Some more news items for you on a Friday
Client Money Protection (CMP) Rules changed – due to bank intransigence
The government has quietly changed the CMP rules which had required agents to comply by 1 April 2020.
However, this has proved impossible for many agents due to the obstructive attitude of many banks and Building Societies.
David Smith, policy director for the Residential Landlords Association, explains:
The CMP regulations required that all agents had a pooled client account by April 1, 2020. Otherwise, the various CMP schemes would have been obliged to throw them out.
The new regulations deal with the current problems by putting off their implementation until April 2021.
In the meantime, the Government is apparently working with banks and producing updated anti-money laundering guidance to make clearer that the lettings sector is a low risk and should not be seen by banks as a problem.
For some agents, this will be a relief. Others will have already solved this issue by moving banks or will have been lucky enough to be with a bank that will accept pooled client accounts.
However, it also illustrates the problems that arise when Government departments make substantial changes in a complex sector without properly considering the consequences.
CMP is important and a clear benefit to the sector, but implementing it badly so that tweaks need to be made later represents a waste of effort.
David Cox of Arla Propertymark adds
it’s vital tenants and landlords still have a route to reimbursement during this time should the agent they’re dealing with go out of business or misappropriate client funds
New service in Cornwall aims to reduce homelessness
Cornwall Housing Private Lets, which is working in partnership with Cornwall Council has been successfully awarded funding under the Rapid Rehousing Pathway initiative to grow as a letting agency with social values in an attempt to help stop homelessness in Cornwall.
The service has been set up to offer help for vulnerable people who are not owed a housing duty and need additional support. They are looking for homes of all sizes and hope to set up partnerships with landlords.
Nick Cross, MD of Cornwall Housing said:
This is a unique offer to any private landlord and will help to fulfil our duty to help homeless people and to prevent homelessness in Cornwall.
Both tenants and landlords will benefit from having access to our tenancy sustainment support.
Whether you are a seasoned landlord or new to the sector our private lets team will tailor the tenancy to suit each opportunity.
Mind you, I suspect that they may struggle to find landlords in a holiday county like Cornwall.
For example, this article in the same issue of Landlord Today discusses a new Airbnb calculator which shows how much more money landlords can make (with fewer regulations to trouble them) in the holiday sector.
How landlords benefit local economies
A recent survey by Aldermore Bank of 1,000 buy-to-let investors calculates that Buy-to-let landlords have spent £3.61bn on local economies across the UK over the last 12 month. Which is quite a lot.
For example, the average landlord spent £1,443 on local tradespeople, such as plumbers, builders, and letting agents.
Damian Thompson, group managing director of retail finance at Aldermore, said:
Landlords are an integral part of local communities across the UK, providing investment and fulfilling the demand of the expanding Private Rented Sector.
Around every landlord is an ecosystem, in which they pay local tradespeople, like plumbers, builders, decorators, for jobs and those companies in turn train up employees and pay their own local suppliers for services also.
The contribution landlords make to local communities extends much wider than merely providing rental accommodation.
Find out more details from the survey in the article here.
Snippets
- Boss of lettings agency invaded by Acorn gives her side of the story
- Lambeth Council wants to be allowed to introduce rent controls
- Over eight in ten letting agents report falls in revenue since tenant fees ban
- Number of new UK homes registered to be built hits 13-year high – but still below target
- Shelter boss says landlords and letting agencies are exploiting crisis to become ‘homeless tycoons’
- Government announces £40m heat network investment
Newsround will be back next week