NALS urges Sir Bryan Carlsberg on Voluntary Accreditation

Following Sir Bryan Carlsberg’s meeting yesterday as part of the Review of Resident Property, Caroline Pickering, Chair of The National Approved Lettings Scheme has responded strongly calling for the industry to look to voluntary accreditation schemes - such as the Government supported NALS scheme - as opposed to statutory regulation:

“It is vitally important to us that the consumer is protected in the private rented sector whether letting or renting, and the key to this is self-regulating the industry. Accreditation is essential and we are pleased that Sir Bryan Carlsberg and his team have pushed it up the political agenda. We believe the industry needs to focus on promoting and raising awareness for the highly regarded and reputable accreditation schemes already in place to encourage more people to aspire to best practice.”

“NALS accreditation is imperative to the many hundreds of firms who use the NALS kite mark to demonstrate to consumers they meet an industry standard for customer service. It has strict criteria and as a result is recognised by the industry as the benchmark for the consumer to look for and enhances the rental experience. It is our opinion that we need to continue to promote voluntary accreditation to ensure the sector delivers exceptional standards.”

NALS is backed by the Government and the professional bodies in the lettings sector. NALS offers a reliable benchmark for landlords and tenants to compare the standards of service they receive from residential letting agents. All accredited firms commit to providing clearly defined levels of customer service, have client money protection cover, maintain professional indemnity insurance and operate a customer complaints procedure. For more information visit www.nalscheme.co.uk

Deposits and Their Status - Know Where You Stand

This article is mainly aimed at the professional letting agent, but if you are a landlord with two or more properties, in the eye of the law you are “in business” and therefore have the same responsibilities as a high street agent.

It is absolutely essential for agents, landlords & tenants to appreciate the status of dilapidation deposits, or bonds as they are sometimes referred to, and thus help prevent conflict concerning any of its retention at the end of a tenancy. I have diverged slightly into inventories to qualify one or two points.

Firstly the money belongs to the tenant, and as agent or landlord you are holding it in trust on their behalf. There are two ways in which it can be held, as landlord’s agent or stakeholder. Its status should be clearly defined within the tenancy agreement, on what grounds it will be returned and when, but rarely is. You should ideally have written evidence (i.e. receipts) that all utility bills have been paid by an outgoing tenant and that all dilapidations or arrears of rent have been accounted for before returning it to a tenant, otherwise it will open to challenge. Courts in my experience expect landlords to be �spot-on”.

Continue reading Deposits and Their Status - Know Where You Stand…

Home Information Packs

Hipag’s seminars offer lifeline to independent estate agents and high street solicitors
“How HIPs (Home Information Packs) will impact local businesses”

London, 23 May 2006 — Hipag Services www.hipag.co.uk the leading supplier of Home Information Packs to independent estate agents and solicitors, is holding a series of nationwide Seminars explaining the impact of the Packs that will become compulsory from June 2007 under the Housing Act.

“The introduction of HIPs”, says Rob Hailstone, Hipag’s CEO, “will change the way residential conveyancing is carried out beyond all recognition. Our Seminars are an information lifeline to the local estate agent and the local solicitors practice to tell them exactly what HIPs mean and what the impact will be on their businesses.”

“Our aim in Hipag is to bring together local solicitors, estate agents, surveyors and home inspectors, working in partnership, to achieve faster completions, reduce stress and impress clients.”

Among speakers giving presentations at the Seminars will be, Jeff Whiteway, chief executive of OyezStraker, Hugh Dunsmore-Hardy, former NAEA President, non-executive director of Hipag, chairman of NALHI, Lesley Sorridimi of OneSearch Survey and Rob Hailstone chief executive of Hipag Services.

Seminar dates are planned for: Bristol (01.06.06), Birmingham (09.06.06), Brighton (20.06.06), Manchester (27.06.06), Leeds (28.06.06), Newcastle-upon-Tyne (04.07.06) and Norwich (11.07.06) — see below for further details.

Topics covered will include :
- Home Inspector numbers and certification scheme
- The regulations
- HIPs - the estate agent’s perspective
- NALHI (National Association of Licensed Home Inspectors)
- Selling HIPs in a non-compulsory market
- How working together will ensure the survival and
growth of independent estate agents and high street
solicitors when HIPs are compulsory

Roadshows venues:

Bristol Novotel 01/06/06

Birmingham Crowne Plaza 09/06/06

Brighton Seafront Holiday Inn 20/06/06

Manchester Palace Hotel 27/06/06

Hilton Leeds City 28/06/06

Newcastle Upon Tyne Thistle Hotel 04/07/06

Norwich Ramada Jarvis Hotel 11/07/06

About Hipag Services Ltd.

Hipag Services Ltd (www.hipag.co.uk) has been formed to assist independent estate agents and high street solicitor practices in England and Wales produce HIPs quickly and efficiently. Hipag currently has over 1,000 registered members, from Cornwall to Cumbria, who it will work in partnership with to produce HIPs rapidly, enabling property sales to proceed without delay.

Hipag’s membership includes local independent estate agents, high street solicitors practices and future Home Inspectors who will prepare the Home Condition Reports.

Hipag Services has the financial backing of the OyezStraker Group, the UK’s leading independent office products and business services company with 1,500 staff and £160m turnover.

Hipag Services believes its HIP will be superior to others for two main reasons. Firstly, because it will provide to the seller and the estate agent a HIP quickly that complies with legislation so that the property can be marketed without delay. Secondly, by working with its member firms it will ensure the HIP becomes comprehensive while the property is being marketed, and not after a buyer has been found, thereby providing a smoother, less stressful transaction and a quicker exchange of contracts.

Hipag can achieve these goals because its members - solicitors, estate agents and home inspectors will be local to the property being sold and will be working closely together. Their local knowledge and easy accessibility will make it easier for the property seller to meet and discuss potential problems with the professionals who will be working for them.

This local approach contrasts with that of many large HIP providers who plan to offer a service based on large centralised “call centre” -style HIP factories to prepare packs.

About The OyezStraker Group Ltd.

The OyezStraker Group Ltd (www.oyezstraker.co.uk) is the UK’s leading independent office products and business services company with 1,500 staff and £160m turnover.

The Group was formed in 1997 through the merger of Oyez and Straker, two well-known companies with strong brands in the office products and stationery market. Companies in the Group consist of: OyezStraker, Stat Plus, Lynch McQueen and Whitegrove. The Oyez brand name is synonymous with the supply legal office supplies, legal software, forms publishing, speech solutions, document production and company formations.

For further information:-

Rob Hailstone, CEO, Hipag Servies Ltd
M: 07817 630714
E: rob@hipag.co.uk
www.hipag.co.uk

or

Jacqui Green, JGMpr
M: 07885 270 349
E: jacqui@jgmpr.com
www.jgmpr.com