The Association of Residential Letting Agents says more regulation for the rental sector and more appropriate taxation across the whole property industry are two key demands in its 2015 manifesto' ahead of the May general election.
The manifesto specifically states that it should be compulsory for letting agents to be members of a client money protection scheme and that there should be greater regulation for letting agents in particular to ensure fairness and to remove rogue agents.
But it warns that [the next] government should resist calls to impose an outright ban on letting agents charging fees to tenants in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The average fee charged by ARLA agents is £202, which covers a range of critical checks and ensures a smoother and more transparent transaction between agent, landlord and tenant. Banning fees would simply increase the likelihood of tenants facing higher rent charges.
ARLA also calls for fiscal reform.
It says institutional investors should be encouraged, with incentives, to move into the Build To Rent sector residential property sector to follow the example of France, Germany and other countries, where BTR is a signficant element of the private rental supply.
It also says the private rented sector should be treated as an entrepreneurial business activity' for Capital Gains Tax purposes, allowing landlords to take advantage of the same level of roll-over relief available to other businesses when reinvesting in the sector and limiting CGT to gains released from a business as profit.
ARLA managing director David Cox says Britain currently maintains a two-tier private rented market consisting of those who operate to professional standards and those that do not. He insists that greater regulation for letting agents will ensure fairness, a level playing field and the removal of those agents who bring the industry into disrepute.
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