Landlord & Buy-to-Let Magazine | Page 12

For latest show news visit www.landlordshow.info industry news Call for landlords to encourage tenants to attend check-out The UK's landlords must encourage their tenants to attend a check-out at the end of a tenancy. This is the call from the Association of Independent Inventory Clerks (AIIC), which says that if more tenants attended check-outs, there would be fewer deposit disputes between both sides of the rental transaction. A check-out takes place at the end of a tenancy and provides the landlord or their letting agent with the opportunity to record the condition of the rental property in comparison to when the tenants arrived. The AIIC's plea comes in response to data released by the Deposit Protection Service in July, which suggested that 48% of tenants had not attended their check-out. What's more, some 46% of those who didn't attend said they had either not been invited or were not informed of the date or time. According to the AIIC, this is where landlords and their letting agents must ensure they are holding up their side of the bargain. “We were disappointed to see that so many tenants didn't attend check-out and that almost half of these nonattendees were not invited or made aware of the arrangements,” comments Pat Barber, Chair of the AIIC. “We are urging landlords and their agents to invite and remind their tenants about their check-out. It is an extremely important part of the inventory process and a successful inventory can go a long way to reducing the likelihood of a dispute at the end of a tenancy.” “As always, we advise landlords and letting agents to utilise the services of an independent inventory clerk in order to maintain impartiality and professionalism,” she adds. Agents' concern over carbon monoxide alarm deadline The timetable given for the implementation of new rules governing the compulsory use of carbon monoxide alarms in the private rented sector has come under fire from letting agents. The Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) say that many landlord and letting agents will struggle to meet the October 1st deadline to install alarms in designated spaces. David Cox, Managing Director of the comments on the passing of the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 in Parliament: “Whilst ARLA is entirely supportive of the aims of the regulations, we remain concerned that the Government has ignored calls from across the private rented sector to reconsider the timeframe for its implementation. “Following final scrutiny of the measures yesterday in the House of Lords, landlords have until the 1st October 2015 to ensure that all tenancies have a smoke alarm fitted on every floor of their property where there is a room used wholly or partly as living accommodation. They will also be required to put a carbon monoxide alarm in any room where a solid fuel is burnt. “Whilst these measures are entirely sensible, ARLA is concerned that landlords will not have enough time to comply with the requirements, as 10 Landlord & Buy-to-Let Issue 61 • September 2015 it is simply impracticable for letting agents, who may manage a huge amount of properties, to gain access to the properties and to install these alarms on behalf of their clients in the timeframe allotted. “On behalf of its members, ARLA has written to the Government on this issue to raise its concerns and suggested that all existing tenancies should be allowed to have until 1st January 2016 to comply. We were encouraged to see that Lord Marlesford showed support for our proposals in Parliament and again put our suggestion to the Government. “However, despite our efforts it appears that the Government will now go ahead and implement the new requirements as planned. We urge our members to ensure that they do all they can to ensure that their properties comply with the new regulations before the measures come into effect.”