Residential Landlords who run their properties as a small business could benefit from Government’s plans to reduce the cost of red tape.
Phil Orford, Chief Executive of The Forum of Private Business (FPB), launched a campaign in June this year calling on decision-makers in Westminster, Brussels, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales to ‘Think Smallest First’, in order to reduce the administrative burden of new and changing regulations on small businesses.
MPs are being asked to sign the ‘Think Smallest First’ pledge and ‘take action to ensure that micro-businesses – those with fewer than 10 employees – are considered first in the development of new and changing policies’.
Despite being encouraged that the Government is finally taking action, the FPB has some reservations about plans to introduce regulatory targets for government departments. The FPB’s Research Manager, Thomas Parry, said: “In the past, government impact assessments have underestimated time and requirements for small businesses. Our own research has shown that the time required by our members to unravel the complicated tangle of red tape and do what is expected of them as owners and managers is significantly more than the Government’s estimations.”
The FPB would like to highlight the need for businesses and the Government to come to an agreement on the definition of ‘red tape’. Once this has been agreed, the FPB plans to survey its members on an annual basis to monitor the programme for reductions in the costs of dealing with red tape.
• Rushcliffe Borough Council has released details of The East Midlands Landlord Accreditation Scheme (EMLAS).
It is a new region-wide scheme that encourages and rewards good property standards and management practice in the private rented sector.
Any residential landlord in the region can join the scheme and take advantage of briefing sessions on new legislation, resource material and guidance, professional development courses and inclusion on the EMLAS property database and EMLAS website.
Accredited landlords are eligible for a range of discounts on goods and services. Letting agents are also invited to join the scheme, providing they are already a member of a regulatory organisation, such as ARLA, NAEA etc.
There is a free three year Membership of the East Midlands Landlord Accreditation Scheme if landlords join before April 2009.
Plus a free one day landlord development course worth £65 which includes details on knowing the essentials for managing a residential property.
There is also a free Half Day Hazard Awareness Training worth £35 which helps identify and eliminate unacceptable health and safety hazards that are a landlord’s responsibility in law.
