Dear All,
Just a quick email this week, the schools are going back next week so there is a little grumpy face who is secretly excited to get back to see his friends, but I am being a mummy this afternoon! We have still not opened the office yet, as we have been told unless it is necessary continue as we are.
I mentioned before that I have been in contact with the tenants to check in regarding finances, their mental health and the property in general. One point that I am being asked about is pets.
It seems that during lock down people are thinking about company in the form of a pet, which has been shown to reduce stress levels and anxiety.
Before the world changed the out of office events which Colin and I would attend usually had a presentation from dogs trust. Not being a pet person I always thought this odd, but almost half of households have a pet! Which means that if you adopt a strict no pets property you are restricting half the rental market and the majority of long term rental families.
We use a combination of the pet clause that my deposits recommend combined with Scottish Government, which is rather comprehensive and takes in details from the size and breed of the pet to the colour and nail length. Even with a pet clause the maximum deposit we can take is twice the rental amount, which is why the additional clauses and additions can be peace of mind.
https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/news-events/news/2020/lets-with-pets-government-announcement
https://www.letswithpets.org.uk/landlord-and-letting-agency-resources/resources
Advice for landlords and letting agencies – Lets with Pets Development
Advice for landlords and letting agencies . Landlords and letting agencies who exclude pet owners from their properties are missing out on a large share of the rental market as almost half of households in the UK currently own a pet.
www.letswithpets.org.uk
Court rules “no DSS” policy is unlawful
I did not touch on this last month when it was reported as I wanted to see the development of it.
In the first court case of its kind, a judge has ruled that a letting agent unlawfully discriminated against a single mother by refusing to consider a tenancy application from her because she was in receipt of benefit. The judge concluded that “the defendant’s former policy of rejecting tenancy applications because the applicant is in receipt of housing benefit was unlawfully indirectly discriminatory on the grounds of sex and disability contrary to sections 19 and 29 of the Equality Act 2010”
We are aware that some clients have insurance or mortgage policies that prevent them from letting to tenants in receipt of benefit. The advice we have been given is to advise you to contact your provider and request that the policy term be removed in light of this court case. Many providers have already revised their terms but may not have contacted existing policyholders to advise them of this. You may recently have received revised mortgage conditions which already incorporate this.
Glasgow Property Letting have never used a first come first served basis for tenants and Colin prides himself on meeting the tenants when possible, with the mantra “if they aren’t right for my property, they aren’t right for the landlords property.” I usually assess how a tenant acts during the initial phone call and credit check process as a judge of their conduct through the tenancy. A lot of tenants do not realise that the initial contact is more like an interview for the property, and that is before we go through all the criteria the tenants needs to satisfy.
You can read Landlord Focus online via this link which has some interesting information, although I think I have mentioned a lot in my recent emails.
The city lets quarterly report has been released https://lnkd.in/dYz2vSq which shows the latest trends, but obviously with lockdown things are slightly skewed, agents having closed for the period, influx of tenancies starting.
Scottish PRS Rental Report From Citylets Q2 2020
The Citylets Quarterly Report Q2 2020 records the average rents in the Scottish Private Rental Sector, the only report for residential lettings in Scotland.
lnkd.in
As always, any questions queries or ideas for topics you wish to know more about, please email admin@glasgowpropertyletting.com. I find the whole property and letting world fascinating, so rarely stuck for something to talk about,
take care and stay safe
Kindest Regards
Michelle O’Donnell
Branch Manager
0141 221 3990
17 Elmbank Street
Glasgow
G2 4PB
Registration number LARN1903009
VAT : 174415411
SC345735
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