What will the changes mean for landlords and tenants? Lively debates were centre stage at the ARLA (Association of Residential Letting Agents) Propertymark conference last week about supply and demand, taxation and legislation changes and the world post-letting agent fees ban.

As Hitchin’s local lettings expert and ARLA Propertymark member, Dharmesh Patadia, Director and Co-Founder of D + J Lettings, attended the conference and reports back giving his comments.

“First let’s talk about local lettings, which continues to be in demand for a variety of reasons: Excellent links for road, rail and air travel, plenty of good schools, a great community and many local events and activities.

“Hitchin is a popular choice so demand continues to be strong and outstrips the supply of good quality property. We have more requests for properties than we have properties to rent and rental values continue to hold up in most locations.

“The positive signs are that tenants want to secure longer term tenancies and many are now renewing for more than 12 months, which is good for both the tenant and the landlord.”

Q: What will be the implications of the Letting Agent Fees Ban?

A: A key topic of discussion at the conference was the Letting Agent Fees Ban and how this will impact landlords, tenants and agents. One might think that this is going to be in the tenants’ favour; which may help tenants who move frequently, however, research undertaken by ARLA Propertymark does show the likelihood of increased rents, which will impact longer term tenants and especially those that are just about managing.

Q: What about legislation?

A: Legislation was discussed in some depth and particularly the taxation changes for higher rate tax payers where landlords will not be able to offset mortgage payments. Some landlords do not understand what the changes will mean to them. We recommend having a strategy, and while it is a stepped increase over the next few years, expert advice should be sought. "There is an unprecedented amount of change in the lettings market and it continues to be a moving target. At D + J Lettings we want to keep landlords informed and up-to-date so we will be holding our own local conference.”

LANDLORDS BOOK NOW

The D + J Lettings Conference
Date: 25 May 2017, 9.30am to 1.30pm
Venue: The Sun Hotel, Hitchin.

Expert speakers: ARLA Propertymark, The Tenancy Deposit Scheme, Base52 Accountants, Newman Knight Mortgage Brokers and D + J Lettings.

Subjects: Legislation, right to rent, Brexit, best practice for property protection, buy-to-let mortgages, local lettings market, making tax digital and an overview of landlord taxation.

To reserve your place log on to Eventbrite (https://d-j-lettings-conference-2017.eventbrite.co.uk) or call us for more details 01462 455434 Option 1.

It’s free – places are limited so please book your space and arrive on the day!