Accreditation for Landlords

Hart District Council has joined forces with the National Landlords Association (NLA), the UK’s leading representative body for private-residential landlords, to offer accreditation based on NLA landlord development. The scheme is now in place in six other councils across England and the aim is to work towards delivering a national scheme that offers consistent accreditation for all landlords.

The Council believes accreditation will provide recognition to responsible, professional landlords and help promote the private-rented sector as the tenure of choice.

Becoming an accredited landlord is simple, with a straightforward foundation course. The first foundation course in Hart is being held at the Church on the Heath, Fleet on Friday  June  25. It costs £85 to NLA members.

Alternatively, you can study online by completing the “core subjects” in the landlord library. The NLA’s unique landlord library provides ongoing landlord development and can be accessed at www.nlalandlordlibrary.org.uk.

As a member of the accreditation scheme, landlords will be entitled to a number of benefits from the council, including:

• Membership of the Hart Accredited Landlords Network – this will be a landlord-led network, meeting about three times a year to share current issues and invite other professionals to address specific topics of interest
• Hart Accredited Landlords booklet – giving up-to-date contact names and details for key services for private landlords and their tenants
• Enhanced service from Rent Bond Officer – telephone contact with both tenant and landlord within the first month of any new tenancy
• Access to the Hart Rent Bond Scheme – which entitles landlords to direct payments of Local Housing Allowance (LHA) if their tenants qualify for this benefit.

Anyone who would like to know more about accreditation and the benefits of becoming an accredited landlord should contact Siobhan Cannon at  Siobhan.cannon@landlords.org.uk.