April Fool's Day - Deadline for Key Legislative Change
1st April is a day for Fools, a day of practical jokes and hoaxes. April Fools’ Day spread throughout Britain during the 18th century. In Scotland, the tradition became a two-day event, starting with “hunting the gowk,” in which people were sent on phony errands (gowk is a word for cuckoo bird, a symbol for fool) and followed by Tailie Day, which involved pranks played on people’s derrieres, such as pinning fake tails or “kick me” signs on them.
Of late it appears that the Government feel this day is significant and has bought Legislation into force on the 1st April, no pun intended we hope.
Client Money Protection (CMP)
The Housing and Planning Act 2016 introduced powers allowing the Government to bring in legislation making membership of an approved or designated CMP scheme mandatory and in 2018, the Government announced regulations that would require all letting agents in England to belong to an approved CMP scheme by 1 April 2019. The deadline for the regulations was then extended to 1st April 2021.
What does this mean?
By 1st April 2021, all Letting Agents in England must be able to prove they have CMP in place. The approved providers of CMP have been in place for almost 2 years and therefore, there should be no surprise that this is a mandatory requirement. It is also important to remember, regardless of whether working from home or not, that the transparency rules relating CMP must also be adhered to.
The Importance of Law - an 18 Year Old’s Bird’s Eye View
It is clear to everyone how important the Law is throughout our the whole of our lives, however, when you are young you don’t realise how just much it really does impact your life. Turning 18 is a pivotal point in your life you gain so much freedom but along with that freedom comes responsibility.
When you’re a teenager who is restricted because your Mum or Dad say ‘No, you can’t go there or you can’t do that, until you’re 18’. We question, we challenge and often we don’t really understand why we are so limited.
And then you turn 18 and everything changes because so many doors that open - the freedom to go out late (or not - consider Lockdown), buy alcohol, get a tattoo, without that restriction from your parents.
Great! Freedom, but on the other hand, you are now classified as an adult in the eyes of the Law and therefore, now responsible for your own actions. This means acting appropriately and responsibly, there are expectations as you can no longer say that you are a child. You have to be accountable for yourself and even sometimes others.
Further changes to Notice Periods and Evictions
Today Robert Jenrick, Housing Secretary made a further announcement that the six-month notice periods and bailiff enforced eviction bans will be extended to 31 May 2021 to protect residential and social tenants as the country moves through the roadmap. The Housing Secretary announced that the Government has - "taken unprecedented action to support both commercial and residential tenants throughout the pandemic – with a £280 billion economic package to keep businesses running and people in jobs and able to meet their outgoings, such as rent. These measures build on the government’s action to provide financial support as restrictions are lifted over the coming months – extending the furlough scheme, business rates holiday and the Universal Credit uplift."
In times of need, get the right Support for Your Lettings Business
It has been ten months and 3 days since the UK went into the first Lockdown and just over a year since Wuhan officially announced that Covid-19 existed - this novel Coronavirus which has caused chaos across the globe.
The shift in the way in which we live our lives has been unprecedented and the way we work has most definitely changed beyond belief. GLM has always been at the forefront of training and professional development, however, the last ten months has impacted not only the way we work - on-line delivery Versus Face-to-Face delivery, but the response to the needs of our clients.
Our client base is diverse, ranging from private landlord who self- manage big portfolios to local authorities, charities, trusts, franchisees and high street agents. All have something very key in common - they use our Advice Line, require support and guidance.
Being client focused is where it all begins - what are the requirements? How will they be fulfilled? How does our service assist with the day-to-day running of a lettings business?