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We have been inviting our clients to use our PlanetRent app for free for a while now, but in Spring 2020 we will launch PlanetRent.co.uk to the market. PlanetRent is our revolutionary mobile portal that automates property lettings, marketing, advertising, repairs AND compliance.  PlanetRent has already secured runners up places in the EG PropTech awards, reached the final in the Global PropTech awards and won a RESI award too.  

Whether you use a letting agent or self-manage, PlanetRent brings a new level of transparency to lettings and delivers a corporate institutional welcome journey to tenants as well as automated reporting, so you can see and be part of your agent’s transactions.  You can connect tenants directly with your favourite contractors, offer deposit-free renting –  and we’ve automated most things in between.  

We will be running webinars to share lettings reimagined in 2020 – if you would like to be included please email  leana@ringley.co.uk and she will be sure to invite you. 

Our Residents App is coming in 2020 too…

We are also in the process of completing a residents’ app. This will enable:

• repairs tracking
• rating of repairs
• messaging site staff
• and bookings…. (community halls and other community spaces)

There will also be a module for sites with communal heating so we can better coordinate visits for heat interface unit servicing.  And, to help build and promote community, we will be introducing ‘neighbour to neighbour services’ too. 

 Look out for updates over the next few months.

Here’s something you might not expect. According to research from broadband and utilities provider Glide, more than a fifth of renters expect their landlord to fix their broken Wi-Fi  – and more than a third think they should be responsible for changing their lightbulbs for them!  The study surveyed 1,000 tenants who are either currently renting a property, or have previously rented, to find out which issues they expect their landlords to be responsible for dealing with.

Other surprising findings were that one in seven tenants (14%) said they would leave a dispute over how to split bills with flatmates for their landlord to sort out and almost a quarter (23.2%) admitted they would leave a dispute over parking up to the owner of the premises to resolve.

 Of course, landlords are legally responsible for dealing with certain problems that arise both inside and outside rental properties on their tenants’ behalf. Obviously, where and when those responsibilities pass over to the tenant is not always clear.

By downloading our PlanetRent app we make the tenant journey absolutely transparent – so both landlords and tenants know where they stand.

For the landlord:

• we highlight along the journey what the landlord has to do / what their responsibilities are. For example, since the tenant fee ban came into force,  it is now their responsibility to pay the inventory fee, and the system has been restructured to show this.
• PlanetRent provides service level agreements, so tenants know how fast repairs will be carried out.
• we automatically provide the How to Rent guide and deposit leaflet – which the landlord HAS to provide to each tenant when they move in or they get fined. This outlines all the tenant’s rights, responsibilities and obligations.

For the tenant:

• we automatically tell the council about a new tenant so they can recharge council tax to the correct person.
• we make the tenant’s cleaning responsibilities clear from the outset.

PlanetRent is lettings, automated. We make the tenant journey quick and simple and make it easy for landlords to remain compliant with all their responsibilities. So why not download the app today – its free!

“Why bother with an inventory?” This was a comment spotted online, beneath an article looking at the importance of inventories to landlords and letting agents. It’s a fair question. Unless your tenancy began before 1 June, check-out fees and charges for services such as a professional clean at the end of your tenancy are now banned unless there are good reasons for them. However, deposits have been capped not outlawed altogether and landlords are still entitled to deduct money at the end of a tenancy if damage has been done. But robust evidence is needed.

The Association for Independent Inventory Clerks (AIIC) says, “assessing what constitutes fair wear and tear to a rental home is among the least understood areas of the lettings process, and one which can create much ambiguity and cause the most disputes when a tenancy ends”. Alleged property damage, cleaning and redecoration are among the most common reasons for a dispute between landlords and tenants, the AIIC says. And the Tenancy Deposit Scheme confirms that more than 60% of TDS disputes involve cleaning.

So setting a benchmark for cleanliness and the condition of the property and its fixtures and fittings is crucial. That means providing a detailed and accurate inventory. At the start of the tenancy, the tenant should check and sign it off – ideally, says the AIIC, within seven days This should be done again when the tenancy ends

To make this easy for our clients and their tenants, at Ringley we have our own app called Quick Inventory. You can just download via the app store – it’s as easy as that! And if you would prefer a third party to provide an inventory for you, we have partnered with evolve who will do it on your behalf. Go to https://www.evolvepartnership.co.uk/ to find out more.
 
An inventory should include written notes and photographic evidence, as well as details of the contents. If the tenancy ends in a dispute, evidence provided by both the landlord and the tenant will be needed to resolve the problem. So don’t get caught out – download our app today.

Here’s something interesting. Global law firm CMS has just published wide-ranging research into renting around the world. Urban being: the future of city living is a major piece of work and one of the most interesting aspects is the section on What renters want.

The researchers look in detail at how consumer preferences differ between generations and from the views of rental property providers. CMS says “As the popularity of the residential sector grows and more players enter it, one of the key means to differentiate will be through a serviced offer, so getting the right blend of amenities is key. So there are decisions to be made about what is actually going to make a difference in terms of customer retention”. This report aims to provide some pointers.

According to the researchers, the property sector has got four of renters’ top five preferences right. These are: proximity to transport links and place of work, outdoor space and safety and security. However, a spacious living room area is the third most important feature of a rented home to 54% of consumers but only 26% of property professionals think this would be important. And larger kitchens also come out high on the list.

Other factors where the industry and its customers are markedly out of sync include permission to keep pets (10% to 43%) and car parking (46% to 19%). Views also differ on whether a spacious main bedroom is required (49% to 14%).

Property providers could learn a lot from this report. And it makes interesting reading for all of us living or working in the sector. To download a copy, click here.

Forget the south of England. The best places to let property are now in northern towns and cities, according to new research from Rightmove, which analyses asking rents outside London.

Data from the property website shows that northern towns and cities now dominate the top ten places where asking rents have increased the most – excluding the capital – since July 2018. So if you want to get the best return on your investment, where are the best places to buy rental property?

Pudsey topped Rightmove’s table for highest rental growth. Tenants in the West Yorkshire town can now expect to pay around £680 per calendar month. That’s a 12% hike from £607 pcm a year ago. Commenting on being placed at the top of the leader board, John Sheader, lettings manager of Manning Stainton in Pudsey, said: “It’s booming in Pudsey; as an area it’s really close to Leeds and …with people who work in the city moving to Pudsey, the demand has increased and so its prices have been playing catch-up. It’s only 15 minutes from Leeds city centre by car, and even quicker by train – Pudsey has a station with direct access into Leeds. It’s the perfect location for younger people.”

Pontypridd in Wales was second in the table, with Bury in Greater Manchester coming in third. Both towns have witnessed year-on-year asking rent increases of 9%.

Esher in Surrey was the only place from the south of England to make the top ten, with average asking rents rising 8% from £1,614 in July 2018 to £1,743 in July this year. The west London suburb is also home to the highest asking rents outside the capital.

In Scotland, the highest rental growth was in Stirling. Average asking rents increased in the city by 7% from £658 to £707 pcm between July last year and July 2019.

Rightmove’s Rental Trends Tracker for Q2 2019 also reveals that around the country (excluding London) asking rents stand at a record high of £817 per month, running at 2.7% up on a year ago as rents continue to steadily rise.

Demand from tenants looking for a new home increased 7% between May and June, an uplift seven times bigger when compared to the previous four-year average of just 1% at that time of year, as tenants waited to move until after the fees ban came into force in England on 1 June.

Rightmove’s property expert Miles Shipside believes a range of drivers are pushing rents to a new record high. Fewer landlords – as some have exited the market due to more punitive taxes – have combined with lower tenancy costs to create higher demand for rented homes. “It’s the more northerly locations that have driven this increase and they dominate the top ten hotspots when you exclude the capital’s more rarefied market,” he says. “These rent jumps are good news for landlords who have ridden out the tax hikes, though they may cause some tenants to falter after the initial excitement of the potential of upfront savings under the tenant fee ban.”

Top ten rental hotspots (for two-bedroom properties):

Rank	Location	Average asking rent (July 19)	Average asking rent (July 18)	% change
1	Pudsey	£680	£607	12%
2	Pontypridd	£550	£505	9%
3	Bury	£629	£578	9%
4	Newcastle Upon Tyne	£701	£644	9%
5	Esher	£1,743	£1,614	8%
6	Stirling	£707	£658	7%
7	Durham	£579	£539	7%
8	York	£833	£776	7%
9	Rochdale	£535	£499	7%
10	Dundee	£611	£570	7%

Note: The data for towns/cities comprises average asking rents for two-bedroom properties only, between 1 July 2018 and 31July 2019.

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’llkeep you posted.