PPP Lettings Team: Ashleigh McIntosh, Murray Hall & Laura Harris

Premier Properties Perth welcomes the introduction of a new statutory Code of Practice for Scottish letting agents, which came into force on the 31st January 2018.

The Code of Practice is part of a legislative framework introduced by the Scottish Government under The Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 which will help regulate the industry and ensure the sector meets key standards and expectations.

As one of the largest and most successful letting agencies in the area, we have embraced these reforms which will see the biggest change to the private rented sector for a generation and will improve service and professionalism within the industry.

According to official statistics from Rightmove, Premier Properties let more properties in Perthshire during 2017 than any of the other 20 agents on the UK’s largest property portal.  We let 85% more properties than our nearest competitor, giving us a 35% share of the overall market.
Let Agreed Certificate

Our experienced lettings team helped us win 3 customer service awards in 2017 including the Perthshire Chamber of Commerce Business Star Award for Excellence in Customer Service and the British Property Award Gold for Perth and Silver for Scotland.  We are committed to continually improving our overall customer service experience and have built this into our staff training programme for 2018.

Professional Staff Training

To comply with the new Code of Practice, agents must ensure that all key lettings staff undertake a minimum level of training and achieve a specific lettings qualification.  We have assessed all the government approved courses and have chosen to send our staff on one of the most comprehensive training programmes which has been developed by Landlord Accreditation Scotland and the Chartered Institute of Housing to specifically satisfy the legislation requirements.  This represents a significant financial investment in our staff development programme and highlights our commitment to best practice and high professional standards within the industry.

Register of Letting Agents

Ultimately, all letting agents in Scotland will be required to join a Register of Letting Agents by 1 October 2018, which will be maintained by Scottish Ministers.  To qualify for the register, agents must comply with all aspects of the Code of Practice including minimum training requirements, written policies and procedures and specific requirements on how clients’ money should be handled.

Private Residential Tenancy

The Code of Practice and Letting Agent Register follow dramatic changes to tenancy agreements at the end of the 2017.  The Private Residential Tenancy Agreement came into force on 1 December 2017.  We have produced an enhanced version which provides more security for our clients and includes all of the mandatory clauses outlined by the Scottish Government.  See our update on  the introduction of the Private Residential Tenancy in December which we reported on at the end of 2017:

Private Residential Tenancy Update

We welcome the new regulatory framework which provides a positive change for the rental sector in Perthshire and in Scotland.  Under-performing agents will have to up their game and any rogue operators will soon be weeded out, which will improve matters for all parties.

Further Information

Further information regarding new legislation affecting the private rented sector is available on the Scottish Government website:

If you are landlord looking for advice on renting in the Perthshire area, please give us a call on 01738 442255 or email: info@premierpropertiesperth.co.uk