RLA Annual Report

I would like to thank and welcome those new members for choosing the RLA, and the continuing support from existing members. We continue to be the fastest-growing and most forward-looking association representing the private landlord.

The Housing Act 2004 continues to roll on with the implementation of HMO licensing, the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) on schedule to be introduced on April 6, 2006, and Tenancy Deposit Schemes to be compulsory by October 1.

It is clear the Association’s helpline will be having another busy year.

Parliamentary affairs

We have been building on the success we had in 2004 in achieving amendments to the Housing Bill, working with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to get the implementation of the Act as user-friendly as we can.

The postponement of the implementation date has helped this process greatly; this was an objective that Richard Jones and Mark Butterworth lobbied for earlier in the year.

Mark Butterworth

The ODPM held a number of seminars through the summer in an effort to get the message over to local authorities that the process of licensing a House in Multiple Occupation should be as simple and straightforward as possible.

Although some local authorities have taken this on board, many have not and continue to miss the point of licensing, which is (or should be) a mechanism to raise the standards of the lowest, not one that allows them to pursue or persecute the willing landlord.

As a result, we anticipate that in some areas there will be a significant loss of HMO accommodation due to the effect of the licensing regime.

To help members, we have designed a flowchart to establish if a property is a licensable HMO or not, and also an HHSRS flowchart.

Both are available on the members’ area of the website and a version of the flowchart is also on page 10 of this magazine.

Tenancy Deposit Schemes

Tenancy Deposit Schemes will become mandatory on October 1 this year and there will be criminal sanctions for landlords who fail to register with a government- approved scheme. We are currently in negotiations to offer an exclusive deal for our members. However, our research shows that forward-thinking landlords may well be dropping deposits in future in favour of alternative approaches.

THE RLA BOARD

Chris Town: Chairman
Alan Ward: Member services
Mark Butterworth: Parliamentary affairs
Lee Dribben
David Melen
Richard Jones: Company secretary and parliamentary adviser
Robert Newey: Financial adviser (non-director)
Robert Newman: Co-opted (August)

Subscriptions

Our subscriptions revenue is growing in line with our increasing membership, enabling us to hold subscriptions rates for yet another year. This is being achieved through cost control and use of Direct Debit and credit card payments and online renewals.

Our back office systems continue to be developed to maintain efficiency.

Management

In line with last year’s new constitution, there will be two resignations from the board. These will be:

Alan Ward – responsible for members’ services
Mark Butterworth – responsible for parliamentary liaison and BPF

Both will offer themselves for re-election.

Robert Newman

We have two new nominees for election to the board. They are:

Robert Newman ACA, who is a director of Salter Newman, accountants and business advisors. Robert trained with a 12-partner firm before qualifying with KPMG.

He took over the general practice accountancy firm founded by his father in 1999 and merged it in 2002 with Salter & Co to form Salter Newman.

Robert has a portfolio of 20 properties, which has been as high as 48, and advises landlords, specialising in property taxation.

Paul Bamber, who has been involved in the property industry since leaving school some 30-plus years ago, training as a chartered surveyor (but not qualifying) and then moving into estate agency.

For the last 16 years he has been self-employed as a letting agent, managing over 180 properties for individual landlords and specialising in possession proceedings for local landlords. Paul recently sold his practice and became a letting consultant. He is a member of the Blackpool Landlords Forum.

With his wife Ailsa, he is a landlord with a portfolio of some 15 residential units. He is also chair of the trustees of the Ashley Foundation, a homelessness charity.

We received the resignation from the board of Tony Flatt in November and I want to recognise his unfailing support for the association during his five years as a director.

On behalf of our members I would like to thank the office staff for their support and dedication during a challenging year, and the support of my co-directors who have freely given their time, support and advice throughout the year.

Report by Chris Town

Local Housing Allowance

The Local Housing Allowance (LHA) continues to cause problems not just for the landlord and tenant but also for the Department of Work and Pensions.

Towards the end of the year, my fellow director, Mark Butterworth , chair of the residential committee at the British Property Federation (BPF), commissioned a joint RLA BPF report on the effects of the LHA.

Some interesting points came out, one of which was the contradictory views of government ministers. The result is that the anticipated national roll-out has been put back to some hazy date in the future.

Helpline and training

RLA training is a fundamental resource for landlords. The helpline continues to be one of the principal benefits of membership with traffic increasing steadily in step with our larger membership.

During the past year, Dave Absalom and Demir Mustafa have provided practical guidance to more than one member in eight and now, for a small cost, will assist with the serving of notices. Demand for the helpline during the year has risen by some 33% and the new Act will further raise that demand.

Your association is putting further capacity in place on the helpline to deal with this and also plans to introduce training material to deal with the Housing Act 2004.

RLA websites

Our websites are a major asset and the single largest route to gaining membership. There are now more than 14,000 pages of information and data available to members on the main RLA website. During the next year there will be further enhancements to its function.

Insurance and financial services

We continue to be pleased with the performance of our members’ i n s u r a n c e services through RGA Group who have supported the facility well during the year. Online quotations are now available.

The main policy is now arranged through AXA and provides a good quality cover at premiums often beating open market rates by up to 30%. The buying power of the association is reflected in the total sum covered which is now in excess of £????m.

Residential Property Investor

On the initiative of editor Rosalind Renshaw, a readership survey was conducted and its results will ensure that future content will be continue to directed to specific membership interests.

interests. The survey also showed how much members value receiving the bi-monthly publication. Its cost is partially offset by advertising revenues which have increased through the year.

increased through the year. A sales representative, Laura Garratt, has been appointed in London to provide a further boost.

Membership

A new level of membership – Associate Membership – has been introduced to develop closer working relationships with councils and other large bodies connected with our industry.

This will provide us with a platform for developing services through local authorities and to reach greater numbers of landlords.

RLA Annual Report

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