The first in a series of seminars on the Local Housing Allowance system given by tenant eviction specialist Landlord Action has proved a great success with a considerable number of delegates attending the event held at The Holiday Inn, London Kensington Forum last month.
The seminar, held in response to an increasing number of calls received by Landlord Action from frustrated landlords regarding issues with Local Housing Allowance tenants, was the first in a series offering advice on how to get housing benefit rent paid quicker, protocol for managing claims, the role of the letting agent and the latest updates on Local Housing Allowance.
Paul Shamplina, Director and co-founder of Landlord Action was delighted with the numbers who attended.
He said: “Although primarily attended by letting and managing agents and Housing Trust representatives, there were also a percentage of private landlords.
“For a first event, and with the subject being so specific, we tried to strike a balance between being informative whilst not overloading the delegates with unnecessary information and, from feedback received so far, we achieved just that.”
Shamplina was joined by experts Alan Elborough, who has previously held a senior position in a London local housing authority, and Jim McLaughlin who has held a senior position within the housing sector, both currently with Settled Housing Solutions and who were on hand to answer questions.
Delegate Sailesh Shingadia, Procurement Manager, Commercial Services for Notting Hill Housing said he found the seminar both educational and instructive.
He added: “Although we already work with the new Local Housing Allowance regime, there were certain parts of the Local Housing Allowance workings which I was not fully aware of.
“The content of the day, together with the interaction and question answering session, was excellent and I will definitely be looking for the rest of my team to attend this course in the near future.”
Victoria Brewerton-Owen from Belvoir Lettings in Northampton agreed. “Dealing with Local Authorities can be confusing and time consuming so it’s useful to have the rules and regulations in black and white. This seminar would be beneficial to any landlords who are unsure of the process and benefits to the system, ” she said.
Future seminars are planned for 14 May at Crowne Plaza, Manchester City Centre; 11 June at Crowne Plaza, Birmingham NEC and 2 July at Holiday Inn, London Kensington Forum.
• The success of a training day for private landlords in Torbay has prompted the local authority to organise another one this September.
Torbay Council, in partnership with Torbay Advice Network, hosted its first ‘Training and Information Day for New Landlords’ at Oldway Mansions last month.
26 landlords attended the event, which aimed to give private landlords information and training so they can operate to the highest management standards.
The training covered a wide range of topics from tenancy agreements and notices, book keeping and accountancy, through to Health and Safety and Housing Benefit.
Cabinet Member with responsibility for housing, Councillor Neil Bent, said: “I am delighted that Torbay Council has been able to offer this training to landlords and that it will become a part of the Torbay Advice Network program in the future. The comments we have received so far from landlords who attended the day have been very positive.
“The private sector plays a very important role in providing accommodation to people in Torbay and we need to make sure that landlords have the skills and knowledge to manage their tenancies professionally.
This will help us ensure tenants can obtain and sustain good quality, well managed and affordable accommodation."
The next landlords training day is scheduled to take place on 23 September 2010.
