The student rental sector has seen significant improvements in accommodation quality in recent years. However, some landlords continue to rent out substandard properties, exploiting the shortage of quality housing in many cities. The Renters’ Rights Bill aims to address this issue by extending the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector (PRS). This legislation introduces a National Landlords Register, requiring landlords to register and demonstrate compliance with the Decent Homes Standard. Landlords who fail to address serious hazards can face fines up to £7,000 and potential prosecution for non-compliance.
GOV.UK
Additionally, Awaab's Law will be extended to the PRS, establishing strict timeframes for repairing health hazards. This law mandates that social landlords fix damp and mould issues within specific periods, ensuring tenants' health and safety.
These legislative measures are designed to enhance the quality of rental properties and protect tenants from unsafe living conditions.
The Decent Homes Standard includes:
- Properties must be free from serious health and safety hazards, such as fall risks, fire risks, or carbon monoxide poisoning
- Properties must have efficient heating systems and proper insulation
- Kitchens must be 20 years old or less, and have adequate space and layout
- Bathrooms must be 30 years old or less, and be appropriately located
What does this mean for you?
Once these regulations are published, there will likely be a period of adjustment to ensure compliance. Our inspection reports are designed to highlight potential hazards in your property, giving you a clear understanding of areas that may need attention.
Our lettings team is proactively reaching out to landlords with properties that could benefit from improvements.
Our goal is to ensure that all our properties in Plymouth meet the highest standards of quality, making them competitive and desirable for tenants.
We’d be delighted to support you in achieving this. If you’d like to discuss specific improvement plans for your property, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with a member of our lettings team today.
We are excited to announce that we have recently joined StuRents, a leading organisation in the student sector that specialises in research, market trends, and industry insights.
StuRents provides a wealth of valuable data and analysis, and we are thrilled to collaborate with them on market research initiatives. This partnership will ensure we stay at the forefront of the industry, leveraging their expertise to continuously improve and strive to be the best in the sector. They also have a brilliant search engine for students to find their home for September.
You can view the search engine here
You can also view the research site here
If you have any properties which are available for September, marketed towards students and they are not currently advertised via Sturents, please get in touch with us to arrange a market appraisal.
We look forward to keeping you informed through our bite-sized bulletins. If you’d like to discuss the upcoming changes in more detail, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Finally, we will be at the Property and Business Network Christmas Black Tie Ball @ Winslade Manor on Saturday, and look forward to seeing many local Landlords there!
