Rogue agents targeted by BBC Watchdog

Letting agents once again came under fire tonight this time in the spotlight of BBC1’s Watchdog, which highlighted a more high profile case than normal, that of the actor Nigel Havers who found himself a victim of a Manchester letting agents, who made him pay 6 months money up front then promptly told him at month 5 his landlord had sold his flat and he had to move out.

Now you and me both know that this practice goes on and we know that is it not legal nor is it ethical, but if tenants are not aware of their rights and do not know where to turn for advice, stories like this will continue to make media headlines.

The piece emphasised that even though Estate agents are legally required to be a member of a redress scheme since 2008, letting agents to date still do not have to be a member of any governing body nor do they need to belong to any ombudsman, although it is recommended.

The piece went onto show how some agents ‘top up’ their income by forcing tenants to use the agents energy supplier, writing terms into the tenancy agreement that would have tenants believe they have no right to change supplier and find the best tariff for their usage.

More worrying is that the agents named and shamed in the story were not dodgy backstreet agents, they were High street leading names, who should be monitored by the bodies that claim to be at the height of regulating the agents that pay to join them

I find it mind boggling and extremely frustrating that the powers that be still allow this to happen, even after hundreds of thousands of tenants and landlords alike are ripped off or conned daily by rogue agents, yet ministers still drag their heels umming and ahhing as to whether it’s a good idea.

The irony of this watchdog article is that it was aired during SafeAgent week…. Something that is highly publicised within the industry yet the people that it needs to reach, the general public, remain totally unaware of its existence or what it stands for.

Landlords to be fined for housing illegal immigrants

Earlier today the Queens speech will take place in Parliament, part of this speech will focus on the Immigration Bill which the coalition government hopes will reduce the number of illegal immigrants entering the country, however in true Cameron style he has decided to pass the buck to anyone and everyone following repeated failures of UK Border Control.

Landlords have been targeted once again in the fight against immigration with rulings coming into force today that see landlords being made fully responsible for checking the immigration status of potential tenants, including verifying passports and immigration visas.

The first foreseeable problem here is that most of the 2million buy-to-let landlord in the UK would not know what a forged passport or visa would look like, secondly if copies of these documents are taken by landlords are they then expected to registered under one of the data protection schemes and be legally obliged to keep documents for 6 years.

With the bill threatening hefty fines, running into thousands of pounds for landlord who fail to check immigration status, the big question will be who is to blame if tenants documents turn out to he forged. If a landlord uses an agent to find a tenant will the onus then be on the agent to check immigration status and the landlords responsibility removed.

As always when the governments targets the rental sector not all the boxes are ticked before laws are passed and brought into force, the burning question has to be who and how will this new law be policed, currently there is no national register for landlord nor is there a standalone regulating body for lettings agents, so how will the government be able to check that every rental property only houses a legal occupant.

Currently the government can not even track the number of rogue agents and landlord who are not protecting deposits a law that came into force over 6 years ago and with so many immigrants entering the UK under the radar already, it seems as though Mr Cameron is doing his best to ensure he will not be to blame should this proposed regulation not work as planned, after all how can we blame a government who ensured it would be landlords responsibility to carry out the checks, most landlords are in their early years of retirement and will not be bothered with checking tenants so thoroughly.

What is needed is a national regulation of letting agents and a legal requirement to register every home for rent in the UK only then can the authorities begin to tackle the mountain of issues that trouble the sector of the industry.

Winter is here...

When i opened the curtains this morning i was pretty sure we'd had a flurry of snow, but no it was just a think frost.
The glass fronted office that dueing the summer had given endless days of oven like heat, now does the opposite and holds the cold into the office this a walk in freezer.

The phone are quiet, too quiet and so far we have had no walk ins, the only viewings are 5 we had pre-booked and we are all now wondering why we got out of our snug warm beds.

Then i get the phone call that all property managers dread...............its the local police informing me that one of my tenants a middle aged man, passed away in his sleep last night and the police have the keys to the flat.

My heart sinks, this is not my first nor will it be my last death, a hazard of the job when you are dealing with people.

I collect the keys and attend the property, i am met by a suprising situation, the flat is very untidy, smells a bit 'off'.
Back in the office I called the landlord and inform her of the incident, suprisingly all she is worried about is whether her rent will be paid...

Things liek this always put a downer on the day, we will deal with this issue as best we can on a weekend, then i will be giving the staff an early finish, think they deserve it.

Thank goodness its Friday

Its Friday, usually the wind down to the end of the week.
But not today, the phone hsnt stopped, seems the frost we hd last night has sent my tenants into meltdow

To top off my my morning I have a number of rents that are now late and as always the calls to chase this envoke some wonderful storis from tenants as to why the haven't, can't or won't be paying their rent.
My favorite so far is "well its nearly christmas, I had to buy a lot of presents, its ok though the landlords' loaded right so he won't miss it just this month"
Why do tenants assume their landlords are all millionaires? Actually this poor landlord relies on the rent to pay the mortgage, but this info falls on deaf ears.

I ring the council to chase housing benefit payments that are now also overdue, I am told by a rather confused young lady, that they "have a back log so some rents won't be paid til after xmas" great, I wonder if that line will work if I don't pay my council tax "sorry I've got a back log of other bills"
.

Once upon a time.......

Once upon a time, many years ago a young girl embarked on her journey to build her career in property, little did she know it would take over her life and become one of the most interesting choices she ever made..........

Well yes that was me over 15years ago, green around the gills and quite sure i'd be a millionaire by Christmas, but how wrong i was.

The industry has changed so much over the years and it would have been a good idea to have started this blog way back then, if blogging had existed, but we didn't even have Blackberrys back then....

This blog will follow me along my daily working life, i'm sure there will be some laughs, some tears and no doubt some tantrums and dramas, I hope you find it entertaining.

All names and addresses will be changed for obvious reasons :)