Hitting everyone where it hurts

Posted by Votta Sales & Lettings on 10th July 2019 -

If you are in the property industry it cannot have escaped you that the Tenant Fees Act 2019 has recently come into force, permitting letting agents and landlords to only charge fees relating to rent, security deposits, holding deposits or when a contract is breached by a tenant.

A month on from the start of the Tenant Fees Act 2019 and people are starting to realise that this hits hard in the pocket.

Although this Act is a very positive step for the 4.7 million households in rented properties in the UK, landlords are feeling the financial strain, as letting agents have been hugely impacted by this financially and are looking for ways to recover lost fees through the landlord themselves.  Letting agents are set to lose a significant proportion of their profits.

It has been mooted that landlords and letting agents will simply put up the rent to cover their loses, but in areas of high competition for properties, this simply isn’t possible.  Local market dynamics of supply and demand will determine if this will work in your area, however, this shake-up in the private rental sector is an attempt to improve relationships between tenants and landlords, so this idea just doesn’t make sense.

What can be done

So, what can you do? It’s time to evaluate your business, look at your expenditure and see where you can save money. A very clear smart move is to outsource your financial and administrative operations to an independent partner who can ensure continuity, security, accuracy and money saving. 

The Lettings Partnership, a Propertymark Industry Supplier, can provide landlords and letting agents the time away from administration, to familiarise themselves with the new legislation and where necessary, ensure that they are equipped to deal with the change in the marketplace.

They offer a comprehensive outsourcing package which provides you not only with cost savings but with the continuity to cover all eventualities, fully trained and experienced accounting personnel with up to date compliance knowledge and the confidence that your client accounting is in safe hands. They are compatible with all software so your business can continue without disruption and you can concentrate on what you do best. 

Just as letting agents and landlords are no longer able to charge their tenants excessive and unfair fees, The Letting Partnerships fee structure is also completely transparent with a pay-as-you-go option meeting a clear need in the market assisting everyone from small independent agents to the large corporates.

Ensure that you choose a company that you can trust, The Lettings Partnership have been market leaders in outsourced client accounting and client money protection since 2006.  They collect, process and pay-out over £20 million of client money every month. You can be safe in the knowledge that your business is operating at the forefront of industry good practice and professional standards.