R.I.P. Geoffrey Cutting – former NLA President

R.I.P. Geoffrey Cutting, President of the National Landlords Association.

Property118 readers and landlords throughout the UK will be devastated to hear that Geoffrey Cutting, the NLA president passed away yesterday (13 June 2013) aged 88. He is survived by his wife Barbro, two of his four children and three grandchildren.

Geoffrey Cutting was a modest and pragmatic man, driven by a belief in justice and a desire to give voice to those who might otherwise go unheard. It was this drive which saw him dedicate his working life to a number of professional trade associations.

Geoff’s professional life was distinguished by 28 successful years as director of the Heating and Ventilation Contractors Association (now the Building and Engineering Services Association). His long service and dedication was recognised in 1969 when he was created MBE by Her Majesty the Queen for services to the industry; an award for which he was rightly proud, although modesty prevented him from using the designation in other areas of his life.

Too active a man to settle quietly into his well-earned retirement in 1989, he focussed his attention on the housing industry in later life, within which he left an indelible mark.

Initially as Press Officer, before serving as Chairman from 1983 to 2001, Geoff brought a wealth of professional experience to the National Landlords Association (formerly Small Landlords Association) helping to drive its development and more importantly elevating the status of private-renting. As Chairman he became the driving force behind numerous campaigns, but will be forever remembered as the focal point of the movement for Rent Act reform throughout the 1980s. By providing a voice for property investment and private landlords Geoff helped create the modern private-rented sector, for which he is owed a great debt.

A keen believer in collective action and association, Geoff founded a number of trade bodies, including the National Federation of Residential Landlords and the Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors.

After nearly 30 years of association with the NLA, he retired from the Board on his 83rd birthday assuming the office of President and advisor to the organisation.

Geoff will be remembered fondly by those who had the opportunity to know and work alongside him, particularly those who shared in his passions by way of the journals he dictated with such fervour.

Messages of thanks for the commitment to the Private Rented Sector and messages condolence to his friends and family may be posted in the comment section below.

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