London Rental Standard Seeks a Qualitative Change in Private landlords and Business Practices

London is on comprehensive exercise to set new standards in the rental or letting sector. The initiative of the London Mayor to cleanse private rental sector has a bench mark named London Rental Standard, which many say, would trigger a massive spurt in accreditation and raise the bar of letting in the capital city.

Accreditation
In terms of a definition London Rental Standard can be described as a set of voluntary standards that the Mayor expects from the landlords as well estate agents.

Training for Landlords: The Mayor wanted organizations accrediting landlords to give them proper training. Also the landlords have to be fit as defined by the Housing Act 2004 and must have undergone at least 10 hours' of Continuous Personal Development in addition to the initial training. The hope is that the London Rental Standard will be accepted by all accrediting organisations to badge landlords and agents on the basis of their adherence to the following best practices:

Code of practice: The practice code will entail requirements such as written rental agreement; a protected deposit with explicit details and the contact details of landlord as had been provided to the tenants.

Time Lines: In order to solve any problems the landlords have to be responsive “within a reasonable period of time” and they must give the tenants at least 24 hours of notice for access. It must be in writing after stating reasons unless it is an emergency.

Legal Compliance: The landlord must be committed to undertake urgent repairs within three days of notification. Also the properties must comply with the necessary legal standards and all the requirements of the Energy Act 2011 have to be fulfilled.

Fair Dealings: The landlords must act in a fair manner in the matter of deposit and also not discriminate tenants on the basis of color, sex, age etc

No Legal Obligation
As of now London Rental Standard is quite voluntary and no legal compulsions are there on landlords to sign up. Accreditation to agents can help landlords to find quality agencies to contract their properties. To qualify for the London Rental Standard accreditation, landlords can enroll with the London Landlord Accreditation Scheme (LLAS) free of charge.

To know more about the functioning of professional letting agencies please visit the site : http://www.rentals-london.co.uk