NLA, RLA or ELA???

Hi Adrian

I'm also Norwich based and I have been a member of ELA for 25 years. To my knowledge they don't run a landlord accreditation course though.

Mary Latham runs one for NLA and MLAS in Birmingham which I can recommend.

Neither will offer you a better Landlords Insurance deal than our scheme providers at Property118 will though - GUARANTEED - see >>> http://www.property118.com/landlords-insurance-landlords-buying-group-2/
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Adrian, I write as the CEO of the ELA, so do have a vested interest, and we certainly value Mark, who has over the years suported the ELA, and all our members.
We very much welcome you to being a landlord.
At present we do not run an accreditation scheme, but shall be starting training courses from our office in Norwich very soon, and are working with the local authority on local accreditation for the area.
We do have the benefit of regular local meetings with visiting speakers, and the chance to network with local landlords, and are very welcome to call us anytime, or come and see us at our office in Norwich and discuss your needs.

Reply to the comment left by "Peter Davies" at "27/08/2014 - 08:57":

Hi Peter

Will the ELA accreditation scheme be "passportable" as per the schemes offered by LLAS, NLA, MLAS etc. etc.?
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I have been a member of the NLA (and its predecessor the Small Landlords Association) for ten years or so, but I have become increasingly irritated by what I perceive as its overly-comfortable "corporatist" approach - operating like a lobbyist, being terribly reasonable all the time, speaking up for landlords in a very hushed voice. Their bi-monthly magazine is really tedious: stuffed with adverts, self-congratulatory pieces, and articles that mostly state the blindingly obvious. I used to use their approved insurance provider, because their 10% discount used to make them competitive, but I moved elsewhere three years ago. Their free tax investigation insurance isn't worth the paper it's written on: it's so hedged around with get-out clauses by the insurer. The only function I've used in recent years is the good free advice line.

The RLA, in contrast, has a much more "campaigning" approach, so I've decided to switch my membership fees to them this year, and see how that works out.

Hi Adrian, they all have their pros & cons. Most hold regular branch meetings and non members are welcome. So pop along and get a feel of who you think is most active in your area. A good branch will have an active committee and regional manager who attend Local Authority meetings and feed info back to you. They should also help highlight changing legal requirements of a landlord. Networking with other local landlords is very beneficial, so get a feel on the sort of interaction that goes on in the meetings. Check out each website and get a feel of what information is available for the cost of membership. Do they provide training, advice, discounts etc. Good luck.

I am a member of a national org for national purposes and a local one for local issues. It works well.

I was a member of the NLA but ditched them for the RLA. The main reason was I had cause to claim on the NLA backed insurance but they were difficult and adversarial from the off, and in the end refused to pay out. At no point did I feel the NLA broker was acting on my behalf, but clearly were acting for the insurance company in trying to put as many barriers up as possible.

Reply to the comment left by "Tony Atkins" at "27/08/2014 - 16:08":

Funny to read from others what I have been thinking myself recently. I've literally just let my NLA membership lapse after a good number of years, and am joining the RLA instead, mainly because I believe, rightly or wrongly, they are more of a 'fighting' organisation on behalf of Landlords. Time will tell.

It seems to me that the NLA are generally more interested in selling 3rd party products and services (none of which I've ever used) maybe to help their own funding? You can find those on this web-site, without having to pay NLA for them!

Adrian, I am the local representative for the NLA and am also in discussions with the Council about their forthcoming accreditation scheme for Norwich. The NLA accreditation scheme is development based and recognised throughout the UK and Norwich City Council understand the importance of publically recognising landlords who have become accredited with the us. We hold local training accreditation courses and meetings for landlords which are open to both members and non members. At our next local meeting landlords will have an opportunity to have direct input into the Council's new accreditation scheme, you would be very welcome to join us.

Reply to the comment left by "Emma Hunter" at "01/09/2014 - 20:04":

Welcome to Property118 Emma and please upload a picture so we know what you look like 🙂
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