Issue 17 - December 2009
Welcome to the December 2009 edition of the Greater Nottingham Landlords' Electronic Newsletter.
Contents
- Rushcliffe Landlord Forum 2010 - Rushcliffe Borough Council are running their first landlord forum of 2010 on 23rd February...
- £300,000 boost to the city to help children "Stay Safe" at home - Families in Nottingham will see the launch of a new safety scheme to help combat accidental injuries in the home...
- Unipol and Nottingham Trent University Partnership Finalised - Unipol Student Homes is a long standing "not for profit" student housing charity originally formed in Leeds...
- East Midlands Landlord Accreditation Scheme - One Year On - The East Midlands Landlord Accreditation Scheme (EMLAS) was launched in November 2008 in Nottingham. Over this past year, the scheme membership has grown to over 500 landlords...
- Decent & Safe Homes East Midlands (DASH) Wins Industry Oscar - We are proud to announce that DASH has been crowned the 2009 winner of the Public Service category at the national landlord and buy-to-let awards...
- "Gas and cowboys don't mix" - A campaign was launched on the 17th September 2009 by the Gas Safe Register to raise awareness about the dangers of using an illegal gas worker...
Rushcliffe Landlord Forum 2010
Rushcliffe Borough Council are running their first landlord forum of 2010 on 23rd February in the afternoon. The speakers will cover a range of current topics of interest to landlords in Rushcliffe. Invitations will be sent out to all Rushcliffe landlords shortly, but if you would like to book an early place you can call Adam Smith at Rushcliffe on 0115 9148415.
£300,000 boost to the city to help children "Stay Safe" at home
Families in Nottingham will see the launch of a new safety scheme to help combat accidental injuries in the home. In conjunction with RoSPA (Royal society for the Prevention of Accidents), the City Council will receive an estimated £300,000 worth of safety equipment aimed at keeping 0-4 year olds safe. The equipment will be disseminated through Children's Centres targeting families from disadvantaged backgrounds over a two year period up to 2011.
The home safety packs will include a safety gate, window restrictors, a non slip bath or shower mat, fire guard, corner cushions and locks for kitchen cupboards containing chemicals and medicines.
The installation service will be provided by skilled craft persons who will also be trained to explain the correct and safe use of the equipment. RoSPA's main focus of the national scheme is on children from disadvantaged backgrounds and this will help us, as an authority, to tackle depravation and transform lives.
The equipment also supports the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS).
As housing providers and landlords we are fully supporting this scheme and value your cooperation.
Further information can be found on the RoSPA website
Unipol and Nottingham Trent University Partnership Finalised
Unipol Student Homes is a long standing "not for profit" student housing charity originally formed in Leeds. Since 2007 Unipol has established its service in Nottingham working in partnership with Nottingham City Council, The University of Nottingham and the Student Unions. The Unipol service is well used by students with over 9 million website hits and 190,000 online property searches made by students in 2009, making Unipol a fantastic way for landlords to access thousands of potential tenants.
As a result of the success of the Unipol service Nottingham Trent University have now agreed a partnership agreement allowing Unipol to expand the service fully into Nottingham Trent University. This will mean unprecedented access to Nottingham Trent students through Unipol. Other benefits to landlords include:
The Unipol DASH Code
Unipol operates the accreditation scheme for student property in Nottingham known as the Unipol Dash Code. Since its launch in 2007 Unipol has accredited over 1,600 student houses in Nottingham. Landlords joining the Unipol DASH Code scheme have gained a significant market advantage as students begin to prioritise accredited properties.
Advertising Opportunities
Unipol also offers an online advertising service that has proved to be an extremely effective advertising tool for landlords. In 2009 Unipol displayed over 13,000 bed spaces on the website of which 98% were successfully let. Unipol's enhanced exposure to students through partnerships with both universities and their students unions make Unipol the first step for many students searching for their next home.
Training and Information Delivery
Additional benefits include access to a newly launched landlord training programme, consultative groups and market briefings keeping you up to date with all the latest developments within the student housing sector both locally and nationally, helping you to maximise your performance as a landlord.
House Hunting 2010 officially commences on the 22nd January so landlords are advised to complete their registration and advertisements as quickly as possible to avoid missing potential tenants.
If you would like further information about Unipol and how to register you can contact Unipol directly on 0115 846 8599, via e-mail at info@nottingham.unipol.org.uk or visit the Unipol website
East Midlands Landlord Accreditation Scheme - One Year On
The East Midlands Landlord Accreditation Scheme (EMLAS) was launched in November 2008 in Nottingham. Over this past year, the scheme membership has grown to over 500 landlords, representing over 4000 properties across the region.
In order to become accredited, landlords must attend our one day landlord development day training. This is a free course, with lunch provided, that helps to increase landlord knowledge and helps to ensure they are aware of both their responsibilities and their rights as landlords. The course has been a huge success, receiving excellent feedback from landlords, and has been run more than 25 times across the region, with an average of 17-20 delegates per course.
EMLAS has managed to resolve various landlord queries, ranging from tenancy issues to property standards and has become an excellent signposting service for landlords in the event that we cannot provide answers to queries ourselves.
The best news for EMLAS however is that it is to remain free to join for another year. The landlord development courses will also continue to be offered free of charge, and as our membership grows, we will continue to work to increase the number and quality of discounts that we can offer to member landlords.
There are some exciting developments for EMLAS in 2010. First of all, we will be offering a "landlord roadshow". This will consist of five separate days of presentations for landlords across the region. Member landlords have been consulted on the content of these sessions to ensure they are both useful and relevant, and they will take place in Spring 2010. More details will appear on the DASH and EMLAS websites shortly.
Secondly, we will be appointing a dedicated EMLAS officer over the next few weeks. This officer will be charged with improving our service to landlords, as well as carrying out property inspections and helping landlords with any queries that they may have. The EMLAS officer will also develop new courses for landlords and conduct further research into the private rented sector in the region that will be used to inform local, regional and national government.
We aim to work in partnership with good landlords and help to differentiate them from the minority of bad landlords. We also aim to help educate and inform landlords to ensure they do not fall in to the trap of committing an offence through a lack of knowledge. EMLAS is a free, voluntary scheme, and if you would like to join us, or would like further information, please visit the EMLAS website.
There is also a great deal of information for landlords on the DASH website all of which is free to view and download and can be distributed amongst your colleagues.
Decent & Safe Homes East Midlands (DASH) Wins Industry Oscar
We are proud to announce that DASH has been crowned the 2009 winner of the Public Service category at the national landlord and buy-to-let awards, held at the NEC on 16th October 2009.
The Landlord and Buy-to-Let awards are the premier nationwide private rented sector awards in the UK and we are delighted to have won this award. It really is a testament to the professionalism, hard work and commitment of everyone in the DASH Team as well as all of our partners, be they landlords, tenants, local authorities, charities, or many of the other types of organisation that we work with. Companies from across the UK entered these awards so to walk away with the winner's trophy for our category was a fantastic achievement.
Oliver Romain, head Awards judge and editor of Landlord and Buy to Let magazine, the leading magazine for the residential letting sector, said: "We had a terrific response and DASH has done brilliantly to win. We send our congratulations to the team and look forward to receiving their Awards entry in 2010."
"Gas and cowboys don't mix"
A campaign was launched on the 17th September 2009 by the Gas Safe Register to raise awareness about the dangers of using an illegal gas worker. The campaign entitled "Gas and Cowboys don't mix" will have national and regional radio, television, online, newspapers and magazine coverage giving essential safety information on how to spot an illegal gas worker. For further information contact 0800 408 5500 or visit the Gas Safe Register website
Happy Christmas!
The Greater Nottingham Landlords Electronic Newsletter Team would like to wish all our readers a very merry Christmas, and a prosperous New Year!
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