Property managers: let’s help you prepare for the Renters’ Reform Bill

Finally, after first being mooted by the Conservatives in 2019, the Renters’ Reform Bill has been introduced to Parliament. It’s being called the biggest shake-up in lettings for a generation and while changes won’t happen overnight, planning for implementation needs to start now.

Property managers will be at the heart of the revolution, working with their landlord clients to meet incoming legislation, as well as conform with rules that already exist. Viewber has been busy digesting the contents of the Bill and while forthcoming debates may alter what is passed as law, the industry doesn’t expect too much deviation from the first reading.

In anticipation of the Bill, our team has been honing its service offering so we can best support property managers and their landlords. With rental reforms very much in the news, now is a good time to highlight how Viewber can help prepare for the changes ahead, giving you significant extra resource paid for only when you need it – UK wide.

Planning for a new Decent Homes Standard

For the first time, the private rental sector will have its own Decent Homes Standard, in the same vein as the social housing sector. This is designed to rid the private lettings industry of poor quality and substandard lets, which forms part of the Government’s Levelling Up mission to halve the number of non-decent rented homes by 2030.

Although the Landlord & Tenant Act 1985 and the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 already influence the standard of privately rented homes, an additional Decent Homes Standard suggests more improvements and alterations will be needed.

Viewber’s network is primed and ready to help implement the new Decent Homes Standard. A Viewber can provide a house-sitting service, ideal for letting in trades, waiting while they undertake any work and locking up after the job is complete. The Viewber can visit the property manager’s office to collect keys and return, saving managers wasted hours away from desks.

While making changes to meet a Decent Homes Standard will be a priority, ensuring the property remains compliant and in good condition will be an ongoing task, requiring manpower – no AI here. A Viewber can be booked to carry out a property visit, checking on the state of fixtures and fittings, taking photographs and/or videos, and reporting back with any concerns and helping keep an audit trail.

Buy a property manager desk time

While the Decent Homes Standard may result in a hands-on change to rental properties, much of the Bill necessitates administrative implementation. This will eat into a property manager’s daily schedule, with a stressful transition time ahead. Changes will be a legal requirement, so there’s no escaping the requirement to read up and follow the new law to the letter.

Desk time will be crucial as property managers navigate the ban on Section 21 notices, establish links with a new Ombudsman, understand new possession grounds, register landlords on the new privately rented property portal, accommodate tenants who have pets, families and benefit income, and migrate all assured tenancies to a periodic set up.

The task at hand will be massive but Viewber is here to ensure all efforts are concentrated on new Bill compliance and not fringe activities. Property managers can delegate the creation of digital marketing assets to a Viewber, saving them hours spent travelling to and from – and at – a property. Many with far flung portfolios will find we can be a useful addition.

We offer a number of packages to suit each listing or budget, with managers able to choose from basic point-and-shoot or professional-standard photos, with or without edits, a stand-alone, measured floorplan, and 360^° virtual tours with a dollshouse view, floorplan and hosting included, plus a property description and video walk through if needed.

Viewbers can also be booked for tenant meet and greets – whether accompanying them on a viewing, being present during a check in or check out or handing over manuals/a property’s log book. A Viewber can also oversee some of the more mundane property visits, such as letting in meter readers, representing the property manager during an inventory, sitting and waiting for deliveries/trades, and letting in end-of-tenancy cleaners. And did we mention a Viewber can even run an open house event or oversee a viewing block booking from 30 mins up to eight hours?

Benefits of Viewber

• Nationwide network of vetted, trained Viewbers
• Ability to visit any property in the UK
• Availability seven days a week, including weekends, evenings and Bank Holidays
• A simple digital dashboard for quick booking and easy-to-find feedback
• Key collection/drop off available for extra desk time
• Block book a Viewber to visit multiple properties in one day
• Nominate a Viewber as a dedicated key holder
• No minimum number of bookings required to access our services
• ‘Pay and you use’ set up for zero wasted budget
• Book as frequently as you need – as much as every day or as little as once a year!
• Over 400,000 appointments completed – it works!

If you are a property manager daunted by the introduction of the Renters’ Reform Bill, free your diary and your head space by partnering with Viewber. We’re on call for whenever you need a trusted person to visit a rental property. Contact the Viewber team today to get started.