Don’t fall foul of discrimination laws

A landmark case has outlawed ‘no DSS’ policies

Following a judgement in the County Court on 1 July, refusing to rent your home to a tenant because they are on housing benefit has now been ruled unlawful. The case revolved around a disabled single mother who challenged a letting agent for rejecting her application to rent a home on the basis that she was receiving benefits.

Prior to this landmark ruling, previous cases where renters have challenged what has become known as ‘no DSS’ policies (despite the Department of Social Security being dissolved in 2001!) have been settled out of court.  This time, supported by Shelter, the case was determined in court and the letting agent was found to be in breach of the Equality Act. As a result, the agent was ordered to pay the claimant £3,500 plus costs.

In 2018, Shelter carried out research into online advertising in the private rented sector and found at least one in 10 adverts stated they would not accept tenants on housing benefit. Now, that will have to stop. Instead, landlords will have to consider every applicant on an individual basis, carrying out careful referencing instead of simply using ‘no DSS’ as a blanket ban on people they regard as potentially a higher financial risk.

In April, we looked at the subject of renting to tenants on Universal Credit and offered some helpful tips for making sure the landlord-tenant relationship works. The blog includes a link to a helpful guide explaining ‘Alternative Payment Arrangements’. This is where the housing element of Universal Credit is paid directly to the landlord, giving both parties the certainty that rent payments will be made on time.  And if a tenant is already in arrears, the landlord can also apply for ‘Third-party Deductions’ whereby an additional amount is taken monthly from the claimant’s personal allowance to reduce the debt over time.

Many people on benefits have never been in arrears or caused problems for their previous landlord. Simply making assumptions about potential tenants on the basis of their personal circumstances is no longer an option – so make sure you do your homework when you’re looking for a new tenant. Don’t fall foul of the law and risk the chance of getting involved in a costly court case.

As we blogged yesterday, our cloud-based lettings platform PlanetRent automates rent payments, which also makes it easy for tenants to budget and to keep up-to-date – and it makes referencing really quick and easy for landlords. PlanetRent takes care of your marketing too. So why not download it today – it’s pay-as-you-go and works across all your devices.

www.planetrent.co.uk

Why not READ our Property Blog: www.ringleypropertyblog.co.uk

Online marketing made simple with PlanetRent

planetrent logo
PlanetRent helps you market your home quickly and cheaply

 Private landlords can now market their properties directly on Zoopla and Rightmove thanks to PlanetRent. Our new automated lettings platform means you can promote your rental home on the UK’s two most popular portals on a pay-as-you-go basis.  

Landlords can find it costly to advertise their properties on Zoopla and Rightmove but by using PlanetRent, marketing your home with these portals is set up for you. Our new platform also allows you to easily create your own personalised website to showcase your properties.  Real-time reporting and updates on offers made are included in the software.

And for landlords who prefer to use letting agents, PlanetRent works on the premise that you own your properties and so should be in control of your own data. You can then invite the letting agents or contractors you use, and make PlanetRent central to your marketing.  

PlanetRent also helps cut down costly void periods by making it really quick and easy to remarket a property before it becomes vacant. Tenants are automatically prompted towards the end of the tenancy and are encouraged to renew. To make life easier for landlords and renters, PlanetRent has cut down the renewal process to just three clicks and allows all parties to transact remotely – a big advantage in our new socially distanced world.

If a tenant does choose to move out, they are automatically sent the necessary end-of-tenancy process and given advice on how to get their deposit back, plus the requirements for them to assist in viewings, repairs, and the remarketing process.  The marketing process is automatically triggered too.

 All landlords who use PlanetRent have access to free property listings directly on the PlanetRent platform as well as social media feeds to their social media account. 

While the for-sale market has been hit by the expectation of falling prices and mortgage lenders tightening their lending requirements, the rental market has proved resilient. So with Rightmove reporting 23,000 new rental listings coming to the market since the first day of reopening in May, make sure you don’t miss out. By using PlanetRent, marketing your property on the UK’s most popular portals is just a few clicks away.

www.planetrent.co.uk

Why not READ our Property Blog: www.ringleypropertyblog.co.uk

New code of practice for agents is on its way

Soon agents will need to abide by a new code for the property industry

In future, anyone using a letting or estate agent or a property manager will be able to judge their performance against a new code of practice and a new and improved system for dealing with complaints. This is because a new code for property agents is being drawn up by a high-level industry group being led by Labour Peer Baroness Hayter.

The expert group includes ARLA and NAEA Propertymark, Trading Standards and sales and lettings industry trade bodies, as well as professional bodies such as the RICS and IRPM plus the courts and the Property Ombudsman. 

The new code was one of the recommendations of the Regulation of Property Agents (RoPA) working group that issued its report last July. As well as a new code of practice, the report called for:

  • an independent regulator,
  • licensing for all agents,
  • mandatory qualifications, and
  • a powerful new form of redress for consumers.

According to Estate Agent Today, “the new Code of Practice is likely to be a single, high-level set of principles to be applied to all residential property agents; there will also be a number of other more detailed sections developed that are specific to various aspects of the residential property agent sector, such as sales, lettings and management. “ 

The aim is to produce a draft code to go out for consultation later this month. Once finalised – hopefully by the end of the year – it will be handed over to the new industry regulator, once that role has been established.

At Ringley we welcome the prospect of a proper code of conduct for property agents – something our industry has been lacking for many years. Property professionals will benefit from clear guidelines and consumers will be clear what standards they can expect from agents. Rogue operators should have less chance to thrive and the new system for consumer redress, once established, will also give our customers the confidence that property agents will be held to account if they don’t meet the standards expected of them.

www.planetrent.co.uk

Why not READ our Property Blog: www.ringleypropertyblog.co.uk