Inside Property with Richard Blanco

The inventory and return of the deposit are key aspects of being able to end a tenancy well – but what if the tenant is in arrears or has breached the contract? How can tenants get redress if their landlords don’t comply with regulations? And what of the softer sides of ending the tenant landlord relationship…. how can staying on good terms help to oil the wheels over those inevitable bumps in the road? Richard Blanco is joined by inventories expert from No Letting Go, Lisa Williamson, Head of Dispute Resolution from My Deposits, Suzy Hershman and Al McClenahan, Director of Justice4Tenants.

Letting Agents are facing a raft of regulatory changes in 2019. From April they must have a dedicated bank account and insurance for clients’ money and tenant fees will be banned from June 2019. Meanwhile the government has asked a working group to consider compulsory training and trade body membership plus the establishment of a regulatory body. What is morale like amongst letting agents and how will the sector change in the coming years? Enforcement will be down to trading standards, but will they have the resources? And are these changes a real victory for the consumer? Richard Blanco is joined by David Cox, CEO of Arla Propertymark, Fiona Exley from London Trading Standards and Business Transfer Agent, Adam Walker.

How important is design for let properties? As a landlord, should you always stick to neutral or can you safely stray into something more adventurous? To furnish or not to furnish? Are there particular sectors, like HMOs, where design adds considerable profit? If you are a tenant do you despair at having to put up with the landlord’s leftover furniture and would you prefer more freedom to redecorate your home to your taste? Richard Blanco is joined by designers Nicola Geldart from David Phillips, Julian Maurice of Icon Living and East London portfolio landlord, Toby Scrutton to unpack the issues and offer some useful tips and guidance. Inside Property is produced in collaboration with the National Landlords Association. Photo courtesy of David Phillips. Would you be interested in joining a listeners panel? This would involve a 2 hour meeting in person or by skpe in central London to let us know your views about the programme. If so, please get in touch here. Thank you! This is the final episode in the 2017-18 series, we will be back at the end of January 2019.

How would you feel about compulsory three year tenancies? Would they provide essential security of tenure for families or pose too big a risk for landlords? The government has appointed the third housing minister this year. What will Kit Malthouse bring to the table and how confident are you that housing really is a priority for ministers? Will the Bank of England end nearly a decade of ultra low interest rates and increase them this August? And we discuss a new initiative to help student landlords support tenants with mental health issues. Richard Blanco is joined by Chris Norris, Director of Policy & Practice at The National Landlords Association and Carol Lewis, Deputy Editor of Property and Personal Finance at The Times. Inside Property is produced in collaboration with the National Landlords Association. Would you be interested in joining a listeners panel? This would involve a 2 hour meeting in person or by skpe in central London to let us know your views about the programme. If so, please get in touch here. Thank you!

Are you ready for GDPR? Under this directive, tenants will have the right to sue landlords for misuse of data from 25 May 2018. The NLA's Chris Norris and Marlon Fox from Outlook Property talk to Richard Blanco about what landlords and agents need to do to comply. We discuss Ellie Flynn's BBC Three documentary Rent For Sex (watch here) which exposes so called landlords offering free rooms for sexual favours. A parliamentary select committee has proposed that landlords' properties could be confiscated should they commit certain housing offences. And Tory party conference promises to fully regulate letting agents have now precipitated proposals for a legally enforceable code of practice, compulsory membership of a trade body and a new regulator. Could this sound the death knell for ropey agents? Inside Property is produced in collaboration with the National Landlords Association. Would you be interested in joining a listeners panel? This would involve a 2 hour meeting in person or by skpe in central London to let us know your views about the programme. If so, please get in touch here. We'd also love to get some reviews on itunes, Audioboom and other sites. Thank you!

Richard Blanco asks Douglas Haig, Vice Chair of the Residential Landlords Association and Richard Lambert, Chief Executive Officer of the National Landlords Association about the work of landlord associations, whether they can be legitimately seen as the voice of landlords, how their offer supports the landlord community and why campaigns to prevent and now roll back recent tax changes have been thwarted. Vanessa Warwick, landlord and founder of propertytribes.com joins the debate and outlines the role she sees for digital platforms. What role might these organisations play as the government tries to professionalise and regulate the sector? Should landlord associations merge to give them more clout and is it fair to criticise web portals as a forum for ranting? Inside Property is produced in collaboration with the National Landlords Association. Special thanks to the Residential Landlords Association and propertytribes.com for their collaboration on this episode.  Would you be interested in joining a listeners panel? This would involve a 2 hour meeting in person or by skpe in central London to let us know your views about the programme. If so, please get in touch here.  We'd also love to get some reviews from you on itunes and Audioboom.  Thank you!

How would you define an ethical landlord or investor? Richard Blanco speaks to Susan Aktemel, founder of Glasgow based Homes For Good, Landlord MaryAnn Richmond-Coggan who created Green Farm Kent and Ed Fowkes, Development Director of Prosperity Capital Partners to find out what motivates them and how their practice stands out. We hear about how their businesses are structured, who benefits and what could be done to encourage more landlords and investors to nurture their social conscience. Inside Property is produced in collaboration with the National Landlords Association. With thanks to Aileen Scoular for additional research.

From the Government’s Help To Buy and Shared Ownership schemes to the recent reduction in stamp duty and Bank of Mum & Dad, just how easy is it for first time buyers to get a foot on the property ladder? Are first time investors competing with them for the same properties and with high prices and low yields in London and The South East should prospective landlords simply cross these areas off their wish list? What about property investment clubs and how much of an impact are the PRA changes to buy to let lending dampening their aspirations? In this specially extended edition, we hear from Laura about buying her first home and Jack’s aspirations to become a landlord or developer. Expert guests are on hand to offer help and advice: Kate Faulkner, MD of Property Checklists, Investment Coach Damien Fogg of theepinvestor.com and Financial Adviser Jay Rooney from One And All Financial. Inside Property is produced in collaboration with the National Landlords Association.

In April 2017, the long awaited tax changes affecting landlords and investors come into force. Is it time to sell, hold or expand, particularly as many are facing a double whammy with the new regulation of buy to let mortgages by the Prudential Regulation Authority? Richard Blanco gets to grips with this conundrum with the help of private landlord Jamie Fraser, who is thinking of selling, Founder of Developer, East Eight, Nicole Bremner who is expanding her business, Ben Sheils Accounting Director from Micro Business team and John Cox, Principal of finance broker Mortgage-Desk. Inside Property is produced in collaboration with the National Landlords Association. Picture Credit = East Eight.

How balanced is the portrayal of landlords and tenants in the media? Is the press guilty of prurience: revelling in landlord and tenant conflict and preferring to focus on bad behaviour and the worst conditions, rather than report mainstream good practice? Do politicians pander to stereotypes with short termist, populist housing policies, that encourage narrow lines of enquiry by journalists, ultimately failing landlords, tenants and the housing crisis? Richard Blanco is joined by Patrick Collinson from The Guardian, Sarah Davidson from the Mail Online and Simon Greenwood, Series Editor of Channel 5’s Nightmare Tenants, Slum Landlords. Inside Property is produced in collaboration with the National Landlords Association. Picture from Nightmare Tenants, Slum Landlords which is currently airing on Channel 5. Contact the producers if you would like to take part in the show: http://www.channel5.com/take-part/