Landlords may want to ensure they carry out preventative maintenance on their properties to ensure they are prepared for cold weather.

The AA urged homeowners to think back to the freezing temperatures experienced last winter and consider how they can avoid making an insurance claim.

Figures reveal the average claim not covered by a policy in 2010 was £596, with the most common problem plumbing related and usually involving burst pipes or leaks.

As a result, individuals were advised to ensure pipes in their lofts or in exposed areas were sufficiently insulated and to turn off the water supply if the property is to be left unattended for an extended period.

Tom Stringer, of AA Home Emergency Response, said: “As many of us enjoy unseasonably mild weather there is a serious danger that we will forget the extremely cold winters of the last few years.”

Other tips included clearing drains and checking guttering and replacing any missing roof tiles.

Source: http://www.rman.co.uk

From next year, agents and landlords will have 30 days in which to protect a tenant’s deposit, rather than the current 14.

The change is part of ‘tweaks’ made to tenancy deposit protection in the new Localism Act 2011.

These were made following court cases over the rights of a tenant to sue for a breach of the deposit protection legislation or when deposit money was not protected within 14 days, but by the time of a court hearing.

The revised legislation also does away with mandatory penalties of three times the deposit if the deposit is not correctly registered and the ‘prescribed information’ not properly given.

Instead, courts will be allowed to use their discretion to hand out penalties worth between one and three times the value of an unprotected deposit.

The current legislation has had a number of challenges within the courts, which have issued varying rulings – some in favour of tenants and others in favour of landlords.

Welcoming the changes, the chief executive of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, Steve Harriott, said: “I am pleased the housing minister managed to find the parliamentary time to get these amendments to the legislation through.

“The recent court decisions were causing confusion about tenancy deposit protection regulations. These amendments make it clear that tenancy deposit protection is here to stay.”

Full details of the changes are available in new guidance notes issued by the Tenancy Deposit Scheme which can be seen on www.tds.gb.com

Source: http://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk

Just months after Greene & Co. won gold at the 2011 Lettings Agency of the Year Awards – ‘Greene wins gold’ hits the headlines again.

This time it is Welshman Dai Greene who has won gold in the 400m hurdles at the 2011 Athletics World Championships in South Korea.

Welshman Dai Greene vowed to add 2012 Olympic gold to the World Championships 400m hurdles title he won on Thursday.

Greene, 25, ran a scintillating race in Daegu to deliver Britain’s first gold of the championships – and fifth medal in all – in a time of 48.26 seconds.

“I can’t settle for anything else now I suppose,” Greene told BBC Sport of his London 2012 gold medal aspirations.

“I don’t think it’s really sunk in to be honest. I’m very proud. This was my aim throughout the year.”

Britain’s Greene added: “I’m just very happy to have achieved it. But like I say, it hasn’t really sunk in yet.

You can read the full article here http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/athletics/14747504.stm

To celebrate Greene & Co.’s gold win we are offering new landlords 20% off our standard Agency Fee. Register here to find out more here

New tenant demand again outpaced supply of rental property in the three months to July, as many continued to turn to the lettings sector, says the latest RICS Residential Lettings Survey.

As a result of this, rents continued to increase although the survey indicates that the pace of growth moderated slightly, with 34 per cent more surveyors reporting a rise in rents rather than a fall (compared with 42 per cent in the previous three month period). Significantly, the imbalance between demand and supply is thought likely to persist with the survey results suggesting that further gains in rents are likely over the coming months.
One of the main drivers of the strong demand for rental property continues to be would-be buyers who have moved to the lettings market after struggling to find mortgage finance, or first-time buyers unable to meet lenders’ deposit requirements. As a result, 25 per cent more chartered surveyors reported a rise in demand than a fall.

However, it is significant that the challenging economic environment is also leading to more tenants relying on assistance from the government. Social lettings are now at their highest level since the series began in 1999, at 13 per cent of all new lets (up from eight per cent). Meanwhile, lettings to private renters continue to make up the majority of lettings, at 66 per cent.

New landlord instructions – which indicate the flow of rental property coming to the market – continue to edge upwards albeit only modestly, with just five per cent more respondents reporting a rise in new instructions than a fall. Surveyors report that where tenancies are coming up for renewal, some landlords – particularly those in London and the South East – are now choosing to put their properties on the sales market, leaving fewer rental properties available.

The combination of strong tenant demand and a limited stock of good quality properties on offer is pushing rents ever higher across much of the country. This is the case both for houses and flats. Moreover, with mortgage finance for first time buyers likely to remain in short supply for some time to come, this imbalance is set to persist. The inevitable outcome is that rents will continue to increase.”

James Scott-Lee, RICS spokesperson

Source: RICS Residential Lettings Survey www.rics.org