Landlords Associations – a list of them all with links

I am a member of the National Landlords Asscociation (NLA) which is by far the biggest in the country and is the only landlords association that has 50 representatives all over the UK working closely with local authorities and often providing landlords meetings in partnership with them. NLA also run local meetings all over the UK and there are very few days of the year when there is not an NLA meeting going on somewhere. A landlord does not have to be a member to attend these meetings everyone is welcome because NLA wants to know what local landlords are concerned about and to keep landlords up to date with what is going on both locally and nationally. Apart from this and many other services and discounts that NLA provides for landlords many local authorities recognise that members of landlords associations are well supported and kept up to date and they offer big discounts on HMO licence fees to members.
Apart from the local and national work that NLA does on behalf of landlords they also work closely with landlords/property organisations in Europe and have a European representative to present their views when things are being discussed that will eventually impact on landlords in the UK
I was the founder of the Association of Midlands Landlords which, like ELA, provided a good service to local landlords but as we grew I realised that we needed to be a part of a bigger organisation in order to influence Government while still keeping the local work going.
All landlords should join a landlords association because it is too dangerous not to know what is happening locally and nationally and to become out of touch with changes to legislation and regulation.

York Residential Landlords Association was founded in 1994 by a small group of landlords living in York. York RLA is a membership based, non-profit making organisation whose principle aim is to give help and advice to residential landlords. Since 1994 our association has grown significantly and we have an excellent relationship with the City Of York Council, North Yorkshire Police and all of York's academic institutions, including the University of York and York St John University. Regardless of how few or how many properties a landlord owns, we are here to help.

Our membership is made up mainly of part-time landlords along with a small number of full-time landlords/letting agents, and a number of other people who are interested in becoming landlords in the near future. Our membership currently stands at over 500 and is growing.

York RLA is run by landlords for landlords. Our members elect a committee on an annual basis whose role it is to organise the association's affairs and respond to the needs of members. The committee members are all residential landlords in their own right who give up their time on a voluntary basis to help the association and its members. In addition we have a dedicated staff member who supports the membership, committee and chairman, ensuring that York RLA is run professionally and independently.

By joining York RLA, landlords gain enormous benefits for a very modest membership fee.

We hold free presentations and seminars on a monthly basis at the Park Inn York. Non-members are welcome to attend one presentation prior to joining.

York RLA is affilliated to the Residential Landlords Association. Whilst York RLA represents members' interests at a local level, the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) protects and promotes the interests of landlords operating in the private-rented sector at national level.

Details and sign up on our website http://www.yorkrla.co.uk

The Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL) is the only association focused solely on Scotland where the law around lettings is completely different to that south of the Border. Founded in 2001 by landlords and still run by landlords plus professional staff, we have grown fast and also now operate Landlord Accreditation Scotland - Scotland's national training and accreditation scheme.

SAL welcomes enquiries from any landlord or letting agent who lets in Scotland you can join online at http://www.scottishlandlords.com. To find out more please check our website or email us on info@scottishlandlords.com or call us on 0131 564 0100 with your postal address. We'd be delighted to send you a free sample of our member magazine "Landlord Focus" which gives a good overview of what we can do for you.

For those letting in England and Wales as well we have a reciprocal deal with the Residential Landlords Association which gives you a full membership of both SAL and the RLA for one fee.

SAL membership benefits include:

• Website members resources area: downloadable factsheets and all documentation required for letting
• Unlimited access to our unique Scottish legal and landlord advice line - invaluable with any problems you may require specialist advice on.
• Free Core Standards training sessions from Landlord Accreditation Scotland
• Campaigning on behalf of members
• Discounts on other useful seminars
• Member deals on goods and services
• Subscription to Landlord Focus magazine
• Regular email updates direct to your inbox
• Local meetings all over Scotland via our 14 branches - networking
• Add your voice to SAL’s lobbying of Holyrood and Westminster politicians about landlords’ interests
• Annual National Landlord Day conference and exhibition
• Peace of mind that we're here when you need us

We do look forward to hearing from you and being of assistance

I think one of the biggest problems as far as LL representing themselves to govt and councils is the disparate nature of LL Assoc.
They all appear to be effective in their own way.
The trouble is multiple lobbying groups representing the same group, namely LL, necessarily dilutes the effectiveness of these bodies.
An amalgamation or affiliation to ONE representative LL Assoc would be the ideal.
Easy to say I know, and not so easy to do.
Good LL will always join a body which represents their circumstances.
As I believe there is not much difference regarding any LL concerns across the country, ONE voice would have far more impact if the membership was representative of ALL LL.

I've been a member of the Calderdale Landlords Association for many years; http://www.calderdalelandlords.co.uk/

They are also affiliated to the RLA.

I've also joined the Scottish Association of Landlords and the Northern Ireland Landlords Association - http://www.lani.org.uk/

Both simply because we operate in these Countries and my knowledge of the tenancy agreements / eviction process requires their expert help.

There was an attempt to unify all landlords association many years ago Paul, it was called the NFRL (National Federation of Residential Landlords). As I recall, the concept was good but the North/South divide played it part along with big ego's and the control of members funds in the demise of the concept. A real shame I thought as the core principle had everything to do with a united voice as opposed to dilution of message which many still feel is the case. Who knows where we would be as an industry now if the organisations had gelled. I suspect that a lot more than just 5% of all landlords would belong to a landlords association by now if it had worked out. these days the NLA and the RLA seems to have affiliations with most of the smaller landlords associations but there are still some smaller independent groups which also seem to do a great job. My local association, the ELA, is probably the largest of those which are independent from NLA and RLA. In the same was as the letting agents have an organisation with on simple message (SAFEagent) it would be nice if landlords had something similar which they could join subject to being a member of any other landlords association. I'd certainly consider joining such a group if it had a PR based objective for our industry as that's the one thing I don't feel any of the landlords associations are particularly good at. Please don't ask me to start it though, I don't have the time or the inclination but I would be happy to use Property118 to promote it in much the same way that I don't charge any landlords association a penny to promote their organisations here. What all landlords need is positive PR to counter the anti landlord propaganda put out by the the likes of Shelter and Newham Council. I don't think any one of the landlords association could raise enough money to fund an effective ongoing campaign but a combined effort might just make it possible.

I reckon the thing that would motivate LL to join such a federated orgainisation would be if licensing of LL was introduced across the UK.
It has started in Newham and I think the irresistable nature of all that fee income will result in a defacto national LL licensing situation from councils.
Then perhaps LL will start to get angry.
I think at the moment complacency rules.........well maybe!!!!!?

I had no idea that Landlord Associations existed when I first became a landlord fifteen years ago. It was only when I was contacted by a member of the Devon Landlords’ Association, who informed me that my new tenant owed him loads of money that I learned about them. He thought that I needed to be aware of my new tenants’ renting history and what they might try to do to me.

He had found us through Land Registry records and had written to us to take action prior to suffering the same fate as him. I thought then, that being a member of the Association to which he belonged would be a sound move. I was impressed with the kindness and support I received then, from a fellow landlord, and now, years later, as the Chairman of that Association, I try to imbue everything we do with that basic philosophy of care, help and guidance.

Like most other Regional Associations, Devon Landlords (DLA) is run for landlords by landlords and is a not for profit organisation. The DLA aims to be a competent and effective body representing the interests and concerns of its members to Governmental and Professional Agencies. It assists its members to become competent landlords by providing support in managing tenants and helping them become aware of changing legislation and in conforming to best practice. There are also a large number of services and forms/contracts which we provide
exclusively for members by entering username and password in to our website data base.

If you aren't already a member of an Association then use the link above to find out how to join one in your area. You could save money and you will certainly gain plenty of advice and knowledge from existing members. These are some of the things membership (of the DLA) brings:-

Real support from other professional Landlords.

Meetings on current topics of interest.

Bi-Monthly E-Newsletters and on-going email updates.

Substantial discounts from selected trade suppliers.

Special insurance packages and discounts.

Free legal advice from Associate Solicitors.

Tenant referencing at special rates for members.

Tenant locate facility for those who go missing owing money.

A fantastic FREE website where you can advertise your property.

An office open five days a week where you get helpful advice and support.

Representation on Council committees and working parties.

A large collective voice to make your feelings heard where decisions are made.

Hi Mark,

The Residential Landlords’ Association is happy you have raised this subject. Many landlords, particularly those new to the sector, are unaware of the huge benefits that membership of a
landlords’ association will bring – especially the guidance they will receive to navigate the minefield of growing legislation.

The RLA’s first advice to any landlord who is not a member of an association is to join one.

Naturally, we would be delighted if they joined the RLA, but we appreciate that there are other capable associations that they may wish to consider.

It really is in landlords’ best interests to join an association if they truly want to keep up with ever-changing legislation, receive the best professional support, and make their work as easy as possible.

For our part, the RLA was established in 1998 but our roots and experience go back decades and make us the UK’s first national landlord association. We currently have over 12,500 members - with increasing renewal rates - in England and Wales, and our joint policy and research arrangements with the Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL) provides a combined national voice of over 20,000 landlords. We also have very close working relationships with regional
landlords associations across the whole country such as SADLA, and Calderdale Landlords’ Association.

The RLA provides a huge range of services; including:

A track record of campaigning for landlords’ rights – The RLA’s influence goes right to the heart of Government, and recent successes include guiding the establishment of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Private Rented Sector, commissioning the highly influential Ball Report on the tax and legislative barriers in the PRS, and securing key changes to EU directives in order to protect landlords’ financial freedoms. Such work has secured the RLA the ‘Best Campaigner’ award for the last two years at the Landlord & Letting Awards.

A much-loved, 24/7 Helpdesk – The standard of assistance offered by our dedicated Helpdesk is currently rated 4.5-out-of-five by our members.

An expansive library of downloadable guides and documents - Including our ‘plain English’ Assured Shorthold Tenancy agreement (Crystal Mark pending).

Deposit Guard – The RLA’s own deposit protection scheme, which offers the lowest fees on the
market (www.rla.org.uk/depositguard).

RLA Mortgages – A brand new mortgage sourcing tool, which provides landlords with some of the
most competitive buy-to-let mortgages (www.rlamortgages.co.uk).

Membership of the RLA costs just £75-a-year (online), and combined membership of the RLA and SAL costs just £98-a-year.

For more information please visit http://www.rla.org.uk.

I am a member of the NLA (formerly the Small Landlord's Association), and have subscribed to Landlord Law website for 10 years (run by Tessa Shepperson, solicitor). I do hold the RLA in high regard though and Landlordzone is excellent for their forum, as well as Property 118.