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Country Lass

Lettings Manager

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About Me

A Lettings Manager in the West Midlands

my expertise in the industry

More than I care to admit...

Country's Recent Activity

How are we supposed to prevent bidding wars? I never ask for a higher rent, but if someone offers it I have to relay it to the Landlord. And if an unsuccessful applicant says they want to offer a higher rent when told they don't get it, I have to tell the Landlord. And the guarantors, we don't require them, but the referencing company will say that they are needed in order to pass the references. And if a tenant has a really bad credit, or their income is borderline then surely one is needed to protect the Landlord?

From: Country Lass 24 April 2024 13:03 PM

This bill should not be passed UNTIL the Court system has been overhauled and a Landlord can get their property back within a maximum timescale of say 3-6 months after the paperwork has been submitted to the Court.

From: Country Lass 22 April 2024 10:05 AM

I would advise 'hard-pressed tenants' to go to my Council to see about their tenancy deposit bond scheme instead. I do not like these no-deposit schemes, I think they are more expensive for the tenant in the long run.

From: Country Lass 04 April 2024 09:33 AM

I can see why flats are leasehold, the same as I can see why they pay a management charge each month for the upkeep and maintenance of the outside/communal areas. But sometimes I think that it is just a money-gouging exercise, a game of 'how much can we get away with?' and that should not be allowed. At one point I was paying more in management than I was for my mortgage, and that wasn't even on a shared ownership! Ground rent should be a token gesture, and not more than a certain amount worked out on the same formula for each property. Say there are 10 flats, each with 2 bedrooms. Have a minimum room size (6ft x 8ft or something) and you cannot charge more than there are bedrooms of that size in the building, so in the example above, not more than £20 per year.

From: Country Lass 19 March 2024 11:20 AM

I'm confused by what they mean by 'undesignated' or pooled accounts. All our residential rent is paid into one account (named, imaginatively, Residential Rent Client), which we then send to the Landlord. Are they meaning each Landlord has to have their own named account under the Agent's name? cause I foresee issues... Each aspect of our business has it's own named account so only rent would go in to that one, fees into the office account etc, so it never mixes.

From: Country Lass 13 March 2024 11:51 AM

And the lack of support from the Court system which causes unreasonable delays in helping a Landlord get THEIR PROPERTY back. When a Landlord has served notice (S21 or S8) that the contract is being terminated on X date, if the Tenant does not leave (or agree an extension) they therefore are illegally occupying the property and are squatting. I feel for tenants who genuinely have been trying to find property and are struggling to do so, contrary to popular belief I'm not actually a cold-hearted, callous 'female dog', but the legal owner wants possession of their property back for a reason and they should be legally entitled to help to do so. Local authorities telling tenants not to leave and wait for a possession warrant are making the situation worse...

From: Country Lass 29 February 2024 10:29 AM

I think Awaabs Law should be rolled out to the PRS as well, once the Gov't has it's own house in order with regards to SH. But then what about the people who own their home who cannot afford repairs, but also cannot sell due to negative equity or lack of suitable housing? Who gets fined and charged for those children living in substandard housing? EVERYONE should have a safe, warm and healthy home to live in, the same as no-one should be discriminated based on skin colour or religion, assaulted because of their gender or orientation, but Utopia does not exist. The best we can do, is try our best to get close to it.

From: Country Lass 13 February 2024 11:54 AM

And one reason that the standard in the PRS tends to be higher and better is because it is a realisable asset for the Landlord. There is no benefit to the Landlord in allowing it to fall into disrepair or not making improvements as this increases the value, to a point, obviously, £15k of solar panels is unlikely to return £15k when sold. I firmly believe that the Gov't needs to get their own house in order with SH, put the legislation to them for 2 years, then roll it out to the PRS. Gives us more chance to get ready for it and gives them time to work out the kinks of oversight, reporting and punishment before it rolls out to us. And as SH tends to house the more vulnerable in society, it tackles the issues he raised above...

From: Country Lass 13 February 2024 11:50 AM

On an emotional level, I get where they are coming from. I had to attend a Court possession hearing on 17th December one year, and tell the judge that no, my client did not want to extend the period before bailiffs were instructed... I felt like an absolute heel, I really did. The judge just looked at me and said he was giving the maximum extension of 6 weeks, and I can't say I was upset in the slightest. I think there will be a practical barrier between Christmas and New Year anyway, so maybe just extend it by a week either side as it's almost impossible to start a tenancy a few days before Christmas or a few days after New Year.

From: Country Lass 21 December 2023 10:26 AM

They may have been served a 'no fault' eviction, but that does not mean it is a 'no reason' eviction. Section 21 is seen by most as the default way to end a tenancy, even if there are rent arrears, damage to property or Landlord needing to sell. But it is good to hear from a homeless charity that does actually HELP homeless people, or those at risk of it...

From: Country Lass 19 December 2023 09:34 AM

Oh diddums, they find organising and paying bills stressful? Guess what, so does every other adult on the planet! Just because you rent does not mean you get to abdicate all adult responsibility! What's next, because it is a 'family' home they want free child-care, dog-walking and vet bills paid too?

From: Country Lass 20 November 2023 14:36 PM

I no longer trust politicians... Love Actually was on last night, and I almost wish we had that Prime Minister...

From: Country Lass 23 October 2023 09:59 AM

There does need to be more council housing, not this 'affordable housing shared ownership' tripe that costs more to get less, but actual housing owned and leased by the Council for those who need it. Not illegal immigrants, or asylum seekers, and certainly not generational 'my grandparents rented this house from the council so I can stay here and pay half of nothing as that was the rent when they moved in' but an actual Council Rented Sector. Subject to the same rules and legislation as the PRS, with the same financial constraints regarding being taxed but only available to those who receive UC. Hopefully then they will see exactly what we are dealing with, and we can find a way for the market to run properly, with good quality, safe homes for everyone.

From: Country Lass 06 October 2023 14:26 PM

I'm the same, I can understand Landlords need to cover their extra costs, however a short term gain now can lead to losing a good tenant when they find somewhere cheaper. Or they fall into arrears for not being able to afford the new rent and the landlord has the costs and hassle of getting them out. Small but regular increases are better than sudden huge jumps.

From: Country Lass 06 October 2023 13:53 PM

I thought it was Victorian slums? Have the landlords upgraded the houses?

From: Country Lass 29 September 2023 10:04 AM

Because obviously we want to leave them in there... Idi0ts...

From: Country Lass 26 September 2023 13:41 PM

No, she is fit for the purpose of getting money coming in to the 'charity'. By lobbying to bring in all of these things, she will be creating a situation where housing and homelessness is a huge issue, and Shelter will be there to clean up! But from the point of view of combating homelessness and improving the PRS, you're right!

From: Country Lass 25 September 2023 10:09 AM

Whilst it's true that most Landlords are not going to get rid of a good tenant, unfortunately there are a lot of bad ones that will soon figure out exactly what they can get away with an still not be able to be kicked out. So in that scenario, not be able to use any of an (unconfirmed) list of reasons means that as the only option left will be to sell, the Landlord will have to, and that's another rental property lost. And another tenant on the list for non-existent council properties.

From: Country Lass 22 September 2023 11:20 AM

I think that more does need to be done to move to more carbon neutral and stopping the dependency on fossil fuels, but I worry it's going to go too far and those of us who eat meat and dairy will be forced to give it up...

From: Country Lass 21 September 2023 09:24 AM

He isn't celebrating the fact of 'victorian slums', a phrase I would argue with considering I know quite a few of the properties I manage are more energy efficient than my home. He is happy that the government are not forcing people to spend money that they do not have, and forcing people into a specific way of doing things. We have one bin inside for recycling, which we then empty into the big recycling bin outside when it gets full. We do not have space for 7 bins inside, and the logistics of when each bin would be emptied and the amount of new trucks/cleaning of trucks required to stop contamination (which is why I assume they are doing this) sounds vast. Improving our carbon footprint and making our homes energy efficient is good. Being forced to spend the little money that is left over after taxes is the problem.

From: Country Lass 21 September 2023 09:21 AM

I don't like labour, but she is correct that affordable housing gave her the stability needed to be able to work, and better herself. If everyone had that same thought and drive to improve then things would be better... But you end up with generations who have never contributed, but still getting handouts because 'the country owes me!' No, it DOESN'T! For something to be owed, you have to do something in return first!

From: Country Lass 13 September 2023 11:25 AM

All good, solid plans. It shows thought of short, mid and long term thinking. Fancy being the new Housing Minister? Oh, sorry, I forgot, the exact criteria I mentioned above means you would be ineligible for the job... shame, that's the type of thinking needed!

From: Country Lass 13 September 2023 11:23 AM

Fedup Landlord, whilst on the whole I think that the environmental protestors are... lacking in common sense, if they were peacefully protesting and not stopping others from getting on with their daily lives then they should be allowed to do so. The police were following the law, I assume (not knowing exactly what incident you are talking about means I could be wrong) I have no sympathy for the ones who glued themselves to roads etc, or chained themselves to things to stop others from going about their business. Yank 'em out of the way and get things moving again, if they leave some skin behind, tough! We had some near us a few years ago, that they barricaded roads etc. No sympathy or tolerance for them. The ones who hung out near busy traffic lights, hit the crossing button and stood there for the entirety of the red light with their banners, and then moved to the pavement to start it all again? Meh, annoying, and counter-productive to keep people sitting their for ages with their engines running, but not completely offensive...

From: Country Lass 30 August 2023 09:15 AM

I would assume a simple "Do you have a possession warrant issued by the Court to allow you to remove these people from the premises and change the locks? Do you have legal paperwork from a Court confirming your right to shut off utilities to the property?" would be enough, obviously followed by the production of said documents. Yes = Carry on sir/Ma'am No = Put your hands behind your back Sir/Ma'am

From: Country Lass 29 August 2023 14:38 PM

I only refer to it as 'eviction' when I actually have to go to Court, or turn up with a bailiff. Otherwise I try to use similar to what you have said "served notice to bring the tenancy/contract to an end"

From: Country Lass 29 August 2023 12:32 PM

I don't disagree that illegally changing locks or cutting off utilities should be punished, but the police need extra funding if they are going to have to deal with this as well. And as mentioned above, the Court, and the police, need to be fair and take action on those who do not leave when instructed, or do not pay. It shouldn't all be one way!

From: Country Lass 29 August 2023 09:28 AM

The Green Councillor where I live voted to remove a food-growing field adjacent to a nature reserve from Green Belt status and to allow 124 homes to be built on it... How that ... woman ... got voted back in is beyond me, I can only imagine most of the area did not hear about it, or that she called the police on people who called her a hypocrite. I don't trust a single politician at the moment, I think they have all forgotten that WE are the ones who vote them in to SERVE OUR best interests as a country. Not to feather their own nest at our cost.

From: Country Lass 25 August 2023 14:41 PM

I'd argue the point about the rent needing to be at market value at the time of renewal, as to many landlords and letting agents, having a good tenant is better than throwing one over for a little bit of extra rent from an unknown quantity. I'm not saying don't increase the rent, far from it! I have a landlord that does a standing 3% increase every year (except 2020/2021 for obvious reasons!) and another who passed away having never increased the rent, and his tenants have been served notice so that the property can be sold, but have wildly unrealistic expectations over rental values!

From: Country Lass 11 August 2023 10:38 AM

I hate Right to Rent checks. I wouldn't be confident of spotting a fake passport if you slapped me with it! We have a contract with an ID checking company, so I put them all through there, and ask them to come in so I can photocopy the original as a back up, so hopefully if we ever did have an issue I can show I took all reasonable steps to verify...

From: Country Lass 08 August 2023 10:36 AM

Which isn't necessarily a BAD thing, for those that want it, but not everyone does... And I agree that it is JL having influence over as much of their lives as they can. There is a book series, I think its the Contributor trilogy or something. It's available online and is a dystopian fiction about how at the end of the world as we know it, several large corporations build massive habitation domes to house people, and those people (and their descendants) are then expected to be loyal to the company for the rest of their lives... It's quite scary!

From: Country Lass 07 August 2023 13:25 PM

The problem with that, is what about the people with mortgages who pay their tax but are struggling to pay their mortgage, whilst they are not eligible for any assistance?

From: Country Lass 31 July 2023 09:30 AM

Hopefully this means mortgage rates will drop towards the end of this year, middle of next year...

From: Country Lass 20 July 2023 09:14 AM

Anti-social behaviour is a bit of a selective and changeable yardstick. For example, in an area with lots of young children, the sound of them having a 'street' water fight, football games or even just playing would not be seen by people living there as anti-social. If one of those families moved to an area populated by retired couples, or child-free couples, the children doing those same activities would be seen as anti-social by the existing occupants. So there has to be protection in that it has to be an unrealistic and unreasonable level of noise or behaviour, but at the same time be able to get the property vacant to stop people's homes being impacted by anti-social tenants.

From: Country Lass 14 July 2023 09:30 AM

Jo Jo, actually I can see the benefit of that, the NHS would get an influx of cash which can then be ploughed back into providing services. Not by hiring yet more 'managers' but by streamlining and overhauling. I have a friend who is a project manager, she was contracted to several hospitals as they wanted a similar service upgraded or something. She told them if they all did it under one order, there would be significant bulk-discounts available, but as each Trust was planning to do it themselves they would not benefit from those discounts. She tried to point it all out, show them the (significant) savings with no downsides, but the Trust Managers would not do it... So if someone CAN afford to pay, then overall it would be helpful in the long run. And as long as the most 'at risk/urgent' patients are not bumped down the list then it makes logical sense...

From: Country Lass 06 July 2023 12:11 PM

Steve Macey, apart from the issue that their contract has a clause for no caravans or motor homes, there are several other issues. Firstly, child safety. Whilst yes, in a house a parent will have to get from their room, to their child's in the event of sickness, injury or plain-old nightmares, if the parents are in a caravan, they have to get out of there, into the house and then into the child. Which leads us to; access. Do they climb in through the window? Health and safety hazard. Ok, through the door? So you leave the door unlocked? Security issue. Lock it? Have to remember to take the key (and as a parent who quite often became conscious whilst standing in her child's room that is unlikely). Lock it and leave the key in the lock? Why bother locking it? It is, from a child safeguarding perspective, not different from having your child sleep in the house next door by themselves.

From: Country Lass 05 July 2023 14:05 PM

I think that certain properties being listed as no young children is fair, as I have a couple of properties on working farms, with farm-vehicles passing by. The Landlord judged that the risk of a small child getting through a fence or gate too high, and said no children under 10 as by that age they should be able to understand the dangers. But it general, stating no children is unfair and significantly reduces your applicant pool. Although I did once have someone with a one bedroom cottage (lovely little place) and they had twins during their tenancy. We waited for them to serve notice, but they didn't, even though we could see it was starting to get a bit crowded. Then the neighbours reported a caravan had appeared in the back garden... They had made the bedroom into the children's room and were sleeping in the caravan... We had to serve notice at that point! Some properties are not suitable for children.

From: Country Lass 05 July 2023 09:32 AM

And for most letting agents, they would also need to have the landlord and an accounts department in on it too... I'm also tempted to be 'outraged and offended' that they have only mentioned women being victims of this too. Men can't be exploited too?

From: Country Lass 03 July 2023 10:11 AM

Well, it's not like people have a CHOICE to pay the £75 a decade, its the law that rentals have them... And whilst I, and most other people, want tenants to have a warm, cost-effective and environmentally friendly home, the fact remains that soon all rental houses are going to be a higher rating, with newer boilers, windows, insulation etc than the Landlord's home, as they cannot afford to do anything to their property having been forced to spend all their income from rent and savings on the rental! Bring the minimum E to a D by 2035 by all means, but a 2 rating jump, especially with some of the listed buildings, barn conversions and old farmhouses I deal with is near impossible.

From: Country Lass 30 June 2023 10:05 AM

Even if it was not a list of all tenants, just a Rogue Tenant database, the same way the Councils have Rogue Landlord databases. Whish I think letting agents should be able to access, so we can see what we are taking on with a new landlord in terms of refusal to pay for maintenance, hiring cowboys who do substandard jobs to save money etc. I mean, everyone has made a mistake or been caught out by dodgy installers, it happens, but consistently is a concerning pattern.

From: Country Lass 28 June 2023 09:28 AM

Why wait til then? I think I was 13-14 when I started contributing... And that was on top of doing bits of housework too.

From: Country Lass 27 June 2023 12:27 PM

This isn't a new thing, I started paying as soon as I got my first job, ok it was a paper-round so it was about £1 a week, but it taught me budgeting and finance basics. As I got older and earned more, I paid more. When I was 16 an in an awful job, my parents told me to quit and they would support me til I found something else. I paid until I moved out at 19, started paying when I moved back in at 20 and paid until I left again at 22.

From: Country Lass 23 June 2023 10:02 AM

My favourite was the one who said she had no CCJs or rent arrears when she applied with a partner. They were both on the tenancy agreement at their current place and wanted a joint tenancy again. He did not know about the arrears, and she got upset when we rejected her application and only returned part of her holding deposit!

From: Country Lass 20 June 2023 11:29 AM

IT should also be 8 years AFTER he has come out of prison, not 8 years starting from now.

From: Country Lass 19 June 2023 13:43 PM

Do I encourage tenants to offer above the advertised rent? No. Do I tell, or even HINT to them to do so? No, not that I know of anyway. If a Tenant chooses to do so, do I make my client aware? Yes, as I have a LEGAL DUTY TO DO SO!

From: Country Lass 15 June 2023 14:36 PM

It's a typical case of one bad apple. So many Landlords have been stung by the irresponsible pet owners, the ones who let the dog bark and wee on the floor, the cats scratch the furniture and wee and spray everywhere. The garden gets ruined, the doors get damaged, the carpets and underlay need replacing... And because the cost of doing that far outstrips the deposit, they make the decision not to allow pets. Although I have had one Landlord refuse someone with spiders, as she has arachnophobia and would never be able to go in there again in fear that one had escaped and laid eggs. IT's not a rational thought, but I can see where she is coming from. She was happy to rent to the person with the lizards though. Many of mine will consider a pet, but they put the rent up before we market in the knowledge it probably will go to a pet owner. We used to take a deposit and have a clause that they had to clean/get the carpets cleaned with a proper anti-bacterial fluid and do a flea treatment, but we can't do that now...

From: Country Lass 15 June 2023 10:06 AM

Because at the moment, the Landlord still has the right to get their asset back, even if their reasons do not fit entirely into the current tick boxes of S8. As I mentioned above, I have an anti-social tenant, who currently is not bad enough to have an ASBO to be breached, but they are causing nuisance and annoyance to neighbours. Yet under S8, the Judge would not have to grant a possession warrant, so I foresee a S21 in their future. As well as a S8, Court hearing and Bailiff. Once S21 goes, unless S8 has loopholes like that closed there will be issues. The law should not be able to stop someone getting their asset back, unless it can be proved that the process they followed was deliberately illegal, not using the wrong colour ink, or signing in the wrong spot mistakes, but deliberately setting out to circumvent the law and legal process.

From: Country Lass 14 June 2023 13:22 PM

The changes need to be robust. I have a tenant who is causing a nuisance to neighbours, but not quite enough to get an ASBO. As they paying rent on time and not damaging the property, we can currently only use the discretionary ground 14, which I think I have more than enough evidence of, or S21. As they have already said they are going to ignore any notice issued by us as we do not have grounds to evict, where would that leave us, without a definitive way to get a possession warrant? The simple fact remains, that it is the LANDLORD's asset and if they want it back, they should be able to get it back in a reasonable timeframe without having to spend thousands in Court.

From: Country Lass 14 June 2023 09:35 AM

Which is one reason I avoid HMO's, the legislation seems very heavy to me!

From: Country Lass 12 June 2023 14:32 PM

But a fixed term becomes a periodic at the end of the fixed term? So what's the problem? Some landlords only want to rent a property for a short time, I have one where they have houses for employees at a certain level, so if they have someone leave but the replacement isn't due for 6-12 months, they rent it out, being clear upfront that it is only 6-12 months. Under the rental reform bill, they probably wont be able to as it will take longer to get the property back, so they will have to foot the costs for the property to sit empty, until the new person starts.

From: Country Lass 12 June 2023 09:47 AM

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I just don't how Agents can do anything with this? Surely all Agents who collect rent have accounting software, and I don't believe that s£x is an option under 'currency'... I mean, its awful and should be stopped, yes. All Tenants should have a safe, healthy home that is reasonable to heat, but... this is a council/police thing to deal with, not an Agent thing... Obviously if on referencing a Tenant, when we ask their current rent and they answer "2 rolls in the sheets a week" then sure, we report that as anyone should but apart from that I don't see how we can do much...

From: Country Lass 08 June 2023 11:32 AM

Let them do it and watch the town start to die... Tourism areas like that NEED holiday rentals, as it is usually cheaper and more convenient for families to stay in a house like that than a hotel or B&B. I tried to find a hotel in this country in a tourism centre that had 2 rooms, or that I could book connecting rooms as family suites were extortionate! In the end we rented a one bedroom fully furnished flat with a sofa bed in the living room, for less than the hotel rooms and gives us more freedom.

From: Country Lass 26 May 2023 09:38 AM

I've continued voting Tory, just as I don't see any credible challenge to Labour, and I don't want another Labour Government. Not that there is much difference between them anymore...

From: Country Lass 25 May 2023 14:31 PM

Barry X I've also recently taken over management of a property that had no heating (at all, they had the free-standing oil heaters) so the draft EPC was bad. So, we got electricians to wire them in some lovely new electric radiators! That made no difference to the EPC rating as they weren't high-heat retention ones... It's ridiculous, my own house isn't even a C rating and the Government aren't forcing me to make improvements!

From: Country Lass 22 May 2023 14:46 PM

I've just project managed the refurbishment of a lettings property. Brand new windows and doors, new combi boiler, and it's a D. Over £15k spent to upgrade those, and its 1 grade higher than the one next door we have spent nothing on... EPC's are not indicative of how much it will cost to heat a property, and that is what the vast majority of people care about. Yes, reducing the carbon footprint etc is great, but so is being able to put the heating on at least once a day and not have to eat by candle-light!

From: Country Lass 22 May 2023 11:01 AM

Some of that is true, homes should be of a decent standard, and the rent increases annually simply require an extra months notice, those are all fair enough, no issues. The biggest issue is the S21. The benefit of that is that a tenant doesn't HAVE to be in 2 months of arrears in order to be granted the property back, they can be 2, 3, 7.5 weeks in arrears and still get their property back. Late payments are a discretionary reason under S8, so in essence a tenant currently can spend the entire tenancy in 1 month and 27 days of arrears and the landlord is not guaranteed to get their property back. This is unacceptable. IF S8 is tightened where over 3 weeks of rent arrears or more that 3 months of late payments in a 6 month period are guaranteed to get the Landlord THEIR OWN ASSET back, then that would reassure many. And what about ASB, where a tenant is causing issues with a neighbour, there has been a log of the incident but there has been on Anti-Social Behaviour Order made by the police? And lets not forget, that if a Landlord wants to get details on an incident where the police have been called, they have to jump through hoops and get Court permission etc, whereas a social housing Landlord would get it with no issues. And I know this, as I have just tried to get details of a possible campaign of a hate crime between a couple of houses that the same Landlord owns (neighbouring terraces) so that the Landlord and I can discuss the next steps, and I can't get them! The aims of improving housing stock and protecting good tenants from bad landlords are admirable. But not enough is being done to protect good landlords from bad tenants, and the overall meddling in the PRS is going to cause many issues in the future.

From: Country Lass 18 May 2023 11:31 AM

I have two rural Landlords that won't accept dogs, as previous Tenants let their dogs run wild in fields, and one of them killed sheep. That is a perfectly valid reason to not allow a dog in a property, and let's not forget THE TENANT DOESNT OWN THE HOUSE! If the OWNER does not want pets in there, then pets are not in there. I don't allow my parents or brother to bring their dog into my house, as my husband has allergies, and as it's my house, it's my rules.

From: Country Lass 16 October 2020 13:21 PM

I used to do the same before the new law came in, 6 weeks rent, £150 extra for a pet, and the name and description of the pet so that it was clear it was ONLY those/that one allowed and they couldn't get a new one if it died.

From: Country Lass 16 October 2020 13:15 PM

Shocking... Who could possibly have predicted that...

From: Country Lass 26 February 2019 11:07 AM

Absolutely atrocious. THIS is the reason we need a Housing Court, as this should not have taken 20 months to get a prosecution and verdict! This should have been sorted within 20 weeks! This man should be forced to register with a redress scheme or use an agent who is a member of one in high standing. If he does not, he should have to sell his rented properties. People like this should not be allowed to be Landlords, he treated this poor tenant and his daughter abominably.

From: Country Lass 19 February 2019 09:21 AM

He's not entirely wrong, the sector does need more long term landlords who view it as a decade or longer investment. That isn't to say that the 1-2 property Landlords should leave, or that their contribution towards combating homelessness isn't appreciated, simply that we are more likely to see longer term Landlords in the future. HOWEVER, the ones who have a property rented out as part of an inheritance trust, or homeowners who need to move away for work for a couple of years should not be pushed out, or have things mounted against them; they too are providing homes.

From: Country Lass 04 February 2019 13:59 PM

Very true, and well put. A cap would have allowed those of us who charge a modest sum to still carry on providing our service, whilst making the Agents who grab all the Landlords by charging them nothing, whilst shafting the Tenants rethink their business model and have to improve their service levels.

From: Country Lass 31 January 2019 10:56 AM

But those 'cut and paste' agreements still take time to check through, make sure that they have all of the correct clauses in, and then answer any questions that the Tenant may have. It's not just a 2 minute job. Some Agents have charged ridiculous amounts, but I don't see why asking for a fair contribution from the Tenant is a problem.

From: Country Lass 29 January 2019 11:47 AM

I can accept your reasoning that this isn't a fight against Tenants, and you are right that it is possibly not the best choice of words. However we, Landlords and Agents, are under attack from the Government, who are being aimed at us by those with a vested interest in destabilising the market and increasing the reason for them to exist. I think the time is coming when we do need to dig our heels in, stop cowering under the blows and stand up for ourselves, as a whole industry. Quite how we will do that when we all agree that there are some truly despicable practices being committed by some Agents with less morals than an alley-cat, I don't know. Maybe some form of registration or legally required accreditation would help, I'm not sure. At least if we can band together and face this bullying behaviour united, with one voice, we stand a chance.

From: Country Lass 25 January 2019 13:33 PM

So we have roughly £1,750 for the Deposit and first months rent, call it £240 (I'm assuming that is including VAT) gives us £1,990. What is the other £1,060 for? Pet deposit and Guarantor fee are the only two justifiable costs I can see there. And as a Letting Agent, we do more than just a bog-standard £7 credit check btw. But depending on what costs are included in the price you mentioned above, Agents like that are the problem, not the ones like myself who don't charge extra fees for everything we can dream up! For example, that £700 house you mentioned, for 2 people to rent it off me, with no pets or guarantors would be £1,990 including VAT, Deposit first rent and contributions towards the inventory and administration. Only £240 (inc vat) of that would come to me, and a chunk of that goes towards the cost of the referencing and inventory. I think I clear about £30. Hardly gouging the masses I feel! A cap would have been better than a ban.

From: Country Lass 23 January 2019 11:26 AM

Sheralee Taylor, yes, if a Landlord has made sure that the property is professionally cleaned when the Tenant moves in, it should be to the same standard when they leave! I know one Landlord who has newer appliances in the property they rent out than in their own house. And also, would YOU like to move in to a house you have to thoroughly clean first? No. So why would someone else, and why should the Landlord have to pay for someone else's bad housekeeping?

From: Country Lass 23 January 2019 11:18 AM

So basically I can put it in to say that the rent will increase by 5% each year, no matter what the market does?

From: Country Lass 05 July 2018 12:58 PM

It's 'boards' not 'baords'

From: Country Lass 13 June 2018 12:13 PM

From: Country Lass 13 June 2018 11:07 AM

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