Greater Nottingham Landlords’ Electronic Newsletter

Issue 21 - Aug 2010

Welcome to the Aug 2010 edition of the Greater Nottingham Landlords' Electronic Newsletter.

Unipol Training Re: Training for Landlords in the East Midlands - Unipol Student Homes are running a series of training modules for landlords designed to be of help to ...
Nottingham Credit Union - All new rent paying accounts for tenants who receive local housing allowance (housing benefit) is now available at Nottingham Credit Union...
Minutes from the recent Nottingham City Council Landlord Liaison Panel Meeting - The meeting was held on Tuesday 20th July 2010 at EMPO offices...
Better Gas Safe than Sorry - Gas Safe Register are launching a new gas safety campaign 'BETTER GAS SAFE THAN SORRY' - which features the...
Condensation control - Condensation and mould forms when relative humidity is more than 70%...

Unipol Training - Training for Landlords in the East Midlands

Dear Landlord

Unipol Student Homes are running a series of training modules for landlords designed to be of help to hands-on landlords and agents aiming to provide the best accommodation they can. The subjects covered reflect what landlords have told us they need to know and the events are designed have a round table format and encourage active participation in the form of questions and discussion from participants

All of the events are being held at the University of Nottingham Club, The Hemsley at the University Park Campus and are geared particularly at student landlords in Nottingham. The first event takes place on Thursday 13th May 2010 and booking is open now at www.unipol.org.uk/OwnersTrainingNotts

The following courses have been arranged:

An Introductory Course for New Landlords Letting to Students

This one day course gives landlords essential information of how to let legally and efficiently in the student market. The event is also a useful refresher course for those more established in the sector and includes recent developments. The course is based on the new ANUK Landlord Manual to be launched in November 2009.

Much of the information is generic to landlords letting to any tenant but this course is specifically tailored to the niche market of student lettings.

This event is repeated on three separate occasions to ensure that there is a date available for everyone who is interested in this popular module.

Wednesday 14th July 2010 Monday 8th November 2010

09:30am - 4.15pm

The Price for this event is free for landlords in Nottingham and Unipol DASH Code Members for other owners, the cost is �45 (both Include course papers, lunch and refreshments). To find out more information visit www.unipol.org.uk/OwnersTrainingNotts

The other courses in this programme are:

LACORS Fire Safety

Tuesday 21st September 2010, 12.45pm to 4.30pm

What Students Want

Monday 18th October 2010, 9.00pm to 12.45pm

What is a Tenancy? Housing Management - Knowing Your Law

Monday 18th October 2010, 13.00pm to 5.00pm

The Student Lifecycle: Managing Tenancies at the Beginning, in the Middle and at the End

Wednesday 1st December 2010, 12.45pm to 4.30pm

For full details and to book on these events please visit www.unipol.org.uk/OwnersTrainingNotts

We look forward to seeing you at a Unipol Training event in Nottingham soon.

Nottingham Credit Union

All new rent paying accounts for tenants who receive local housing allowance (housing benefit) is now available at Nottingham Credit Union. The rent paying accounts help to tenants to manage their money and prioritise rent payments.

The accounts are designed for tenants who receive housing benefit direct to them, and have to pay their rent to landlords themselves. The accounts do not have a cash withdrawal facility and the money cannot be used to cover a bank overdraft. Local housing allowance is paid onto the landlord by the credit union, on behalf of the tenant by BACS payment. The landlord receives rent electronically (and on-time!). We are charging £5 per payment made to the landlord for the service due to the administration of the accounts however, in return the landlord gets the following features and benefits:

On-time electronic payment of due rent (within three days of receipt of housing benefit)
Invoice for records
Informed if there is any delay in housing benefit payment
Forewarned if the tenant intends to close account
Safe in the knowledge housing benefit won�t be used to cover a bank overdraft or for cash withdrawal
Landlords accredited with DASH or Nottingham City Council�s Landlords Accreditation Scheme receive 10% discount
Landlords with 25 or more tenants receive 10% discount, 50 or more tenants receive 20% when using the scheme
Your tenant is required to give 60 days' notice to close their rent paying account and you will be informed if and when this occurs
All of your tenants can use this payment method meaning you don�t have to chase any rent; it will simply be paid to you by BACS transfer direct into your bank account
You can write this payment method into tenancy agreements

All you need to do is register with the credit union which you can do by contacting margarett@nottinghamcu.co.uk or phoning 0115 828 3121/6. Your tenants will need to open accounts at the credit union which they can do in person, or we can send application forms out in the post.

Nottingham Credit Union works on a not-for-profit basis providing financial services for people who live or work in Greater Nottingham. We can help tenants with financial support and budgeting skills, provide low-cost loans and savings facilities which helps to make your tenants financially sounder.

Minutes from the recent Nottingham City Council Landlord Liaison Panel Meeting

Tuesday 20th July 2010 at EMPO offices

Apologies: Daniel Donnen, David Hobbs, Lorraine Raynor, John Cockcroft, Graham DeMax

Present: Landlords, Brian Kirkland, Shad Ali, Angela Lyons, Christine Darvill, Agent: Dan Walker Jamie from UNIPOL, Nottingham City Council, Marsha Malcolm, Mike Cole, Steve Stott, Patricia Hodgkinson, Sue Crossman

Chair: Mike Cole Minutes: Christine Darvill

2 and 3 Minutes and Matters Arising from the meeting held on May 18th 2010

Confirmation of the following points:

It was confirmed that there were no consultation matters at the last meeting.
Angela Lyons will bring NFRL (as was) manual to the next meeting. Action Angela.
The dates for the Unipol training have been received, Lorraine to advise when these are. Action Lorraine
Confirmation that the charge for replacement bin is now £10 and not £25 as previously mentioned.
Date for the Landlord Housing Aid lunch is confirmed as 4 August 2010 at the International Community Centre on Mansfield Road.
The report regarding additional licensing might not need to go to the Executive Board and no date is planned at present. It still will have to go through a consultation process.
The minutes stated that David Teague was to attend the meeting today. Will he be able to attend the next meeting? Action Lorraine

4: Replacement bins - Steve Stott

There are lots of different teams within the council working with bins and not communicating actions with each other. Steve is to put all the procedures together and let everyone know what should happen when. He needs a volunteer to sit on the working group. Shad Ali volunteered for this role.

Can the council provide stickers for bins and landlords pay for them? Also, are there any bin stickers/magnets available for September onwards? Steve to let us know at the next meeting. Action Steve

Shad raised issues that occur when telephoning the Call Centre number 9152000. A new manager was appointed two weeks ago and she will review the whole operation and make changes where necessary.

5: NCC proposed strategy for Use Classes Orders pre and post 1 October

There were no planners at the meeting, however, they sent a message to say that they need a separate meeting to discuss this issue. Shad to ask Steve Perry for a meeting date. Action Shad

Shad to also ask questions about the Balanced Communities strategy and report back to the Panel in due course. Action Shad

6: Advising non members of EMPO and to contact EMPO for advice

Shad questioned the council about when they encouraged non members to contact EMPO for advice. Although they are happy to help, they would like to be sure that non members understand that it is a membership organization with an annual subscription, and they would like to encourage more landlords to join. Shad asked for this information to be passed on to council officials.

AOB

The question was asked 'who do landlords call within the council for general queries now that Keith Rose has retired'. Duncan Newbutt 9156762 and David Hobbs 9151605 should be able to answer most queries.

Shad asked for clarification about enforcement of non licensed HMOs. He heard of a landlord who had not applied for a licence when the landlord knew that one was required. NCC decided not to take any action apart from telling the landlord to apply for a licence. This contrasts with an EMPO member who missed only one property in error and is now being taken to a tribunal. Consistency is required and the Panel want to know the official policy. Action Sue to take back to Lorraine for update at next meeting.

Jamie confirmed that going forward there will be someone from Unipol at future meetings.

Is there going to be a Conference this year? Action Mike to take back to Lorraine.

Date of next meeting

Tuesday 5th October 2010 at EMPO office. Official start 5.15pm, landlords to meeting from 4.30pm.

This event is open to all landlords and it would be helpful to have as many attend as possible. If you wish to do so, please contact us for more details.

Better Gas Safe than Sorry

Gas Safe Register are launching a new gas safety campaign 'BETTER GAS SAFE THAN SORRY' - which features the real life story of a fourteen year old girl who died from carbon monoxide poisoning from a poorly fitted gas fire installed by an unregistered gas fitter.

To find out more how you can help promote this campaign visit their website www.GasSafeRegister.co.uk

Condensation control

Condensation and mould forms when relative humidity is more than 70%.

The average household will produce 112 pints of moisture a week through cooking, bathing and breathing. The moisture is increased when clothing is dried in the home.

As we seal up our homes to make them more energy efficient through double glazing, loft and wall insulation, this results in a 'cling film effect' - trapping the moisture within the home which can cause condensation, mould and health problems.

By introducing fresh filtered air into the home at a continuous flow rate, called positive input ventilation, the moisture laden air is diluted, displaced and replaced. This reduces the relative humidity, which means that condensation cannot form. Mould spores dry out into a powder, which can easily be brushed off.

The Energy Saving Trust has also commented that positive input ventilation can save up to 10% of annual space heating costs.

EnviroVent design and manufacture award winning, eco-friendly products for houses and flats. They also provide a full installation service using their own dedicated and directly employed installers. EnviroVent have helped thousands of households cure condensation and mould.

Mr & Mrs Faulkner, of Heanor in Derbyshire are overjoyed:

"We are absolutely amazed by the immediate results of this simple system. The very next day we noticed a significant reduction on condensation on window glass and the black mould spots are visibly drying out.

My chest complaint is so much better and our home does not smell musty or mouldy anymore. It's the best money we have ever spent."

Mr & Mrs Faulkner, Derbyshire

For more information and a free no obligation homecheck call 0845 2727 807.

Or visit our website at www.homeventilation.co.uk

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