Landlords Associations – a list of them all with links

I had cause to view a Landlords Association's standard form for a Deed of Guarantee recently - and it reminded me why I do not belong to any Landlord Association!

It was called a Deed, but it was also asked for payment "of one penny being consideration for the granting of this guarantee" - making it a Contract?

It was not written in clear English, and yet states "This guarantee agreement creates a binding legal contract. If you do not fully understand the nature of the agreement, then it is recommended that you take indendant legal advice before signing." - who pays for such legal advice (the onus is upon the sender of the Form to ensure terms are clear)?

It says nothing about the need to renew the Deed when there is a change in circumstances, e.g. from an Assured Shorthold Tenancy to a Statutory Periodic Tenancy.

"References in this Guarantee to the Guarantor shall include the Guarantor named in this Guarantee and his successors and assignees and his executors or administrators", but a Guarantor cannot sign for others!

There was an exclusion clause stating that the Association would not be responsible for the advice it offers!

Finally, it had not been updated since 2007, and therefore did not incorporate the latest changes in law.

This is just one example of the inaccurate advice being given by Landlords Associations - and why I do not belong to any.

Landlords think "what's in it for me"! Attempts to license Landlords in the past have generally been based upon the Landlord footing the bill - with the suspicion that declaring their hand will only result in aggravation from the authorities!

If Councils were to start a registration process, at no cost to the Landlord, which enabled Landlords to call themselves, say, "Registered Landlord", with no obligations, it could start the ball rolling. The Councils could subsequently get their money back by issuing the title "Accredited Landlord" to those Landlords who pass the Council's "test". The register would be open to potential tenants as a reference for their potential Landlord.

Such a proposal could even be extented to tenants!

This is a message for Barry Hayden and for people who perhaps find things unacceptable as he rightly has done. Join an up to date Association, one that strives to keep itself on the ball. Many do! But, of course, when the people that run Associations are volunteers the standards reflect the enthusiasm and expertise of the leadership. This is why more landlords need to join such organisations and those with enthusiasm should be willing to get involved with the organisation and administration. You learn so much in the process of getting involved that the benefits are worth the effort and both you, as an individual landlord, and the Association to which you belong become more competent and professional and richer in the process. Isn't that what this is all about?
Local and Regional Associations have a great deal to offer potential members. They are based in the environment where their business is located. The leaders know the actors in the various other organisations that relate to them and they are more responsive to members' needs and understand more clearly their concerns. So get your LL friends to join an Association so that they too can benefit from the support it offers its members and benefit also from the good relationships it has developed in the local area in which it operates. It's a no brainer really!

Hi Barry, I'm a great believer in Karma, I help whenever I can and I get rewarded for it eventually, sometimes in the strangest of ways. This website is a great example of that. I give away knowledge freely and hopefully entertain and inspire people in the process too. I never get to know many of the people who read or benefit from the ideas, stories and contacts I share but that really doesn't matter. I find what goes around comes around.

If I spotted a mistake that another landlord or landlords association was making I would offer to help. Maybe you should give it a try?

I'll give you an example of how this approach to life has benefited me recently. A lady contacted me a few weeks ago after having read my articles for over a year. I had no idea who she was but she obviously knew a lot about me. She wanted a bit of advice on IHT. It turns out she manages freehold interest of blocks of flats for her own portfolio and several landlords. This is something I know very little about. However, my brother and I do own a freehold interest, we purchased it to protect the value of a flat we owned in the block. The lady offered to deal with everything for me without charge as she had received so much benefit from the things I had shared here on Property118.

I see landlords associations as an opportunity for well intentioned landlords to share best practice. None of us have a monopoly on good ideas and with good networking and a giving approach to life we can all learn something.

Clearly the best and most Effective as well as offering best value is the Residential Landlords Association, brillient help line, stunning Board with members that have real vision and Understanding, and very good at campaigns with Goverment access. This is also the fastest growing in the UK and punches way above its weight.

I belong to the Portsmouth and District Landlords Association (pdpla) and have been a member for many years. They meet once a month on a Monday evening, the first half hour is for networking and then we have guest speakers who keep us up to date with relevant information. The annual membership fee is £60 and they have a recommended Traders List, comprising of tried and trusted workmen/suppliers who give pdpla members a discount. On October 17th they are holding their second Portsmouth Landord Show, which promises to be well worth attending. They have speakers talking about everything from avoiding the 7 fatal mistakes made by 80% of first time landlords to squatting, repossession and capital gains tax. Check out http://www.pdpla.com

I joined RLA originally because of helpful Martin Moylan, but it has excellent, comprehensive tenancy contracts. Very down to earth & practical.

Joined NLA because of MyDeposits. Now RLA has cheaper deposit scheme.

NLA introduced me to Envirovent; excellent product that works.

Will stay with both though; both have benefits.

Hi
Does anybod know of a regional landlords association for wales. I am based in South Wales , just nort of Cardiff and have not come accross anything

Happy for you to email me on graigproperties@aol.com with some info

Here is an example of how NLA achieve great results for landlords, saving members £150 on every HMO licence & another £300 if they are accredited.

Birmingham City Council have sent a strong message to landlords who let in the city.

“We support good landlords”

Senior officers of the city council have been in discussions with the West Midlands Regional Representative of the National Landlords Association (NLA) since 2011 when HMO licences were about to come up for renewal but it was not until the NLA proposed a radical new approach to the fee structure that progress was made.

The proposal was based on offering discounts to those landlords who have taken the trouble to learn, through an education based accreditation scheme, and ensure that they were supported, by joining a recognised landlords association. On the other side of the coin those landlords who have broken the law by not applying in a timely fashion for an HMO licence would be penalised to cover the extra cost involved in tracing and chasing and sometime taking legal action against them. By recovering their costs from the bad landlords the good landlords could be licensed at a much lower fee and the authority would still balance their books. Birmingham City Councils Officers were very supportive of this approach which was given the blessing of the Birmingham Landlord Forum Steering Group.

In the report, on the proposed new fee structure submitted to the Strategic Director, Local Services and the Deputy Leader of the Council, it was noted

“When the increase of fees and charges came into effect on 4th April 2012 for new licence applications, and from 1st June 2012 for the renewal of existing licences. Private landlords representatives expressed concern that compliant landlords were being penalised and the National Landlord Association submitted an alternative proposal to introduce a fairer format of fees and discounts for this area of work.

The fee structure for the HMO licensing scheme has been reviewed in the light of a proposal submitted by the National Landlord Association on behalf of their members operating in the city.

The headline cost of the fee has not been altered but the levels of discount to members of certain professional organisations and members of the Midland Landlord Accreditation scheme have been increased. This will encourage landlords to respond more rapidly and penalise those who fail to comply. Those providing incomplete applications will be penalised as will owners and managers of unlicensed properties.”

Jacqui Kennedy, Director of Regulation and Enforcement, recognised the need to encourage good landlords to work with the city and in her report she noted
“To continue with the structure of fees and discounts set in February 2012 will cause damage to the reputation of Birmingham City Council in its dealings with the body of reputable private landlords and have a negative impact on dialogue intended to encourage owners to provide decent secure homes for the vulnerable and in need.”

In further recognition of those good landlords, who had applied and paid for a licence or renewal before the restructure was agreed, it was agreed to back date the new fee structure to 4th April 2012 and those landlords who are entitled to the discounts will now be given a very welcome refund.
The new fee structure is as follows
A first application for a licence £1150
For the renewal of an existing licence made before the current licence expires £850
Where an application for the renewal of an existing licence is made after the expiry of the current licence £1150
Discounts
A discount, applied to each application, if the proposed Licence Holder is a member of the Midland Landlord Accreditation Scheme (MLAS) £300
A discount, applied to each application, if the proposed Licence Holder is a member of the National Landlords Association (NLA) or the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) £150
Note - both discounts may be claimed if the proposed Licence Holder belongs to both the MLAS and either the NLA or the RLA
Duration of the licence
A licence application made following an investigation by the council 1 year
A licence application made after a request has been made by the council 1 year
A licence application made where a licence application should have been made previously 1 year
A licence application made where there is evidence of poor management of a HMO 1 year
Any other application 5 years
Additional charges
For the submission of an incomplete application (If additional information is required the application will not be processed until the additional charge is received) £100
The result of this is that good landlords can reduce their fees to £700 for a new 5 year licence application and £400 for a 5 year renewal of an existing HMO licence where all licence conditions have been met and the application is made on time and in full.
Those landlords who have chosen not to become accredited through MLAS or to join a recognised landlords association will pay £1,150 for a new 5 year licence and £850 for a 5 year renewal.
Those landlords who do not apply in time and in full or are not meeting the HMO Management regulations will only receive a 1 year licence and will need to pay the full fee again before the end of that year when they apply for a 5 year licence renewal.
Landlords who are accredited with the National Landlords Association (NLA), following attendance of a one day foundation seminar, will be passported at no cost into the MLAS on application and will be entitled to the accredited landlord discount.
Speaking on behalf of NLA members in Birmingham Mary Latham, Regional Representative of NLA had this to say
“I am delighted that Birmingham are offering tangible support to good landlords. Birmingham has one of the lowest LHA rates in the region and good landlords, who are providing the much needed HMO accommodation, will really appreciate this recognition of their efforts. NLA have an excellent relationship with this authority and we look forward to working with them to avoid homelessness in the city.”

Hi Dave,

Why not gt yourself along to Welsh Landlords Day in Cardiff on 20th May?

A really informative programme of events and lots of other landlords to network with.

I am sure you will get answers to anything you need there, including local associations.

http://www.propertytribes.com/welsh-landlords-day-20th-may-2013-t-7958.html