Landlords throughout the UK have faced a tough time over the past year, but those in Wales have been hit the hardest. Land Registry released figures showing the fall in the values of homes, which was around 5.6 percent in UK compared to Welsh towns and regions which suffered a 20 percent drop. A case in point is Neath, Port Talbot, where house prices fell by 18.7 percent. Homes in rural areas of Wales are commanding £20,000 lower than what it was just a year ago.

The rising unemployment has had a negative impact on the Welsh residential property sector as compared to other parts of UK. Port Talbot experienced severe recession with the closure of a major steel blast furnace.

Apart from these, other areas like Carmarthenshire also saw a decline of more than 11 percent, bringing about an average loss of £14,000 for landlords and homeowners. Houses in Wales that were going on sale also saw a 20 percent drop in their value. It will be some time before the property market gets back on its feet both in England and Wales!

Residential landlords provide tenants with any number of portable electrical devices in their tenancy contract. They need to check for its safety as per the law. It is advisable to conduct regular safety checks on appliances which become part of the rental agreements.

This is because the landlord can be held responsible in the face of an injury by way of an electric shock or if the appliances become defective. The UK is no stranger to fires caused by electrical devices. Close to 20 percent of these are caused by faulty electric equipments that end up in a short circuit. Government statistics suggests that more than 14,000 Britons suffer varying degrees of injuries due to problems with their electrical appliances.

The UK’s Electrical Safety Council has issued that we will be held responsible if tenants are injured due to defective appliances found in the rental properties.

It can prove costly for us as such injuries can mean rejection of insurance policy, apart from the major fines and criminal prosecution. The best way to avoid this mess is to sign the portable appliance testing (PAT) at regular intervals. This inexpensive testing can be done using dedicated testing equipment. It is better to be safe than sorry.

Volatile times make everyone cautious. As landlords, the way forward for us is sensible risk management. Risk management is the key issue for private landlords in the UK.Malcolm Harrison of Let Insurance Services believes that rental insurance comes first when managing risk. Landlords need to take well thought out risks.

Landlords must gather good tenant references, although individual circumstances of the customers can change once the tenancy agreement has started. It is quite possible to get an amazing tenant for whom things can go awry during the period of the tenancy.

Earlier this month, LSL Property Services gave figures on the current trends found in the property market and the way rent rates are moving. It reported a 1.2 per cent rise in rent levels in the month of September which followed a 1.4 per cent increase in August in the UK. These figures are quite encouraging to an extent. But raising the rent is not what landlords are aiming for, by and large.

 It has been found that not all are trying to dramatically increase rent levels in the coming future. There is no doubt that the biggest challenge that we face as landlords in the current climate is to minimize voids.

Latest figures show that buy-to-let investors are back in action. Estate agents are reporting an increase in landlords buying property in the last three months.

However, investors are not snapping up city-center flats. There is an increased demand from buy-to-let landlords but the demand for flats has seen a sharp drop.

Yet, not all parts of the country have shown a revival. The Midlands have experienced a drop in demand. The demand was strongest in the North West with 29 percent more surveyors reporting a rise than a fall. The buy-to-let market was hit hard by the sharp drop in mortgage availability.

The recent Council of Mortgage Lenders’ figures showed a decline of 4 per cent on the previous three months, with only 21,600 buy-to- let loans being granted in the second quarter. The rise in buy-to-let investment is being attributed to higher proportion of investors making outright cash purchases than taking out mortgages.

Allsop, the UK’s biggest property auctioneer has been encouraging landlords to pick up repossessed buy-to-let stock.

Landlords are being driven to property due to poor returns from other investments. The private investor who has cash to invest is attracted to residential property for the prices are low compared to the peak in 2007. Residential property is being viewed as relatively rewarding by the current market.

The UK buy to let market is all set to hit the ground as a forecast suggests that portfolios will rise by an average of 0.8% over the next 12 months. This is significant as property prices have been falling for the last two years and rental income has also seen a decline for the last 12 months or so.

However, differing information regarding property values in the UK exist, with some areas responding better than others. Rental income has started to level off and it looks like the worst is over. This is coming at a time when buy to let entrepreneurs have witnessed their property values collapse and many borrowing money on previous property acquisitions. It has led to a number of portfolios falling like a pack of cards.

The property sector for years has enjoyed the status of being very lucrative for a large number of UK business people but the economic downturn has soured things and left many bankrupt.

The positive interpretation of the 2010 property market goes against the prediction of many analysts who expect a further fall in this sector in the coming year. Only time will tell what to expect. Till then landlords can hope for the best.

We are delighted to announce that at the recent Landlord & Buy to Let Awards, a prestigious ceremony that recognises the companies and individuals who have excelled in their field in the private rental sector, that Property Portfolio Software was the commended finalist in the Innovation category, marginally pipped to the post by the winners, a pest control company!

Whilst this is a big honour for us, validating our dedication and resolve to make life easier for landlords, a big ‘Thank You’ must go out to our customers for their feedback and suggestions that not only enabled us to be nominated for the award, but also ensures that we continue to head in the right direction. Thank you.

The private rental sector is showing signs of stability after a phase of uncertainty caused by falling rents and rising vacancy.

Britain’s Excel Centre survey shows that more than one in five rents have increased over the last 12 weeks and an additional 39 percent of rents have remained stable at current levels. This spells good news for residential landlords, as rents are either rising or staying the same for a large majority of rental properties.

Thankfully, the demand for residential rental properties has seen a 50 percent jump over the past six months, and conditions look conducive for the current landlords as well as for those who are looking to buy a stake in the rental sector.

However, property values continue to remain low throughout much of the UK. A large number of properties in the UK are still selling below the original asking price. One in ten properties sold for the listed amount and 50 percent of residential property for 10 percent below the original asking price.

Nevertheless, this could be an opportunity to expand our portfolios and is a boon to first time buy-to-let business entrants.

The renewed interest among investors is a positive sign. 75 percent of estate agents noted a marked growth in demand.

Now criminal convictions of tenants can have serious consequences for a landlord’s insurance cover.

7.3 million people with criminal convictions are present in the UK and many likely to be the tenant population. Undeclared unspent convictions have the potential to be material facts in the assessment of risk resulting in invalidated insurance cover, if the crime has any relevance to the policy risk.

This is because insurance contracts are based on the principle of ‘uberrima fides’ (utmost good faith) on both parties involved in the contract. So the duty of full disclosure lies with the landlord who is the policy holder.

There is lot of uncertainty and confusion among landlords. So, what can we do as landlords? Do we ask the question in the tenancy application form, include a disclosure clause in the tenancy agreement, or just simply ignore it?

Some smart home insurers have an outright policy of not insuring people with unspent criminal convictions; irrespective of the relevance.

I feel this has stirred up quite a hornet’s nest. One has to decide between actively seeking the information from the tenant and thereby getting the insurers remove to the cover or just ignoring the issue.

More clarification is needed from the insurers to prevent landlords being effectively uninsured.

Today sees the launch of Windows version 7, Microsoft’s new operating system. Let’s hope that the release of this new operating is a much bigger success than Vista. One thing can be said for sure, at least it has been delivered on time.

Our website visitors and customers have been asking for a while whether our landlords software solutions will be ‘Windows 7’ compatible.

The answer is off course ‘Yes’.

Our development team have had access to the new Windows 7 operating system and have been making sure that our software runs smoothly on it.

To learn more about the technical requirements of our software, please refer to our technical specifications section.

Finally things are looking up for landlords as rental prices have gone up, taking cue from the recent RICS survey. However all is not good as some tenants face financial pressures leading to increased rents.

The UK’s leading representative body for private-residential landlords, the National Landlords Association (NLA), in their research found that nearly three quarters of landlords are experiencing rental arrears. A dismal 43 per cent of these occurred in the last 12 months.  

Luckily all’s not lost. The NLA Rent Guarantee Insurance allows a way for us to minimise the risk that occurs due to loss of rent. Legal expenses and a 24-hour advisory service are also provided if other problems arise. Landlords can now relax with the NLA Rent Guarantee Insurance as it gives some much needed piece of mind.

Redundancy and unemployment among some tenants is making them struggle with the payment of rents but nevertheless there is a need to safeguard rental income.

Even as the insurance has come as a ray of hope, as landlords we need to take full references and make checks at the outset of a tenancy. Keeping in touch with your tenants will enable them be upfront when they face difficulties and you can make arrangements before rental arrears become more serious.