A draft of the Industry Code of Practice for the Private Rented Sector has been released. It was developed at the request of the Department for Communities and Local Government’s (DCLG) by seventeen industry bodies, including ARLA and NAEA.
The draft Code has been prepared to promote best practice in the letting and management of residential property. It seeks to ensure a sustainable private rented sector where flexible and longer leases are available, with high quality management and the provision of long term homes for rent.
David Cox, Managing Director, ARLA said: “A mandatory code of practice to improve the private rented sector is something we feel very strongly about. The new Code is a step in the right direction which ARLA fully supports, however we would also like to see a fully regulated industry to build a better, stronger private rented sector.
“Our recent research into the PRS found that over one in five tenants (22%) had concerns about their landlord or letting agent before they had signed a contract. The most common problems faced by would-be tenants at this stage were lack of clarity around fees (8%), agents not knowing enough about the property (6%), being pushy (6%) and not turning up to appointments (6%).
“Once a contract had been agreed and the tenant had moved in, over half (55%) of tenants experienced at least one problem. The most common issue which affected nearly a third of renters (31%), was the amount of time it had taken to fix any problems such as boilers, heating and electricity. Once a problem was flagged, tenants had to wait 36 days on average for the issue to be resolved and an unfortunate one in seven never had their problems sorted.”
The Code is for use by landlords, letting and managing agents and will also form a useful point of reference for tenants.
Cox said: “While problems can of course arise during a tenancy agreement, using an ARLA Licenced agent, who follows the PRS Code of Practice gives tenants peace of mind that any issues can be dealt with in a professional and safe manner. It will only be through qualification and ongoing professional development, backed up by appropriate regulation, that we will eliminate the rogue landlords and agents who blight our industry.”
