welsh-agents-to-change-after-protests/

Welsh Government Urged to Repeal Rent Smart Wales

Published On: December 7, 2015 at 9:56 am

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Welsh Government Urged to Repeal Rent Smart Wales

Welsh Government Urged to Repeal Rent Smart Wales

A new online petition has been published on the Welsh government’s website calling for the repeal of the Rent Smart Wales law.

The scheme requires all landlords and letting agents in Wales to register themselves and their properties and to obtain a license. Find out more here: /todays-the-day-for-change-in-the-welsh-private-rental-sector/

The petition suggests that instead, landlords and agents should join a recognised scheme.

Greg Roberts & Co, estate agents in Blaenau Gwent, brought the petition. The firm states: “The legislation proposes all landlords and letting agents are licensed to be able to let a property in Wales. This in principle does have merit. However, the scheme put forward is over-complicated and extremely costly.

“Making it illegal for individuals or agencies to let properties who are not members of a recognised organisation, i.e. ARLA [the Association of Residential Letting Agents], NAEA [the National Association of Estate Agents], RICS [the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors] or private landlords affiliations, would ensure the tenant is protected, as all the above have standards and criteria members have to adhere to.

“This is also backed up by the need to have Client Money Protection insurance and to be a member of an independent redress scheme, like say The Property Ombudsman [TPO]. Then there would be no need for any further costly Welsh government involvement.”1 

The petition is only open for a month, closing on 31st December 2015. Sign it here: https://www.assembly.wales/en/gethome/e-petitions/Pages/petitiondetail.aspx?PetitionID=895 

1 https://www.assembly.wales/en/gethome/e-petitions/Pages/petitiondetail.aspx?PetitionID=895

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ARLA Files Freedom of Information Request over Welsh Letting Agent Fees

Published On: November 26, 2015 at 10:01 am

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On Monday, the Rent Smart Wales scheme launched, applying to all Welsh landlords and letting agents.

ARLA Files Freedom of Information Request over Welsh Letting Agent Fees

ARLA Files Freedom of Information Request over Welsh Letting Agent Fees

Landlords and agents must register themselves and their properties and become licensed. This costs £3,728 for agents that apply online, but more for those using paper applications. The Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) states that it was never consulted on these fees.

ARLA has filed a Freedom of Information request, demanding a breakdown of the figures from the Welsh government.

In an email to ARLA members, Managing Director David Cox expressed his irritation.

He wrote: “We are frustrated by the approach taken by the Welsh government in not making information available prior to the Rent Smart Wales launch date.

“This has jeopardised the goodwill of agents who are at pains to comply with the law and to continue to offer high quality service to landlords and tenants.”

Cox also addressed the other new legal requirement that was enforced on Monday, for all letting agents in Wales to display their fees.

ARLA insists that it knew nothing of this law until last week.

Cox continues: “Within this context, we urge our members to continue to work on the new requirement on displaying your fees.”

He adds: “The cost of licensing is far higher than expected. We are disappointed that ALRA was not consulted on these fees and are demanding under the Freedom of Information Act that the Welsh government provide a breakdown of the calculation of these figures.”

Cox believes that the license conditions will require agents in Wales to have professional indemnity insurance in place, offer Client Money Protection and belong to an independent redress scheme.

Cox told members that he anticipates “updating you on our discussions with the Welsh government soon”1.

The Welsh government says that its new regulations are a template for the rest of the UK.

ARLA’s Freedom of Information request can be found here: http://i.emlfiles1.com/cmpdoc/6/9/5/5/4/files/336151_foi-request-rent-smart-wales-nov-2015.docx.pdf?dm_t=0,0,0,0,0

1 http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/arla-slaps-in-freedom-of-information-requests-after-not-being-consulted-on-wales-charges/