Better together - merger will give landlords a stronger voice
private landlords
Great news for private landlords last week. The two largest landlord organisations in England and Wales, the National Landlords Association and the Residential Landlords Association, announced in the press on Friday that they plan to merge. The newly unified organisation will be called the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA). It will have a membership of more than 80,000 landlords, who between them are thought to manage around half a million properties.
That’s about 10% of the private rental market. We think a single organisation focused on representing landlords is a great idea. The NLA and RLA do a huge amount of work in parallel. Bringing them together gives landlords a much stronger voice – something they badly need in the current climate. Every single survey carried out in the sector finds landlords frustrated and despondent. Margins are being hit at both ends. The combination of the ban on upfront tenancy fees, the squeeze on mortgage interest tax relief and the threat of Section 21 being withdrawn is a serious threat to people’s livelihoods. It threatens to force landlords out of the market when good quality rental property is badly needed around the country.
And all this is happening while our beleaguered buy-to-let landlords are still expected to provide the quality housing for tenants that successive governments have failed to deliver themselves. Add to this today’s announcement that, if elected, the Labour party is considering introducng a right-to-buy for private tenants (more on this later in the week) and it’s pretty clear why landlords need robust support from a member organisation that can effectively represent their interests. The stronger a voice that private landlords can have to put their case to government, the better – and we wholeheartedly support this merger. The plans have been approved by the boards of both organisations and the new association is expected to launch officially on 1 January 2020, assuming the merger is approved by members later this month. Watch this space - we'll keep you posted.
Under Offer: This term applies to a property where the landlord is considering an offer but remains on the market. It implies that further offers may still be considered until the landlord formally accepts or declines the current offer.
Let Agreed: This term indicates that a landlord has provisionally agreed to enter into a rental agreement with a prospective tenant, pending additional checks and referencing. It doesn't require the prospective tenant to have paid a holding deposit.
Let: This term signifies an established binding rental agreement between the landlord and tenant.
For both lettings and sales, the guidance addresses additional terms:
New On The Market: This term is used for a property not advertised since its last sale or rental. It should only be used for a brief period.
New Instruction: It applies to a property assigned to an agent for marketing recently, even if it was previously listed with another agent without being sold or rented.
New and Exclusive: This term refers to a property that is either new on the market or a new instruction, exclusively available through a specific agent or portal.
New Method of Sale/Let: This term is used when a property is being marketed for sale or rent using an alternative approach to the original advertisement, such as transitioning to an auction or sealed bid.
Reduced: This term indicates that a property's price has recently been reduced. The reduction should be genuine and comply with the Chartered Trading Standards Institute's guidelines on pricing practices.