There are still lucrative opportunities in property investment, but keeping abreast of legal and industry changes means reading Landlord News on a regular basis is a crucial step to success.
This is particularly the case for those who may be new to renting out a property or have just invested in a buy to let home and want to be legally compliant.
For example, you may be buying a property where the local authority runs a landlord registration scheme and you must sign up with this in order to run your property.
The schemes are designed to protect tenants from unsafe or poor quality homes and are growing in popularity with councils around the UK.
This also means that for established landlords, knowing whether their local authority is planning a landlord registration scheme is important to avoid falling foul of the new laws.
Also, for those new to the private rental sector may be wondering whether they need to register as a landlord by law.
Dedicated sites will offer landlord updates
The answer depends on where you are renting out your property and dedicated sites will offer landlord updates on the news that affects them and flag up changes when they occur.
As mentioned, if your local authority in England has a registration scheme in place, then you will need to register.
However, if you have a rental home in Wales, Northern Ireland or Scotland, then there is a mandatory requirement to register.
Again, regular updates focused on the private rental sector will highlight whether any of the schemes or mandatory laws change and what the potential impact on the profitability and the running of safe homes for rent will mean.
Also, for those landlords who are starting out and who may not be aware of all the relevant rules, then you will need to provide an Energy Performance Certificate for your rental property.
Landlord updates
In recent years, the landlord updates will have highlighted that the laws covering this have changed and all new tenancies will need to have a minimum energy rating of ‘E’ for the tenancy to be valid.
This will change from 2020, when all private rental tenancies will need an energy performance certificate meeting this rating.
The updates will highlight that many landlords will be needing to make a big investment in bringing their rental home up to the standard – and how they can go about this.
Also, these updates will have highlighted in recent months that the Right to Rent scheme in England is coming under close scrutiny – the scheme means landlords must check thoroughly that their potential tenant has the right to rent their property.
It’s also worthwhile noting that becoming a landlord will involve a lot of work, certainly more than most property investors will appreciate.
There are lots of things landlords must do when preparing their home for new tenants with various legal obligations and issues over property maintenance too.
That’s because the law has become tougher on those landlords providing poor quality homes, which means the tenant can now sue them more easily.
There are various landlord organisations that will also issue regular updates on legal issues and other points of interest, including the Residential Landlords Association and the National Landlords Association with sites such as Landlord News also offering news and updates that landlords will find helpful.
Great source of information with a landlord forum
However, even with various organisations issuing landlord updates, there’s also a great source of information with a landlord forum.
Here, landlords that are new to the sector and those with years of experience can easily ask others in the industry how they deal with problems and issues and helpful advice is always forthcoming. The private rental sector is helpful to fellow property investors, particularly in the face of tightening regulations.
Also, profitability has been affected in recent years with the phasing out of mortgage tax relief and the wear and tear allowance which means landlords have needed to keep abreast of the news and changes, and even join together to make their voice heard by government.
However, the bottom line when it comes to receiving landlord updates, regardless of where your rental property is located, means you will understand the regulations and rules covering you and help protect you from hefty fines should you accidentally stray and break a law unknowingly – Landlord News and landlord updates will help prevent this from occurring.
