The Heat is on!

This Summer we have experienced some of the hottest weather in living memory and have sweated and sweltered through it with our usual British stoicism, namely hyping up the panic levels and then getting on with as if it is an everyday event.

This is exactly the same as what is happening in the political world and definitely what I am sensing is what is going on in Westminster and how it is impacting the private rental sector.

Political Meltdown!

In my last blog, I recounted my initial views on the White Paper that landed on our laps as we wended into Summer, little knowing that, like the weather the political thermometer was going to go off the scale.

Goodlord following the publication of the ground-breaking document went into hyperdrive with analysis, a guide and a comprehensive e-book. They also called on my services to do a webinar with their very own Oli Sherlock to try and answer some of the questions that agents and others had on the proposals. This oversubscribed session, which overran its allotted time, with barely a single attendee dropping off, only touched the surface of the concerns on the possible consequences the proposed changes would have.

Oli and I therefore pencilled in a follow up session at the beginning of July. As if the fates had conspired, the very day we had organized the new webinar, after surviving everything else, the Prime Minister resigned.

The days before were surreal as minister after minister in the Government resigned, including two junior housing ministers and then the big one, the Secretary of State, Michael Gove, architect of Levelling Up and whose department was tasked with deliver the “Fairer Private Rented Sector” agenda, sacked, and sent to the back benches.?A Government in turmoil and a White Paper in tatters. Well, no, not exactly.?The minister who directly was working in the Renters’ Reform Bill, did not bite the bullet. Eddie Hughes remains in place and as I subsequently found out, is determined to see the changes through.

The Show Must Go On!

So here we were, on the morning of the webinar, with a midday announcement by the PM from outside No 10 due at midday, thinking how we can reassure our audience that chaos does not rule. Well, I am not sure how we did but you can decide yourself by listening to the podcast of the session yourselves.

What is a comfort, however, is I had an invite in the diary for a round table with Minister Hughes and to my surprise, this was not cancelled in the wake of events. I therefore attended the virtual event along with a host of stakeholders across the sector.

The Minister assured everyone that he and his department were committed to deliver the reforms and he had personally spoken to all the prospective candidates who by then had put their names forward to be the next Prime Minister and they had assured him they were committed as well. Now whether Eddie himself survives to steer the bill into the legislative process or not will remain to be seen, however in the hiatus between now and the new PM, work and engagement with the sector continues.

Watch this space. In the meantime, you may in interested in this Hamilton Fraser webinar, in which four experts from our group share their thoughts on the reforms.

In Other News!

Now, as is becoming a norm for me, when it comes to deciding on my topic for my monthly blog, there is a dilemma on what I want to talk about. This month is no different as there have been two other developments that I want to relay to everyone, that are significant news. OK, the second one is more personal to me and the Property Redress Scheme but is important in terms of how we as an organisation gear up for what will be the biggest changes in the rental market for quarter of a century. More later.

Guidance Materialises!

The first however is another chapter in the saga relating to the material information that is now required to be disclosed on property portals and indeed as a matter of course by property agents.

As relayed by Goodlord back in February the information that now needs to be supplied to customers by agents in order to be compliant with consumer protection regulation, was being ramped up and the first phase of what will eventually become mandatory information can now easily be put on the major property portals. I did a podcast and blog at the time, as I was on the working group along with National Trading Standards (NTSELAT), the portals and industry representative. I did a follow up one in May just after the requirements went live.

This month, the first set of guidance has been published by NTSELAT and this will be followed by an awareness campaign. The new guidance hopefully will make things a lot clearer and help agents to prepare for the next phases of the project, which again I will help everyone try and make sense of it all when this happens. As usual Goodlord have produced their own comprehensive guide on this.

Take my Advice!

So, to my last revelation of this eventful month and for this I want to take you back to the day of the Goodlord webinar. Before everything so spectacularly erupted, I had arranged for a meeting and lunch at of Places the House of Lords. I was meeting the Chairman of my Advisory Council, Lord Monroe Palmer.

Since 2014 when the Property Redress Scheme was created, Lord Palmer had ably presided over this scrutiny body that oversaw the scheme and held me to account. The Council was made up of a number of people from across the sector and formed an integral part of governance, transparency, and accountability of what we were doing.

In addition, Monroe had been instrumental in getting mandatory client money protection for all letting agents onto the statute books, a major achievement that might never have happened without his involvement with the Council.

However, for a while, we have been looking to refresh and revitalize the way we interact with the sector and the challenges of the pandemic period, severely tested the effectiveness of the body. Great though virtual mediums are, they are not the same as being there in person when it comes to this type of role.

We therefore have revamped the body to reflect not just the widened scope of the redress scheme we set up, but to be more representative, diverse, and engaging in what is a dynamic and ever-changing sector. But whilst change is good and refreshing any body essential, so is continuity and consistency and to this effect, I wanted to invite Monroe to stay on to chair what was now to be known as the Advisory Panel.

So, irony of ironies, I found myself on the Tube heading for Westminster and walking down Whitehall and past Downing Street at the exact time that Mr. Johnson was stepping over Larry the cat and through the famous black door of No 10 to tender his resignation.

Of course, I could get nowhere near the gates to see anything, however being around the Palace of Westminster and seeing the drama play out was fascinating. So off to the House of Lords to complete the task in hand to offer a job whilst another one became vacant. ?

Fortunately, Lord Palmer agreed to accept the Chair of the new body and we have now announced the change and have started the process of selecting the members of the panel. It will be 15 people strong, with each representing and specializing in a particular element of our complex industry. We are therefore welcoming applications from anyone who feels that they can contribute to the helping our scheme evolve and be part of the changing landscape of the property market.

Those of you who follow my blog on Goodlord, have attended the webinars and engage with me on LinkedIn, know the sort of work and influence the Property Redress Scheme has on the sector, so if you want to be part of this journey please apply. Later on in the year we will be launching a second panel for our members, and to help shape the scheme to be able to deliver our statutory obligations in the best way and both our panels will work closely together to achieve this aim.

Find out more about the history of Advisory Council and how to apply for the new Advisory Panel here. ?

So, a lot packed into the month and maybe I can look forward to a quiet break as everyone heads of to their Summer Holidays, however I have a funny inkling that something unsuspected will occur and the Newsagent Team will be on my case for comment and analysis to help understand what it means on the ground. I will therefore stay vigilant as contrary to the musings of TS Elliot, it is August not April that is the cruellest month!