Welcome to the Landlord‘s Area.
This area of the website is for keeping MLAS landlords/agents up-to-date with the Scheme and to provide them with easy access to information/forms you may find useful. (If you are interested in becoming a MLAS landlord/agent, please use the other links on the left.)
Downloads
Continuing Professional Development - as you will be aware, accreditation for Landlords lasts for 5 years. You will be accredited (free) after this time if you can show that you have taken reasonable steps to maintain and develop your knowledge. In order to prove this to us, you need to accrue 50 Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points over the 5 years of your accreditation. If you do not manage to accrue 50 points, you will need to attend another MLAS professional development course (and pay the relevant fee), so we can ensure that your knowledge and practice is kept up to date. To download full details of our CPD scheme, click here.
Accrediting Agents Policy - we are now in a position to be able to accredit individual agents, providing that 2/3rds of the staff involved in letting/management of properties have attended a MLAS course, and that they have agreed to abide by our accrediting agents policy (and signed and returned this policy to us). After 1st October 2008, agents cannot claim to be accredited unless they have done this. Click here to download a copy of this policy (including return form).
Sandwell Bugle - Sandwell MBC produce a quarterly Private Landlords Newsletter, to download your copy, click here.
News
Birmingham City Council Private Sector Leasing Scheme - Birmingham City Council would like to invite MLAS Accredited landlords to take part in the new Private Sector Leasing Scheme. The scheme is due to commence on 1st August 2010 for an initial period of 3 years. Applications to be added to the tender list must be applied for by 25th March 2010, and completed applications submitted by 30th March 2010. For further details click here.
Selly Oak Safes - this year will see the launch of a new initiative to tackle student burglaries, the introduction of Home Laptop Safes. These Safes will provide students with the means to secure their most valuable property, for example laptops, Play stations and X Boxes, cameras, mp3 players, digital cameras and anything else, which will fit!
To help set the project up and get it going, Birmingham City Council and the Community Safety Partnership is inviting MLAS landlords to play an integral part by putting forward your properties to deploy and house the Safes. Download the referral form for more details and to apply here.
Building New Relationships with the Private Sector - The Association of Housing Advice Services (AHAS) is currently working on a report on how local authorities currently work with landlords and how things could be improved in the future. In order to get a fair reflection of the needs of landlords they are conducting a nationwide survey to canvass landlord‘s opinions.
The questionnaire is online and should not take more than 10-15 minutes to complete. Your responses will feed directly into their recommendations into how local authorities can build new relationships with landlords in the private sector. If you wish to take part in the survey please follow the link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/77983KL
Discussion Forum - visit our Facebook page to network with other landlords: Midland Landlord Accreditation Scheme
Publicity - please get in touch if you would like us to send you the MLAS logo (for letters etc.), or more MLAS window stickers for displaying in your properties.
The Homestamp Consortium has produced an updated version of their publication ‘A guide to Fire and Security Protection in Multi Occupied Residential Property‘. To download this document for free, click here.
It has come to our attention that a number of landlords seem unclear about the law around tenancy deposits. You must place all deposits in a recognised tenancy deposit scheme. If you fail to do so, each tenant can be awarded their original deposit back plus three times this amount, and you will face a hefty fine. Find more details here.
We would also like to remind you all that if your property has three or more storeys and has five or more people living in it and sharing facitilies (toilets, kitchens etc.) it will probably need a licence. Again, there are severe penalties for not licensing these houses. Find more details here.
"MYTENANCYDEPOSIT.CO.UK" - MTD Secure Limited trading as mytenancydeposit.co.uk is NOT part of Tenancy Deposit Solutions Limited (TDSL) trading as mydeposits.co.uk.
This company does NOT operate a Government-authorised Scheme for the protection of tenants‘ deposits within England and Wales. The three official Schemes are:
- Tenancy Deposit Solutions Limited trading as mydeposits.co.uk
- The Dispute Service (thedisputeservice.co.uk)
- The Deposit Protection Service (depositprotection.com)
These are the ONLY three Schemes where landlords and letting agents can legally protect their tenants‘ deposits.
The claim that "MTD Secure Limited is a company administering a tenancy deposit protection scheme by Tenancy Deposit Solutions Limited under contract from Communities & Local Government" is NOT true.
Any letting agent and/or landlord using this company should be aware that their deposits will NOT be protected. You should immediately use one of the three Schemes above with which to comply with the law. Not protecting with one of the three Government-authorised Schemes can lead to penalties for the landlord.
If you have already deposited funds with this company, you should seek legal advice immediately.
The relevant authorities have been informed.
For further information, please contact Ellie Irwin at mydeposits.co.uk on 020 7840 8925.
Finally, please can all landlords double check that they have gas and electric certificates in place for all of their rented properties, and that any works recommended in relation to these have been carried out. It is our intention to carry out spot-checks with a sample of landlords in the near future.
