UK Estate Agents Among the Worst Paid in the World
If you’re an estate agent, you probably already know that you might not be getting paid what you’re worth. Of course, in many businesses, an estate agent’s basic salary isn’t the only earning opportunity, there are also seller fees involved. However, even though there are ways to increase your earnings, at an average annual salary of £19,843, UK estate agents are among the lowest paid in the world.
The New Decade Begins with Plenty of Change in the Lettings Industry
We're only a few weeks in to 2020 and a new decade, but already, there's been a lot of activity in the lettings market, particularly from a business and management perspective. A number of developments, including plans to create a local Government-led lettings agency, new city-wide rules for planning permission requirements for HMOs and a campaign to more closely regulate the short-let sector, suggest the UK's Letting industry is moving forward to support the growing need for rental homes.
ARLA Plans New Anti-Money Laundering Landlord Resources
As Letting Agents and Landlords face changes from the new, EU Fifth Money Laundering Directive that came into law on January 10th, ARLA Propertymark is planning to make a number of new resources available to agents and landlords to help ensure they are abiding by the updated legislation.
New Lettings Legislation Expected in 2020 Agents Should Know About
Any lettings and estate agents who thought the Government would ease up on new legislation for the residential sector are likely to be disappointed. Trade body The Residential Landlords Association warns that at least five pieces of legislation in 2020 will affect landlords and letting agents.
Fewer Rental Properties Push Rents Higher
Average UK rents rose in 2019, as a lack of available properties to satisfy tenant demand pushed them higher. Ongoing Brexit and political uncertainty combined with changing regulations worked to weigh on investor demand for property. However, while tenants will likely face higher rents for some months, research suggests there are signs that Buy-To-Let (BTL) investors are now showing interest in investing anew in the sector.
UK's Property Ombudsman Expels Three Letting Agencies
Three letting agencies operating in the UK have been expelled by The Property Ombudsman (TPO) after failing to comply with instructions from the TPO to honour payments, following tenant and landlord complaints. UK letting agents have come under much tougher scrutiny in 2019 and while the vast majority of them work hard to provide a great service for tenants and landlords in the UK, as with all industries there remains a small minority who fail to follow the rules or official advice and instructions.