So, a good time to invest in property or expand your portfolio then?
Well maybe, but at the risk of raining on the landlords’ parade, there are some legal matters that any new - or come to that experienced - amateur landlords should be aware of.
My firm has over thirty years experience in this highly specialised sector, advising landlords on landlord law. Indeed we recently launched our GW Landlord Empowerment Team to cater specifically for ‘amateur’ and ‘accidental’ landlords as our research showed there was little specialist legal help and advice for such landlords. Coupled with that we’ve found that many of these landlords are unaware of the legal obligations incumbent upon them – there are literally hundreds of existing government and local authority regulations that landlords need to comply with.
Let me give you just one example to show you what I mean. The Plugs and Sockets (Safety) Regulations 1994 requires landlords to ensure live and neutral pins on plugs are part insulated so as to prevent shocks when plugs are removed from sockets.
This heavy burden of regulation is set to increase with the recent government announcements that landlords will need to assume responsibility for checking the immigration status of tenants! Whilst it is yet unclear as to precisely how landlords will establish the authenticity of passports and visas what is clear is that failure to comply could result in fines of ‘thousands of pounds’.
Furthermore seismic changes are expected in the private rented sector of the housing market off the back of the Government’s announcement about the formation of a taskforce to connect investors with opportunities in the sector with the expected result that there will be a proliferation of large scale rented projects financed by institutional investors. I foresee the effect of that will be to drive increasing professionalization in the private rented sector and ‘amateur’ and ‘accidental’ landlords will need to raise their game.
So, my message here is simple and those who advise landlord professionally such as mortgage brokers can help me spread this message. As new legislation emerges and the market place develops in response not only to general economic trends but also government policy then landlords of all types need to keep abreast of these developments. Engaging with a law firm to assist with managing the implementation of the extensive existing legal obligations and also the new requirements emerging all the time is advisable – particularly since the cost of any fines for non-compliance often far outweigh the costs of advice to ensure compliance.
At GW LET we work hard to make the legal obligations incumbent upon landlords easier to understand and offer a wide ranging legal service encompassing drafting or approving tenancy agreements, giving leasehold advice, facilitating lease extensions through to handling enfranchisement matters.
