Adam Kingswood, our Director, says in his opinion this would drastically reduce the number of bad agents and landlords and help to improve the conditions for people within the private rented sector across the UK.

Adam comments: “The 2017 budget went someway to address the concerns of people who cannot afford to get onto the property ladder. Yes, removing stamp duty for first time buyers is a helpful first step, but there are still thousands of people in the UK who cannot afford to get onto the housing ladder. With the lack of social housing, the country is reliant on the private rented sector to plug the gap and we therefore need much tighter regulation of the sector to ensure standards are high, tenants receive professional service from an agent, have quality rental accommodation and feel secure in their tenancies.”

Kingswood Residential Investment Management work with ‘Role Model’ landlords and the company encourages all landlords on its books to deliver a quality service to tenants and ensure they adhere to all current legislation, such as the imminent Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards. Kingswood itself demonstrates good practice by being regulated by ARLA PropertyMark which along with other trade bodies within the sector such as The National Approved Lettings Scheme and The Property Ombudsman, are supporting improved regulation.

In the absence of mandatory regulations, reputable lettings agencies self-regulate through their voluntary membership of trade associations whose standards often require members to operate at a higher standard than that required by law; such as to have minimum levels of qualifications, client money protection and professional insurances. £0 So, a letting agent that chooses to be regulated is conscious of their client’s best interests and is willing to demonstrate that they are committed to a higher level of service and protection.

However, this is not the case for all agents. In Nottingham, out of 131 letting agents registered on Rightmove, only 23 are regulated. £0

Adam adds: “Currently, tenants enjoy very little protection or guarantee of standards within the private rented sector and I believe this needs to change. At present, anyone can set up a lettings agency with just ombudsman registration and no Government checks or quality assurance testing and, unfortunately, this leads to thousands of people experiencing poor quality rented accommodation or service due a minority of exploitative landlords or agents. I believe that legislation can help change this and drive up standards in the sector for the benefit of the 4.5 million people who are living in rented accommodation in England.”