Last month saw the 21st annual conference of the Association of Residential Letting Agents held at Excel - the largest conference and exhibition centre in Europe.

There are now over 8,000 members of ARLA which is the biggest professional lettings association in the UK and the conference saw many hundreds of them attend the exhibition, listen to the speakers and join in the sometimes heated discussions. With the vast amount of ever changing lettings legislation it is imperative that companies and landlords keep abreast of the laws and guidelines, and being a member of ARLA is one way to be sure a tenancy stays within the strict legislative framework.

Speakers included Michael Portillo who felt strongly that tenants who are mainly in their twenties and thirties with young families, should be offered more security through longer periods of tenure; the inspirational Deborah Meadon of Dragon Dens fame and Brandon Lewis, the Housing Minister who stated that whilst the demand for rental properties is on the increase there is a dramatic shortage of properties - as a result the aim is to build at least a million homes by the end of this review period.

Over the last year there have been more than ten changes in legislation to include The Right to Rent; Retaliatory Evictions; Smoke Detector and Carbon Monoxide Detectors; changes in Tax Relief for Landlords; removal of 10% wear and tear allowance; tenants running businesses from home and the new 6A Notice. In all now there are 145 laws and legislation covering the Lettings industry that a landlord and their agent need to know.

Judith Davis, Director at Penyards Property Management advises: “If you are going to let your property through an agent make sure they have the ARLA logo above their door. They are likely to know those very important 145 rules covering lettings much more than any other.

“Penyards Property Management, the longest established letting agent in Winchester, had two delegates at the conference to be sure we stay ahead of the game.”

Judith invites landlords to call to have an understanding how Penyards Property Management can make a difference to their tenancy. Call the Southgate Street office on 01962 860303