According to a story in the press this week, more than 2,000 tenants in Scotland appear to have forgotten to claim back their deposits at the end of their tenancies. SafeDeposits Scotland thinks this could add up to more than £500,000. 

Understandably, most landlords take a deposit from a tenant at the beginning of a new tenancy, so that if the tenant causes any damage to the property or doesn’t pay the rent, deductions can be made. But how easy is it for tenants to get their deposits back when they move out of a property?

Pundits believe there could be as much as £4bn sitting in accounts waiting to be claimed.  Like them, we suspect these unclaimed rental deposits are just the tip of the iceberg. So what’s the answer?

Ringley has a quick and simple solution that makes it really easy to move and track deposits so that no one ever need lose sight of where their money is held. Our PlanetRent app harnesses the latest technology to take all the hassle out of deposits for landlords and tenants in a few easy steps. Here’s how it works.
 

If there is a traditional Deposit – where tenants choose to pay a deposit, the landlord or letting agent must register it. PlanetRent is connected via an API to the Tenancy Deposit Service (TDS) and will automatically register deposits for TDS users.  The deposit repayment process is non-adversarial as both tenants and landlords can see proposed deductions and supporting invoices and either accept or dispute them item by item to narrow issues and help get tenants moving on.  PlanetRent also sends out a ‘how to get your deposit back’ guide, to help tenants know what they need to do and when.

Renting Deposit Free – PlanetRent brings this option to both Landlords and Agents.  PlanetRent is connected to Reposit which is FCA Regulated. With Reposit, so long as tenants pass referencing (which Reposit offers for free) the tenants can pay a non-refundable charge, equal to just one week’s rent. If there is a damages dispute Reposit will try to recover end of tenancy claims directly from the tenant. If this is unsuccessful, insurance (underwritten by Canopius) covers the landlord for up to six weeks of damages, or rent arrears.

PlanetRent is set up for Reposit and the TDS service and automatically sends tenants all the required advice booklets. So why not download PlanetRent today and make renting your property an easier and more efficient process for you and your tenants.

 

Do you always pay your rent on time? If so, your on-time payments could soon improve your credit rating in exactly the same way that homeowners benefit by keeping up their mortgage payments.

The Creditworthiness Assessment Bill, which is now going through Parliament, will enshrine this in law. The Bill requires certain matters to be taken into account when assessing a borrower’s creditworthiness and once enacted – hopefully in 2019 – for the first time, credit providers will have to include your rental and council tax payment history when calculating your credit score. At the moment, timely rental payments aren’t necessarily reflected in people’s credit reports but – hopefully – this is all about to change. The Bill, which was put forward by Big Issue founder Lord Bird, has cross-party backing in the House of Commons and had its second reading in October.

And the change won’t only work in tenants’ favour – it will be good news for landlords too. The Residential Landlords Association says 61% of landlords support the move; it believes including rent payments in your credit rating in this way will also make it easier for landlords to make a more accurate assessment of a prospective tenant’s credit and rent payment history. In turn that would make it more straightforward for people with a good credit record to find rental property quickly and easily.

This bill is long, long overdue. With rental and/or mortgage payments being the largest and arguably most important outgoing for UK households, it has always been unfair to tenants that they have been denied the ability to have their ‘rent worthiness’ to be taken into account.

Latest estimates show that around 5.4 million UK households rent, so once this legislation is enacted it stands to make a big difference to many people’s lives, whether they wish to prove their credit worthiness to a prospective landlord, buy a new car or take out a bank loan. It will open up fairer access to more affordable credit to a wider pool of responsible borrowers and prevent people from falling into the high-cost-credit poverty trap.

Your Move’s recent Landlord Survey, which polled 1,071 landlords and tenants to learn more about their portfolios, behaviours and attitudes towards tenants, agents and the lettings market, shows that landlords vote trustworthiness as the most important quality in tenants. Just over a quarter (26%) of landlords surveyed rate tenants who pay on time as the most important consideration.

PlanetRent created by the Ringley Group will soon be making rent worthiness data available to support tenants and landlords alike.  PlanetRent is lettings automated – for landlords who want paperless deals, advertising, landlord websites, compliance sorted, protection from fines and the whole audit trail completely taken care of.  To find out more, go to PlanetRent.co.uk

Here at Ringley, a story published in Letting Agent Today has really got our backs up.  Inventory services provider No Letting Go has just announced their new proptech tool. It automatically sends a copy of an inventory to a tenant, allowing them to check it in their own time and upload images showing issues they want to put forward. The aim is a good one: to significantly cut pre-tenancy admin for letting agents and landlords. “We’re convinced that this service represents the future of check-in reporting and authorisation” says Nick Lyons, chief executive and founder of No Letting Go.

Well we’ve got news for Letting Agent Today. Ringley has been providing this service for our landlords and tenants for years via QuickInventory – a platform that we developed ourselves and which has saved countless hours of unnecessary admin both for us, our clients and their tenants.

Our proprietary software incorporates SignFast e-signing technology, allowing tenants to sign and return inventories in exactly the same way as No Letting Go’s supposedly groundbreaking tool.

The press can’t always be expected to know when a product promoted as innovative has been around for some time but at Ringley we are secure in the knowledge that we were there first!

 

We’re all used to seeing on-site gyms as part and parcel of the offer in smart apartment blocks but now build-to-rent housing developer Moda is taking personal fitness for residents to a new level. With the recent announcement from the World Health organisation that we are all sitting around too much and not getting our recommended one and half hours a week of exercise, this could be good news for anyone living in a Moda block who is worried they are turning into a couch potato.

In the first tie-up of its kind in the housing market, the company has just announced a partnership with a new health and fitness platform called Hero. The aim is to give residents access to a training club in their block that will use wearable tech and 3D body scanners to measure their fitness and create tailored exercise and diet regimes for them. Moda customers will also have access to personal advice from Premier League coaches and nutritionists. And just in case block managers are feeling left out, Hero will also provide ‘mental health first’ training for Moda’s on-site management staff.

This may be a property first but it certainly won’t be the last tie-up we’ll see between a developer and an outside provider. Block operators are ever-more savvy about what will encourage residents – particularly in the build-to-rent market – to sign on the dotted line. Increasingly flat owners and renters are buying into a lifestyle and providers are keen to set the pace. What will they come up with next? At Ringley, a quick office poll came up with some interesting ideas. Our money’s on smart flats where you can activate heating and appliances from your phone, free health screening, pet-friendly blocks and – to attract the growing number of families now renting their homes – on-site childcare, including a babysitting service. Watch this space to see if we’re right!

Why tenants increasingly love corporate landlords

The corporate landlord is an emerging concept. Born from the rising demand for quality rental accommodation in the ever-transformative digital age, corporate landlords are changing the expected norms of the lettings industry. In recent months, awareness of this emerging sector has grown with more and more tenants looking for a different way to rent, but what exactly is a corporate landlord, and why do tenants seem to love them so?

• Better facilities and finishes

Not only are more people now renting than ever before, but the expectations of what rental accommodation should provide its tenants has also gone up. Traditionally, it was often acceptable for landlords to provide what might be referred to as the bare minimum standard of accommodation. Almost everyone has their own version of this story: walls covered in mould; bathroom tiles falling off the wall; single-glazed windows covered in condensation; or all of the above.

Things are changing though, and the tenants of today simply won’t accept poor standards in the way they used to. As such, those landlords who were offering substandard accommodation are finding themselves with vacant properties, watching their tenants move out in favor of safe, warm, well-maintained homes that include premium facilities, and an all-round higher level of finish.

Many private rental landlords have been known to consider tenants a “necessary evil”, so it’s no surprise that corporate landlords who are building properties based on tenant requirements are winning the day.

 

• Increased renting means homes need to feel more like home

People are generally renting for a much greater portion of their lives. What used to be homes for 20 and 30-somethings are now homes to those in their 40s and, increasingly, above. However, this does not mean that the natural human desire to have a house which really feels like a home of one’s own lessens. Instead, it has sent people on the hunt for a new type of rental accommodation.

Traditional rental properties are incredibly restrictive in terms of how free tenants are to personalise their environment; we’ve all heard stories of tenants who have been fined for nothing more than blu tack residue left on the wall.

Corporate landlords understand the need to make a house feel like a home, and this is often reflected in the service they provide. They will often be more flexible when it comes to redecoration for example, especially for those tenants who have signed longer-term contracts.

Looking forward, we can expect to see corporate landlords being a lot more accommodating when it comes to tenant demands. For example, landlords who allow tenants to bring pets into their rental homes are a rarity. As corporate landlords continue to tempt more and more tenants over from the private rental market, we expect to see an increasing number of them allowing their tenants to keep pets.

 

• Demand for city centre space

When the majority of jobs are found in those cities which have the most severe housing shortages, the inevitable is going to happen. On top of that, jobs in big cities pay, on average, more than those in the suburbs.

These two facts converge to result in an incredibly short supply of city centre accommodation. Corporate landlords, those who can afford to acquire large plots of premium land, can take advantage of people’s desire to live in the heart of the city, avoiding a long daily commute and still benefiting from a high-quality home that doesn’t bankrupt them at the end of each month. Smaller private landlords simply cannot match this offering.

• Community and friendship, company.

Corporate landlords offer tenants a ready-made community to move into. For young professionals, maybe new to a city, this can be incredibly appealing. With busy lives, the opportunities to connect with people outside of work are minimal, clever corporate landlords are helping their tenants form bonds and relationships that go far beyond those of mere housemates. On-site activities, bars, karaoke, games room, etc turn a building into a bustling, vibrant community.

• Tech-inclusive living

The rise of the Digital Age has bought with it exciting new property and lifestyle innovations. Corporate landlords are taking advantage of this desire for integrated technology, offering cutting-edge technology to their tenants from the get-go.

Such innovation can be found in the form of smart goods like fridges and televisions, internet-enabled lighting and utilities meters, tenant-facing apps to handle contracts and report maintenance, and even smart keys, allowing tenants to unlock their doors and grant others access directly from their smartphone.

• Work/Balance

Finally, and looking a little further into the future, corporate landlords are also starting to experiment with the idea of so-called corporate living, where tenants live and work in the same building, often owned by a large employer such as Facebook or Google. It’s essentially a hybrid of co-living and co-working and some are tipping it to be the next big thing.

There are questions being asked as to whether tenants will want to live and work in one place, alongside all of their colleagues, but it proves how vibrant the conversation of the shared experience currently is.

Corporate landlords have the ability to blend premium property with affordable prices, providing a tenant experience that goes above and beyond that which the private rental sector can offer. Because of that, we can expect to see more and more tenants falling in love with properties offered by corporate landlords.