Landlords celebrated 40 years of Portsmouth & District Private Landlords Association (PDPLA) with a summer garden party for old and new members.
Former chairperson and founder member Irene Strange, 92, (pictured with Portsmouth mayor Gerald Vernon Jackson) was one of four previous chairs to attend the event at The Queens Hotel in Southsea where 100 guests raised £1,000 for the Lord Mayor’s Appeal in honour of their community engagement and advocacy.
Current chairman Martin Silman says the group has come a long way since its first meeting four decades ago when two local letting agents met in someone’s front room, and now boasts 500 members. “We’ve had steady growth and have doubled in size in the last 10 years,” he tells LandlordZONE. “I don’t see why the group won’t go on for another 40 years.”
PDPLA has campaigned locally on the issue of direct payments to landlords, and the shortfall in housing allowance, and continues to challenge the council over HMO regulation and licensing. “It’s been 40 years of banging our heads against the wall!” jokes Silman.
After 14 years, he will step down as the group’s head next April as he reckons it’s time to bring in a younger landlord with fresh ideas. “We’ve historically represented people who are in it for the long term but recognise that we also need to balance that with younger members and how we can help them avoid the pain that we’ve gone through.”
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