To let and manage a property legally and have a successful tenancy takes a great deal of time, effort and knowledge. This is why so many landlords use the services of a qualified agent to look after their buy-to-let, particularly those that have other full or part-time employment.
Here are just some of the things you have to be able to do when you’re responsible for a rental property:
· Know the 400+ rules governing the lettings industry and keep up with the legal changes that apply to you, your property and the tenancy – both at a national and local authority level. This can be tricky, as changes often aren’t very well publicised, particularly things like local authority licensing schemes.
· Find and properly vet prospective tenants.
· Respond to requests and queries from tenants and deal with issues and emergencies in a timely manner.
· Carry out property inspections and recognise potential issues early.
· Ensure maintenance, repairs and legal health and safety checks are carried out as required by suitably qualified tradespeople and contractors.
· Track rent payments and chase up tenants when necessary.
· Understand how to end a tenancy and evict a tenant if required.
A good letting and managing agent will have efficient systems and processes in place to handle all the above on your behalf and can take much of the responsibility for legal compliance off your hands. Of course, there is a cost to this, but when you consider the time you would need to spend learning the rules and doing everything yourself – not to mention the risk of falling foul of the law, which could result in significant penalties, even for unintentional breaches – paying an agent usually represents very good value.
Are you ready for the substantial changes from the Renters’ Rights Bill?
The most important thing for landlords in 2025 is going to be understanding and implementing the changes to letting that will come into force over the coming months and beyond once the Renters’ Rights Bill is passed – which it’s expected will happen around the spring.
Once the Bill has become an Act, we will see:
· Fixed-term tenancies disappear, and the AST replaced with a new periodic tenancy agreement.
· The removal of Section 21 as a means of ending a tenancy.
· Revisions to Section 8 grounds, including increasing the requirement and notice period for rent arrears.
· New limits for rent increases.
· The introduction of a Decent Homes Standard, with clear legal minimum health and safety requirements.
· Changes to discrimination laws and the rules around accepting pets.
· Maximum civil penalties being increased for landlords who break the law.
· Landlords being required to join a new ombudsman and register themselves and their properties on a PRS portal.
And there will also be other, less well-publicised changes. So, even if you’re confident that you can manage things yourself, with many new laws likely to be enacted this year, it might be worth using a qualified Propertymark or RICS member agent when you need to re-let or issue a new contract to an existing tenant, to ensure everything is set up correctly.