Below is a roundup of news from both the residential lettings industry, and the Strutt & Parker Corporate and Relocation Department.

Tenant Fees

By way of an early Christmas present, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Phillip Hammond confirmed plans to ban letting agents' fees to tenants in England. The details of this important announcement are still very unclear but the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) will consult ahead of bringing forward legislation.

Since the announcement, ARLA MD David Cox has spoken with DCLG who have confirmed that a consultation on banning letting agents’ fees will be launched in the New Year. Details of what the consultation will contain have not been finalised and the Government has asked for ARLA to bring forward the industry's views. DCLG also confirmed that this will require primary legislation through an Act of Parliament. This will give agents time to plan for the ban to come into force, in whatever form it takes.

In other words it’s going to take some time before the legislation comes into force!

Kate Eales, National Head of Lettings at Strutt & Parker, said: “A cap on letting agent fees has been mooted for some time but we are quite surprised by the Chancellor’s announcement of a full ban on fees to tenants as soon as possible. This will be welcome news to long-term renters and will go a long way to driving up standards and service in the lettings industry by forcing rogue agencies who exploit tenants by charging very high upfront fees out of the marketplace.”

Strutt & Parker is extremely customer focused and we concentrate on offering the best possible experience for our tenants. As an ARLA registered agent, the fees we charge our tenants are well-advertised at £185 plus VAT, to cover costs incurred setting up a tenancy. These costs have always been well explained to potential tenants from the outset.

However we are pleased to announce that from 3 January 2017 Strutt & Parker will abolish tenant fees where a tenancy is introduced through a Relocation Agent. We hope this will go some way to help you offer an even better value for money service to your clients.

Right to Rent

The Right to Rent scheme, which requires landlords or agents to check ID of all prospective adult occupiers, was rolled out in parts of the West Midlands on 1st December 2014, and across the rest of England on 1st February 2016.

From 1st December, landlords could be charged with a criminal offence if they know, or have reasonable cause to believe, that they are letting to an illegal migrant, and will be able to obtain a notice from the Home Office to end tenancies for occupants with no Right to Rent.

Landlords or their agents, in order to comply with the regulations, need to meet the potential tenant and see the original documentation to confirm your client’s right to rent. If they are a UK or EU national, we need them to call into any Strutt & Parker office, where a member of the team will be happy take a copy of their passport, certify it and pass it onto the relevant office.

If your client is not a UK or EU national, we will need to meet them and see the original visa. In certain circumstances, where your client is not in the UK prior to the commencement of the tenancy, it might be possible for us to arrange a tenancy prior to us meeting them, however they will not be allowed to move into the property until we have met them in person and seen the original documentation.

Please do let us know if there may be a delay in confirming your client’s Right to Rent.

Latest research

New research from Strutt & Parker, Stanhope and Network Homes reinforces that the UK is on the brink of a large-scale, commercially developed, owned and operated Build to Rent (BTR) sector.

BTR is defined as residential rental product that has been purpose built by developers/investors who offer high-quality accommodation with greater security of tenure and consistent management, supported by lettings agents and asset managers.

‘Housing Futures: Urban Renters’ takes a look at some of the established BTR markets around the world – including Hong Kong, Germany, Japan, Sweden and the US – and explores what it is that today’s renters need, want and aspire to.

Click to view the full document.

The Sebastian Coe Foundation

It may surprise you to learn that before joining Strutt and Parker our lovely Zoe Ellis was a professional entertainer performing in musicals all around the world. With her fabulous voice it’s no surprise that Zoe has now gone on to become one of the founding members of Strutt & Parker’s very own choir, The S&Pranos.

The choir’s first outing was on Wednesday 7th December when they toured the hostelries of Mayfair and treated the pre-Christmas revellers to a selection of carols. The evening raised £540 for the Sebastian Coe Foundation which is our nominated charity this year.

Far more bravely the choir went on to perform at our annual Christmas party and absolutely stunned their colleagues with their professional performance. We look forward to arranging an event in the summer to which we hope to invite clients and customers and raise more funds for this wonderful cause.

Altogether, our offices in London and the rest of the UK have managed to raise over £180,000 by arranging events as diverse as cake sales, preparing office lunches for colleagues, and climbing mountains, along with horrendous challenges such as The Grim.