Posts by Neil Cobbold
Leave emotions out of lettings
The recent NALS conference provided an excellent opportunity to reflect on the readiness of lettings agencies to absorb the impact of upcoming regulations and benefit from solutions in the booming PropTech industry. Keynote addresses included talks on innovation in PropTech, regulation and the customer journey in lettings. Rolling with regulation Rebecca Perks of the DCLG…
Read MoreWhat will private rented sector regulation look like?
Regulation has suddenly become the talk of the town. In mid-October, shortly after the Conservative Party first announced the UK’s private rented industry would become regulated, the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) started an industry consultation about minimum training requirements and compliance with a new code of conduct. The consultation is due to end on 29 November, and…
Read MoreThe private rented sector isn’t shrinking – it’s changing with the times, and so should you
Recent research from Countrywide draws attention to a significant drop in the number of residential landlords in the UK over the last two years. At first glance, this seems to add weight to fears that the private rented sector is currently no place for investors or tenants. (Recent changes to landlord taxation and agency regulation…
Read MoreHow technology could reduce complaints against letting agents
Effective use of technology and automation could help to reduce the number of consumer complaints against letting agents. The recent publication of The Property Ombudsman’s (TPO) annual report revealed that letting agents were ordered to pay 51% more in awards to consumers during 2016 than in 2015. What’s more, the number of resolved complaints against letting…
Read MoreLetting agents must prepare for a rise in renters
The UK’s letting agents need to prepare for a rise in the number of tenants entering the Private Rented Sector (PRS). This is the message from payment management solution PayProp, which says that agents who use technology to streamline and automate their processes can dedicate more time to clients and scale more effectively, among…
Read MoreHere be good dragons – PropTech captures the popular imagination
By all accounts, the manic recent publicity around the hotly emerging PropTech sector is the ‘tipping point’ we’ve all been waiting for in the industry. Let’s be honest, when a technology niche gets its own Dragon’s Den-style events (the recent PropTech Den and PropTech Innovation Challenge), it is going places. We’ve also seen the first…
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