NALS – “No Agent Loves Sarcasm”

I for one would welcome agent certification - like everything though it would have to be properly controlled and to be honest it would take years for landlords to trust agents.
Agent certification need to be properly done - they should have to take yearly exams in the rules applying to property lets etc (eg agents should know that electrical certificates are only required every three years not yearly ....)

Good morning Ian. Thank you for commenting. To what circumstances are you referring to a legislative requirement for electrical certificates?

As a Landlord you are required to supply a house that is safe so, whilst there is no legisltaion along the same lines of a gas safety test it would be considered good practice to carry out an electrical safety test.
A PAT (portable appliance test) test should be done annually - the wiring and general electrics should be tested usually every 3 to 5 years, athough new builds tend to not need checking until 10years after the installation. The date of when the next test is required is included in the paperwork when the test is carried out.

Thanks for confirming it's not a piece of regulation I had missed. I agree that all responsible landlords will have the electrics in their rental properties checked from time to time without being forced to do so by regulation. I know that I do. We have too much regulation in our sector as it is, the rogues just ignore the laws anyway. What's needed is resource to enforce the laws that already exist and an incentive for small landlords to improve their knowledge of them.

Actually Electric Safety Cetificates, where they are legally required, last for 5 years on a residential property and this is according to the NICEIC rules. A domestic dwelling can be cetified for up to 10 years but because a property is let it is considered to be a commercial premises and this is why landlords can only get 5 years at a time.

I agree Tim and if a landlord ended up in litigation a judge would refer to the industry standard and the only one is the HMO standard which does require that a property is certified at all times.

So while there is no legislation for a non HMO a landlord who does not keep his electrics covered is vulnerable not only to litgation but to loosing an insurance claim in the event that things went wrong

I agree Mark and I think that we will see landlords coming running to up their knowledge more and more as tenants become more savvy and know more than their landlords

Agents too Mary, it's only a matter of time in my opinion. Do the Landlord Accreditation courses run by MLAS, NLA and London Landlords accreditation welcome agents?

Yes they do Mark and an individual can become accredited or if 2/3rds of the people who deal with the lettings become accredited the Agency can use the logo and become an accredited Agent. In many areas of the West Midlands an Agent who is not accredited will struggle to survive. Student bodies will only allow an accredited Agent to attend their fayres they will not take the money from a non accredited Agent and this is how they support good standards for their students. Most local authorities insist that a landlord or Agent is accredited before they work with them even when housing their homeless. This is a very brave stance since they are so desparate to get property but again it supports the rights of tenants to expect decent well managed homes.

Fantastic news. That means the syllabus exists to educate all and that the LHA and student lettings markets can be influenced without regulation sibject to collaberation of key organisations such as Universities and local authorities. As this is already operational in Birmingham, the UK's second largest city, then surely it's only a matter of time before it spreads nationally? Are their any similar ways to influence landlords and agents that operate in areas of the PRS other than LHA and students without resorting to government legislation?