Under the new scheme, tenants who consistently pay their rent on time will benefit from an enhanced credit rating, thus boosting their chances of being granted mortgages, loans, credit cards and future tenancy agreements. Conversely, tenants who have paid their rent late will find that their credit score falls – something that will show up on future credit checks by banks, landlords or letting agencies.

Tenants living together under a joint tenancy agreement will also have to keep on their toes, as late joint rent will also count against them, regardless of who is to blame.

Reaction to the announcement has been mixed, with experts coming out both for and against the proposal. Quoted in The Guardian, Sian Williams, head of Transact, said “this could be a very useful tool for allowing [renters] to access a wider range of services at a more affordable cost.” She concludes that it is a “very welcome development for many people living in private rented accommodation, who until now have often found it difficult to build a credit history.”

Dan Plant, a money analyst for MoneySavingExpert.com, is rather more reserved in his reaction to the initiative: “This adds to the ever-expanding pool of information banks can use to make a snap judgement about you, and it’s not even about how you’ve previously borrowed money. This makes it absolutely crucial you pay your rent on time, and regularly check credit files to make sure everything that’s reported is true – and if not, get it put right.”

Experian is now beginning the process of talking to major letting agents and landlords to encourage them to state in tenancy agreements that they can share tenants’ payment history. If successful, the data should start to appear by the end of the year.

At Reside, our tenants are referenced through Endsleigh, a branch of of Experian.

Since early 2011 the government has been promising to tighten up EPC laws, but the proposed changes have been consistently delayed and pushed back. With the latest deadline of April 6th coming up shortly, it remains to be seen whether or not they will be postponed yet again.

The warning signs look ominous; last week, agents were due to be issued with guidance on the upcoming changes by the Communities and Local Government department. This did not happen. However, Estate Agent Today reports that a government insider has indicated that the changes will ‘definitely go ahead on April 6‘, despite the fact that the redesigned EPC has not yet been approved.

It is widely believed that, after April 6th, letting and estate agents will be required to attach the entire first page of the new-look EPC to all property particulars, although no guidance has yet been issued about online marketing.

While many believe that this marks an important step towards encouraging tenants and homeowners to increase the energy efficiency of their home, others see the EPC as something that is ignored by the vast majority of people moving into a new home. A recent report in The Guardian suggests that ‘nearly four-fifths of people (79%) who had received an EPC when buying or renting a new home had not acted on any of its recommendations to make it more energy-efficient and thereby save money’. The government will be hoping that the redesigned EPC, with a front page that clearly and simply details recommendations for improving the property’s energy efficiency, will have an impact on the amount of people who then act on the recommendations.

At Reside, we have always made the entire EPC available to landlords and tenants and we will continue to do so after April 6th. Examples of our EPCs can be found on the property pages of our website.

(5 hours p/w)

Reside are seeking a part-time Administrative Assistant to work in our busy Bath office on Saturdays. The successful applicant will be joining a highly successful local independent company with a vibrant, enthusiastic and hard-working office.

The successful candidate must have:

• Excellent administrative skills
• Impeccable attention to detail
• Organisational and multitasking abilities
• Confidence liaising with colleagues and clients
• A disciplined approach to record keeping and confidentiality
• A good working knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook

Previous experience in the property industry is advantageous but not essential.

To apply for this position, send your CV along with a covering letter to ben@residebath.co.uk or Reside Bath Ltd, 24 Barton Street, Bath, BA1 1HG.

Currently, regulations governing how much of the EPC must be shared are very lax. Although the full report is usually several pages long, many letting agents only choose to share the EPC’s two summary graphs on their website, often omitting more detailed sections such as ‘Estimated energy useage and fuel costs of this home’.

In early 2011, the government announced that they would be introducing new legislation whereby agents would only have an initial seven days to procure an EPC from when marketing starts, as opposed to the current 28. Significantly, it was also announced that agents would have to attach the full EPC to property particulars, not just the graphs.

However, in early June 2011 the government admitted that they would miss their target of pushing the new legislation through by July 1st and declared that changes to EPC law would now be introduced on October 1st instead.

The government’s initial plans drew criticism from some quarters of the lettings and sales industry, who voiced concerns about the added paperwork that they would be required to produce. Under this criticism, the proposed changes were watered down so that agents and landlords will only be obliged to share the first page of the document. However, the first page of the EPC is due to be redesigned so that it also shows the key recommendations and their cost implications.

Towards the end of September 2011, the government announced that it was delaying its EPC changes yet again. At the time of writing, the commencement date for new EPC regulations has been pushed back to April 2012.

As it stands, many letting and estate agents still only choose to share the EPC graphs with their tenants. At Reside, we have always made full EPCs available on our website, and included the first page of the document on our property brochures. Click here to see an example of one of our EPCs.

Many thought that EPCs would be abolished when Home Information Packs were scrapped back in 2010. But, as EPCs are required by European law, it seems that they are here to stay – even if we do not know exactly what the government will do with them next.

More than £74,000 was raised on the night, far exceeding the Trust’s initial target of £50,000, with all of the proceeds going directly towards supporting disadvantaged young people in the South West.

As one of the event’s principal sponsors, the Reside team donned their glad-rags and, along with many other specially invited guests, bidded on pieces of art donated by a host of top artists such as Nick Park, Sir Peter Blake and Rob Ryan.

Michelle Moran, Head of Fundraising for The Prince’s Trust South West, said, “This income will make a huge difference to the lives of disadvantaged young people in the region, particularly at a time when youth unemployment is so high. We couldn’t have achieved this success and raised such a fantastic amount without the help of every individual and company involved.”

From us all here at Reside, many thanks and congratulations to Michelle, Beth and everyone at The Prince’s Trust for organising such an enjoyable event for a truly worthwhile cause.

In a competition where the sole objective is to travel as far as possible without landing, the British crew of David Hempleman-Adams, sponsored by Reside, and Simon Carey fared better than most. The pair covered 2008.90 kilometers in 82 hours 31 minutes, finishing third in the competition behind the Swiss and German teams. David and Simon’s balloon finally came to rest in a farmer’s field near Boljevac in Serbia; the map below shows their route and finishing position:

Click image for full size map

Upon landing, the farm was soon visited by the local policija, who had arrived investigating reports of a hot air balloon which had become entangled in a tree.

Belated congratulations to David, who has just skied to the south pole with his daughter, from us all at Reside.

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Artists contributing to the event include Sir Peter Blake, Ben Dearnley, Quentin Blake, HRH The Prince of Wales and many, many more. All money raised will go towards helping disadvantaged young people in the South West move into work, education or training.

For more details and information on how to bid on any of the items during or ahead of the event, please download the Evening of Art Auction Catalogue at the foot of this article, or click here to visit the Prince’s Trust website.

Also amongst the many works of art available for auction will be two watercolours by Nick Park, featuring these familiar faces:

Please click on the thumbnail below to view the events Auction Catalogue which shows all of the pieces of art available on the evening;

Click the image to view in full size.

Whilst the article itself primarily focuses on more Londoners purchasing in Bath, the small interview with our Tenants shows that many people choose to rent first in order to familiarise themselves with the area, with local schools and where they may wish to eventually buy. This is something that is happening more and more often, creating a greater demand in Bath for larger and higher end rental properties.

With London Paddington just an hour and 20 minutes from Bath Spa Station, more and more families are moving away from the city and into Bath. If you have a larger family home that you perhaps thought wouldn’t generate any interest on the rental market, now is a great time to take advantage of this current trend.

Rents have continued to increase in 2011 and Tenant demand is still very high, though there is now signs of more property coming to the rental market. ARLA’s (the Association of Residential Letting Agents)  survey of the Private Rented Sector, covering Q4 2010, was drawn from 554 member offices and concluded that demand for rental property will continue to outstrip supply for much of 2011 and into next year. You can read their report here. Similarly the  latest RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors) Residential Lettings Survey for November 2010 – January 2011 concluded that strong tenant demand and a falling supply of property, is increasing rents rapidly. RICS report can be read here.

With such reports from ARLA and RICS and continuing demand, Tenants across the UK are bracing themselves for more rent increases. According to research by leading property portal Rightmove, more than half of Britain’s tenants expect the cost of renting to increase during the next 12 months, while only four per cent predicted falling rates. The property website said that the UK’s rental sector was “creaking under the strain” of increased demand, with almost 60 per cent of tenants eager to buy a home but financially unable to do so. Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove, commented: “Letting agents in many areas are reporting an insatiable demand, with prospective tenants coming from all backgrounds and requiring all types of property.

Tenant demand and increasing rent is very evident in Bath, particularly in the larger and more expensive properties that perhaps would not have come to the rental market only a few years ago. Reside recently let a beautiful and substantial three bedroom Georgian Townhouse on Lyncombe Hill for £3000 pcm after just a day on the market. Just outside of Bath we recently let Park House Farm, a large Grade II listed former farmhouse believed to date back to late 17th/early 18th Century for £2750 pcm and on Bathwick Hill, Reside achieved a rent of £2700 pcm for a detached modern home on St. Catherines Close.

It is not just the larger properties that are seeing an increase in rents, one and two bedroom apartments are the most in demand properties in the rental market in Bath and have also seen a dramatic increase. Reside recently achieved £695 pcm for a very small top floor apartment located on Princes Street in Bath city centre, £950 pcm for a beautiful one bedroom apartment on Henrietta Street and £1400 pcm for a contemporary two bedroom  apartment on Catharine Place.

According to new research recently carried out by Lloyds TSB, house prices in spa towns across England and Wales are on average £38,000 or 16%, above their local averages. Properties in Bath cost on average 42% more than in neighbouring south-west towns. This coupled with Tenant demand means rents will continue to increase in Bath for the foreseeable future. Landlords – Now couldn’t be a better time to rent out your property.