Dear all,
Isn’t time flying by! I know I keep going on about it, but the school is back full time next week (hurrah!) and life in its new way starting to take shape. Usually I take some time off to make sure that I have everything ready for school and some time to chill out, but as my son and I have been doing that since March, I sort of feel that when the schools go back, I will be able to get a better handle on things, and the filing in my home work space.
I am awful with filing and I keep everything, so it mounts up. Hopefully by this time next week I shall have a clear desk!
I have mentioned before that during lock down I reconnected with some old friends one of which happened to be in Glasgow for a few weeks and I did go out for dinner on Monday night using the eat out to help out mindset and I am not going to lie, I had anxiety dreams about it before hand – I think everyone has been having strange dreams since March 2020. However I had a lovely time, the staff at the restaurant wore masks and put my mind at ease, the tables were at a distance from each other, but not so much you felt totally alone there was still an atmosphere. The food was lovely and it gave me a bit of confidence to do it again.
I reconnected with my old drama teacher and mentor last year who I have not caught up with as yet since lock down eased, but I do plan to soon, which I would not have even thought about doing two weeks ago.
Social distancing/personal hygiene advice for staff/contractors/tenants
Guidance on the precautions we must all take to reduce the spread of the virus can be found on the NHS website here.
This guidance from Health Protection Scotland has, in section 1.3, a number of suggestions relevant to preventing the spread of the virus in a workplace environment.
At Glasgow Property letting we have considered whether or not there is a requirement for the offices to be open and staff to attend. In light of government advice, employees will still be working from home where possible. For things that we need from the office such as historic lease agreements, keys, we do have a system in place to collect these things.
Introduced in August 2020, as part of helping tenants and landlords who have experienced problems with rent arrears under lockdown, SDS Resolution is a new service from SafeDeposits Scotland designed to establish a satisfactory resolution specifically to rent arrears, without the need for further action. As with all services provided by SafeDeposits Scotland, SDS Resolution is completely free to use.
The initiative, which is entirely separate from SafeDeposits Scotland’s tenancy deposit handling and deposit dispute resolution procedures, offers a service in which SDS Resolution will seek to broker rent repayment agreements between landlords and tenants. The aim of the service is to help avoid tenants being evicted by ensuring that landlords can recover some or all of the arrears over time. The service is available to all landlords and tenants, whether or not their deposit is protected by SafeDeposits Scotland.
SDS Resolution is endorsed by SAL. Visit www.sdsresolution.com for further information and steps to begin a resolution referral.
Managing rent arrears during Covid-19
Under the terms of the tenancy agreement the rent is still due as normal unless the landlord agrees to a rent reduction or for tenants to pay what is due over a longer period. Evictions can still take place, however currently it is six months notice required. If the tenant is in arrears a guarantor can be pursued for payment. During the coronavirus crisis there is additional financial support available for tenants which we have advised the tenants off, and monthly send a wee reminder if they are struggling to keep in touch.
Landlords you have the options of an interest free loan should you find yourself struggling, although this is a repayable loan and not a grant it is better than nothing for those in need.
I am going to try a landlord and tenant interview, vlog, chat sort of thing that will be recorded as a podcast, just a bit different from the weekly email as although there is a lot in the world of letting to talk about, it may be something different.
If you would like to take part please let me know and if there are any questions you as a landlord would like to ask another landlord, send them over to me and with a willing volunteer I can pose the questions, nothing too intrusive or specific financial details, just more a chat about why you became a landlord, how long do you see yourself staying as a landlord, challenges you face and find , concerns you have going forward and we can see what evolves.
As I have reiterated many times I truly believe communication is key through this and I feel we are doing a good job working together as a rather large team.
Today is my son’s first official day at school as well as
- National Prosecco Day.
- National Filet Mignon Day.
- International Left Handers Day
Not that there is any relation between the events, but nice to have an excuse and celebrate not being right handed!
take care and stay safe, I sense it is going to be a strange month with the schools back and the rise in covid cases cases across the world, we will get through this and the new way of life could be a pleasant change. I know I am enjoying walking more, that could be something we can add to the landlord questions, we all know the negative things that have happened, but let me know at least one positive you have about the situation we are currently in?
Take care and stay safe
Michelle